(TELEFOOD PROJECT EXAMPLE)

Women Farmers' Club Pig Production (Africa)

PRIMARY GOAL	To Contribute to Increased Household Food Security and Income Through Pig Production
BENEFICIARIES	25 Women Farmers in Peri-urban District
DURATION	October 199- to October 200-
COST	US $9 614
DONOR	FAO TeleFood Special Fund

TARGET GROUP

The 25 resource poor peri-urban women of ... Club in ... District and their families will be the primary target beneficiaries. Most of these women are single parents, widows or married to retrenched men. Most members come from Female-Headed Households. Using the average family size of members, the total primary beneficiaries will be about 150 persons. The benefits translate to US$182 per household per year or about US$30 per person in a participating household per year. On a wider scale the club will be able to generate about US$4553 per year which will enter the micro economy of ... District.

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

... is one of the most under-developed Districts in Country X. Economic activity is very traditional and mostly linked to fish and cattle trading. As a result most retirees opt to settle around the peripheral areas of the Town centre where land for cultivation is very limited. It is very difficult for peri-urban dwellers to engage in gainful employment. Private business is limited to trade in consumables. The major employer; Government has been retrenching staff. As a result more and more people are finding themselves without employment. Farming is the only promising alternative.

... Women Farmers' Club composed mainly of peri-urban single women seeks to engage in pig production following the successful experience of two of its members. Pigs are also very prolific; under fair management they can give up to two litters every year with litter sizes of up to 8 piglets per furrowing. With three sows, it is possible to rear up to 36 porkers every year taking into account mortalities. With this kind of production, pigs can contribute significantly to income generation and household food security.

The selection of the piggery enterprise is based on the fact that all the required inputs can be obtained locally. Purchased major inputs are brought in only once at the beginning. Training and monitoring by MAFF will ensure that the project continues. The project relies on use of crop residues, domestic food waste, agro-processing by-products and collection of wild fruits and hay. The time required to care for pigs is very minimal and since the units are next to the homesteads it will be possible to keep regular contact.

The club has opted to have individual piggery units because experience in similar projects has shown that communal enterprises generally suffer from lack of commitment especially after direct donor support.

Although a considerable amount of pork can be exported out of the district there exists a reasonable market for pork at Riverside Hotel, one local butchery and the secondary school that has boarding facilities. The newly constructed road will also attract buyers from neighboring districts.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective is to establish individual piggery units for the production of pigs for sale and home consumption. The management of the piggery units will be based on available feed resources and thus will not rely on purchased inputs. A semi-extensive system of managing pigs will be used. Once established participating club members will be able to replace their breeding stock from the sale of old stock and weaners.

With this kind of a project, Members will be able to contribute significantly to the growth of the club. The club will be able to support members in distress as well as contribute to other community development initiatives.

DURATION :

12 months

OUTPUTS

It is expected that each participant will be able to produce 36 piglets each year. At least 18 of these should be to able reach maturity each year. With these pig sales club members be should be able to increase ownership of other small stock consequently this should result in increased regular cash income and household food security for female-headed households in peri-urban ... District. The expected benefits per family are estimated below based on the following assumptions:

• 2 furrowings per year per sow,
• an average litter size of 8 piglets per furrowing,
• an average mortality of 2 piglets per furrowing,
• 10 months of rearing to reach maturity
• pigs will be fed on crop residues, agro-processing by products, domestic food waste, hay and wild fruits.

Table 1 : The Value of Production for the entire club

PRODUCTION	NO.	UNIT PRICE	PRODUCTION	US$
Breeding Sows	75	60,000	4,500,000	1,915
Breeding boar	25	70,000	1,750,000	745
Number of Furrowings	150		0	-
Number of Piglets Born	1,200		0	-
Number of Weaners	510	20,000	10,200,000	4,340
Number of Porkers	480	50,000	24,000,000	10,213
Porkers for Home Consumption	144	50,000	7,200,000	3,064
Porkers for Sale	336	50,000	16,800,000	7,149
			64,450,000	27,426

It must be understood that the benefits of keeping pigs go beyond the cash sales and home consumption. There is employment creation, and utilization of domestic waste and crop residues that otherwise go to waste. It is difficult to put a value on such things as the creation of confidence in the area.

Table 2 : A simple Economic Analysis of the Project

	Club	House hold	Family US $
Total Benefits	34,200,000	1,368,000	582
Total Costs	23,500,225	940,009	400
Net Benefits	10,699,775	427,991	182
Benefits per family		427,991	182
Benefits per person		71,331.83	30
Benefit : Cost Ratio	1.46

The US$ to local currency exchange rate used is K2350 to 1US $

ACTIVITIES

In order to engage in small-scale pig production, three sows and a boar, four pens and a paddock will be required by each participant. The pens can be built with local materials except for cement, nails and barbed wire that will have to be purchased. The paddocks should be selected in such a way that there are shade trees. Selected participants should have access to a lot of crop residues, food waste and agro-processing by-products such as maize bran and brewers grain. Participants will have successfully completed a 1-week pig production course organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. The course will cover:

• Feeding and watering pigs;
• Preparation for furrowing;
• controlling internal and external parasites;
• Piglet management;
• Disinfecting pig pens; and
• Conserving pig feeds.

The Piggery Units will be sited away from homesteads in the wind direction and near water sources. The Piggery Units will be constructed according to the prescribed design and using the recommended materials. Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Officials will monitor the health of the pigs. Repairs to the pens will be done using local resources.

The club will hold two field days as follows:

• a method demonstration of how to prepare for furrowing
• a method demonstration of how to care for piglets; and
• a method demonstration of how to conserve feed for pigs.

PRE-REQUISITES

A strong and cohesive group that is willing to monitor and supervise its members is critical to the success of the project. Important pre-requisites will include:

• Land for the establishment of the piggery units,
• Local building materials made available by the group members,
• Availability of sufficient feed resources, and
• Water resources.

INPUTS TO BE PROVIDED AND COSTS

Table 3 below presents a list of the required inputs and costs while table 4 presents the same items but for 25 farmers.

Table 3: Required inputs and Costs per Farmer

REQUIRED INPUTS	NO.	UNIT COST	TOTAL COST	US$
Breeding Sows	3	60,000	180,000	76.60
Breeding Boar	1	70,000	70,000	29.79
Cement (50Kg Pockets)	5	16,000	80,000	34.04
Nails in kgs	5	10,000	50,000	21.28
Rolls of Barbed Wire	1	90,000	90,000	38.30
Dewormers (1 litre)	3	60,000	180,000	76.60
Accaricides (1 litre Pouracides)	3	50,000	150,000	63.83
Disinfectants (2.5 litres)	3	25,000	75,000	31.91
			0	0.00
			875,000	372.3

Table 4: Required inputs and Costs for 25 Farmers

REQUIRED INPUTS	NO.	UNIT COST	TOTAL COST	US$
Breeding Sows	75	60,000	4,500,000	1,915
Breeding boar	25	70,000	1,750,000	745
Cement	125	16,000	2,000,000	851
Nails in kgs	125	5,000	625,000	266
Wire	25	90,000	2,250,000	957
Dewormers	75	39,000	2,925,000	1,245
Accaricides	75	50,000	3,750,000	1,596
Disinfecting	75	24,500	1,837,500	782
Transportation of purchased items				1,455,000
Operational Costs		1,500,000	1,500,000	638
			23,500,225	9 614

Training of farmers has been eliminated as not covered by TSF.

Each participant will contribute labour, poles or burnt breaks and grass for thatching. The women and their families are expected to cut the required poles and grass. The table below shows details of these contributions.

Table 5: The Value of Each Farmer's Contributions

Breaks	Individual	US$	Club	US$
Thatch grass	50,000	21.28	1,250,000	531.91
Poles	80,000	34.04	2,000,000	851.06
Feeds	250,000	106.38	6,250,000	2,659.57
Crop residues	50,000	21.28	1,250,000	531.91
Domestic food waste	20,000	8.51	500,000	212.77
Agro-processing by products	100,000	42.55	2,500,000	1,063.83
Grazing and scavenging	30,000	12.77	750,000	319.15
Building labour	50,000	21.28	1,250,000	531.91
Labour rearing	120,000	51.06	3,000,000	1,276.60
Total	750,000	319.15	18,750,000	7,978.72

MONITORING AND REPORTING ARRANGEMENTS

Participating farmers will enter into an agreement in which they will pledge to manage the pigs according to the guide lines that will be developed by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Officials. These practices will be covered in a one-week pig management training course.

A reporting format covering management of the piggery units, health status and reproduction will be submitted to the Department of Agriculture with copies to FAO. The reports will be written by the clubs secretariat. Officials from MAFF will visit each member regularly to ensure success. These visits will be incorporated in the routine programmes of MAFF Staff. Club members not abiding by the agreement and thus failing to manage the pigs according to the recommendations will have their pigs withdrawn from them and given to others. The club is expected to put collective pressure on members who fail to look after the pigs well.

The club will meet regularly to discuss problems as well as receive individual reports. The Club Secretariat will then compile these reports to produce the group report. The group will meet once every fortnight while reports will be made on a monthly basis. The Chairperson will be held responsible for the monthly reports. Disciplinary cases will be dealt with by at least two thirds of the full membership.

The designated national Officer will provide the FAO Representative a progress report every three months and a final report including simple analysis of costs and benefits which could be used for the preparation of future investment projects.

RISKS

There remains a small risk of saturating the local market with pigs should all the participants be successful. The price of pork will as a consequence fall. However, since the pigs will be reared on cheap feed resources this is a small risk.

The stability of the group might be threatened once the individuals become prosperous.