Pig production business in Lagos state has the potential of generating about $2 billion (N300 billion) annually. Gbolahan Lawal, the commissioner for agric, Lagos state revealed this recently at a forum in Lagos organised by the Commercial Agric Development (CADP) team.

He said currently two piggery estates exist in the state. These are Oke Aro and Gberigbe in Alimosho and Ikorodu local government areas respectively) with a total of 250 pens being managed by 1200 farmers of the total 2,350 pig farmers in the state.

In addition, he said there are pockets of pig farmers spread across Ojo, Alimoso, Badagry and Ikorodu local government areas; that the state has a total of 205,696 pigs of which about 43 percent are reared in the Oke Aro and Gberigbe estates.

He added, “Oke Aro Pig Farm Estate has the largest concentration of pig farmers in the West Africa Sub region and has patronage from as far as Republic of Benin. Leveraging on this huge potential in piggery value chain will increase pig production by 20 percent, increase sales by 30 percent as well as employment generation by 30 percent in the next five years.” In view of the enormous advantage of the state in the production of pigs and vegetables, he said the ministry of agric intends to solicit for consideration of the inclusion of these two value chains under the CADP project which is a World Bank sponsored project with five states in Nigeria being involved. In Lagos state, the project has been focused on development of farming in the areas of rice production, fish farming and poultry.

Francis Bamidele Ajiteru, president of the Pig farmers’ Association of Nigeria, Lagos chapter confirms the enormous potential of pig farming in Lagos, he said, “Pig farming is big business and there are lots of other businesses associated with it.

Apart from the actual business of farming and direct farm labour, we have artisans such as carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers that work on contracts, we have haulage of inputs, we have milling, sales of drugs, catering for the thousands of people that get incomes directly or indirectly from the farm and so on.” Olatunbosun Akinbode, a former president of the pig farmers association in the Oke Aro Pig Farm estate said The Oke Aro Farm Settlement has been a good source of income for men and women that come from Oke-Aro itself, Agbado, Ope ilu and other surrounding towns and villages. Lanre Akinola, the secretary of the Pig Farmers Association in Lagos state said not less than 20,000 people earn income directly and indirectly from the pig farming activities in Oke Aro alone.



culled from www.businessdayonline.com