LUWERO: Several piggery farmers in Luwero district have stopped using maize as a key component of pig feed, citing the high prices. Families in at least 47 out of 101 parishes in Luwero district are involved in piggery. But the households are crying foul over the high cost of maize. Pigs like chickens feed on broken and maize bran mixed with other feeds.
Currently, a kilogramme of broken maize costs between Shs1800 and Shs2000, whereas a kilogramme of maize bran costs between Shs1200 and Shs400. The prices increased due to the drought that affected the maize harvest. Paul Kiganda, a piggery farmer at Kikubajinja village in Luwero town, says that he used to spend Shs45,000 weekly on feed for his 10 pigs, but the cost doubled to Shs90,000 resulting from the shortage of maize.
Kiganda adds that he also tried to feed the pigs on beer residue from breweries to cut costs, but the prices also increased from Shs130,000 to Shs180,000 per ton, making it costly for him. He says that he has resolved to scale down on broken maize and instead feed the pigs milk and water, which are cheaper compared to other feeds.
According to Kiganda, each pig is expected to eat at least two kilogrammes of feed per day. Samuel Kasozi, another piggery farmer at Kiwumpa village, has also resolved to abandon maize and instead feed the pigs on sweet potato leaves as well as cassava. He, however, admits that such feeding rations cannot enable the pigs to mature at six months and gain enough weight to attract better profits.
Clement Kisinde, another piggery farmer in Kibanvu village in Luwero sub-county, has since sold over 90 pigs, leaving only seven at his farm, citing the high cost of feed and disease outbreaks. Kisinde hopes to resume piggery farming when the cost of feed goes down.
Wilberforce Ssemigga, the Senior Luwero District Agriculture Officer, says that several farmers have quit the piggery business while others have scaled down their activities because of the high cost of feed. Ssemigga advises farmers to use local brewer’s waste to feed the pigs because it is relatively cheaper.
Currently, Luwero is experiencing heavy rains and farmers are clearing gardens ahead of the new planting season.
