In the outskirts of Bondo town in Siaya County, is a young pig farmer doing incredible stuff. Nashon Oluoch, an engineer, quit a well-paying job a year ago to venture into pig farming and he is happy about his decision.

Oluoch owns large white and landrace pigs which he keeps on his half acre shamba at Waringa village in Bar-Kowino sub-location.

Rosy as everything may appear, Oluoch is bold enough to admit that fulfilling as the journey may be, it has thorns.

“This business is tough at times and needs patience and sacrifice for one to succeed. But I enjoy it,” he says.

He wakes up early in the morning and drop sacks at vegetable vendors. He later collects and pays for them in the evening. Nevertheless; he says the undertaking has its highs and lows.

And that’s not all, he has suffered losses too.

“I started with seven pigs in September last year which I bought at Sh25,000 each. One of the pigs gave birth to 12 piglets and I was happy. But the next month all the 12 piglets died and I was devastated. It was a big blow to me because I was just starting out,” says Oluoch.

He blames the deaths on lack of knowledge of pig farming.

He explains, “Following the loss, I sought the services of an expert. I discovered that I didn’t give my sow an iron booster and multi-vitamin injection three weeks before furrowing and for the piglets three days after birth.”

He says the litter was weak and could not suckle as they should do immediately after birth.

To avert such problems in future, he joined an online forum dubbed ‘Piggy Forum’.

Piggy Forum is a WhatsApp Group where pig farmers discuss issues related to pig farming such as how to feed, treat and market the pigs.

Oluoch says he was introduced to the group by a farmer friend. He says the group is run by Kevin Muaka (a Kenyan) and Imo (a Ugandan) who are both pig farmers.

“Any farmer is free to join since its an open group,” says Oluoch.

Through the forum, he says, he has learnt his mistakes and is now incorporating best practice in his farming. This he says has enabled him take care of a sow before and after furrowing.

“Some of my four sows have been served and I have been keenly consulting from the forum to avoid what happened with my first stock,” he says.

Oluoch owns more than ten pigs and ten piglets. He sold some of the six-month-old pigs to local farmers at Sh10,000 each.

He is looking forward to own more than 80 pigs in the next four months.

“With the current number of pigs in my farm, I plan to open a butchery specialising in pork. This will enable me make more profits,” he tells Smart Harvest.

A kilo of pork retails at Sh350 in the local market but the farmers sell the same amount to Farmers Choice at Sh240.

He is looking forward to slaughtering at least three pigs per week, with each weighing between 70kg-90kg at Sh350 per kilo.

He calculates, “With a 70kg at Sh350, I will make Sh73,500 per week from three pigs. This will add up to Sh294,000 a month.”

High demand

Other than selling the pigs to local farmers, Oluoch also sells manure. Manure from pigs is on high demand because of the minerals it contains.

A 90kg sack of manure is sold at Sh500 while a wheelbarrow at Sh200. He is also looking forward to making biogas from the pig waste.

Towards this initiative, Oluoch dug a 6ft hole with 5ft diameter using brick to build the walls.

 Oluoch who took voluntary early retirement as Plant Operations Manager at Magadi Soda Company Ltd says pig rearing pays.

He says, “I am able to comfortably educate my children through the business.”

He says the business has its own challenges, among them high feed prices and drugs.

Fish meal

He, however, says it is cheaper to make animal feeds at home. He does this by sourcing ingredients such as rice barns, fishmeal locally and concentrates from Kisumu.

“Since I also keep poultry, the waste and feeds have similarity on what the pigs feed on. I usually take salmonella; mix with molasses at a ratio of 1:4, which is ideal for pigs. I also take treated poultry waste and mix it with fish meal, rice barn and concentrates,” he explains.

As a way of bringing down the cost of feeds, the engineer also feeds the pigs on potato vines, vegetable and fruit wastes. Oluoch looks forward to be a major player in the white meat production, including rabbits and fish.