Abstract:
Traditional/backyard pig production systems are found in the larger Western Kenya while commercial systems are predominant in Eastern and Central Kenya including Nairobi. The pig holdings in Coast and few in North-Eastern are commercial systems. The expansion and improvement of the market for pigs and pig products generally in Kenya may explain why pig- keeping is beginning to be found outside traditional pig-keeping areas. The objectives of the study were: 1) To characterize pig production systems, 2) establish factors constraining production and, 3) find strategies that can enhance the performance of the industry. The sampling was done in seven Sub- Locations of Embu West Sub- County where there was a concentration of farmers keeping pigs. From the sampling frame of pig farmers (142) a sample of (104) pig farmers was generated using the formula: n= N/ {1+ N (e) 2}; Yamane (1967: 886). The pig farmers were randomly selected using Random Integer Generator. Data was collected using structured questionnaire in face to face interview with the pig farmers and also included physical examination of the households and photography. The data included the demographic characteristics of households, pig production and management practices, constraints and opportunities of pig farming. The data collected was transferred into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and analyzed to determine simple means, frequencies and percentages. The results of the data analysis were presented in frequency tables and charts. Results showed that 92.6% of the pig farmers were males and 93.3% of the households were male headed. Over 60% of the pig farmers were in the age bracket of 45-60 years. All the pig farmers were literate with about 60% of them having attained primary level of education indicating that the farmers could easily adopt new introduced agriculture technologies. All the pig farmers were Christians with about 82% belonging to the Protestant faith. They owned parcels of land ranging from 0.25 acres to 25 acres with a mean land size of 2.9 acres. Both parents and children (85.5%) were involved in pig farming. All the households (100 %) kept pigs in small intensive production system and (63.3%) households kept 1 to 4 pigs. The pig breeds kept were Large White and Landrace. The feed resources used to feed the pigs were garden weeds, kitchen leftovers, market agricultural waste (99%), Sow and Weaner ration (97.1%), rice bran (96.2%), Cassava, Napier grass, Sweet potato tubers and vines, Pumpkins (95.2%). Only 4.8% of the households used Creep feed, Sow and Weaner and Pig finisher meal. Almost 90% of farmers housed their pigs on temporary structures roofed with iron sheets. Timber, wooden poles and off cuts were used to construct the walls and floor. Worm infestation and fleas were reported as the major disease/pest management problem by 81% and 32% of pig farmers respectively. The preferred pig production system is the intensive pig production system. The major constrains to pig production were; lack of high quality breeding stock (95.2%), high cost of commercial feeds (95.2%), poor pig housing (87.5%) and diseases and pest management (83.7%). . Opportunities to enhance the pig industry in the Sub County include; planting feedstuffs for direct feeding to pigs (92.3%) and supply for feed manufacture (91.3 %), establishing feed manufacturing facilities and government subsidies on feed cost (15.4%). Other opportunities of improving the pig production system include sourcing credit from Agricultural Finance Corporation by 74% of the respondents and, other financial institutions by 33% of the respondents. It is recommended that pig farmers be trained in basic aspects of pig farming. It is also recommended that pig farmers be encouraged to form groups so that they can run pig farming as a viable enterprise. This will enable them to access credit to acquire inputs and also make it easier to disseminate information to the farmers to improve pig farming. Due to the expansion and improvement of the market for pigs and pig products in Kenya, it is recommended that a country survey be carried out to establish the extent of pig production, consumption and the contribution of the contribution of the pig sub-sector to the economy.