Kodiaga Medium Prison’s new pig farm

Inmates at Kisumu medium prison located within Kodiaga main prison in Kisumu county attends to some of the pigs which they rare at the institution.PIC BY COLLINS ODUOR

Two and a half years ago, prison warders from Kisumu’s Kodiaga Medium Prison initiated a simple pig farming technique.

With three piglets, that cost Sh3,000 each, the institution hoped to minimise food left-overs by feeding the same to these animals.

However, after a few months, the piglets had matured and were now multiplying. This ignited an idea to crossbreed the animals and turn them into a business venture.

“Results of the cross breed gave us a perfect combination that has now made commercial pig farming a reality in the prison,” Farm Manager Chief Inspector Kinoti Kiambi said.

The prison now has 60 pigs and plans to remove beef from the menu and replace it with pork in a venture which officer in-charge of the facility, Superintendent Kennedy Locho, says will save them a large sum of money.

Locho says the prison holds approximately 420 inmates who are served beef three times a week.

To do this, they buy 162 kilogrames of beef per meal at a cost of Sh450 which comes to about Sh875,000 per month.

“Adopting this project will see us make a massive reduction in our expenses. We get finances from the head office to do these projects and it is up to us to maximise on them and sustain this facility,” he said.

Kinoti said taking care of pigs has proven to be the cheaper option given that they feed on left-overs from the prison and neighbouring schools.

Having an officer trained in animal production, they only need approximately Sh6,000 per week to finance the extension services and buy processed pig feeds to supplement leftovers.

The inmates provide all the manual work, which includes feeding the pigs, cleaning their sty’s and taking care of their hygiene. The prison now has nine mother pigs and one male.