Abstract

The quantity of animal products in Nigeria shows a serious shortage of animal protein intake while production of pig meat has been slowed down by many constraints. This study examined the profitability and technical efficiency of pig production. Purposive sampling technique was used to select and interview 107 respondents through structured questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, budgetary technique, Double-log function and Stochastic Production Function (SPF). Descriptive result shows that male (74.8%) dominated pig farming, 88.8% was<60 years old, 69.1% was married, average household size was 6 persons. About 51.4% had>10 years’ experience with average herd size of 33 pigs, 73.8% disposed waste into bush with chemical treatment. Gross income was ₦282,128.29 per annum while rate of return was 1.58. Most expensive input was feed (65.9%). Major challenges were inadequate fund (74.8%) and high mortality (58.9%). Age (1%), experience (1%), herd size (1%) and credit (10%) significantly increased gross margin while feed (1%) and labour (1%) increased production efficiency. In Conclusion, pig production was profitable with technical efficiency slightly above average level.  Therefore, agricultural stakeholders should ensure that extension training, agricultural credit and modern production technologies are promoted to resolve the challenges in pig production.

Key Words: Pig production, Profitability, Technical efficiency, Challenge