26 Oct 2020

As the issue of unemployment has become a thorny one for most youngsters in the country, the recent times have witnessed even graduates settling for once shunned, or jobs once viewed as simply low.

Since no one wants to be unemployed everyone is opting for odd jobs in a quest to put food on the table.

Shashe Mooke based piggery owner Ms Lebogang Gare is one of those who have decided to do something and make ends meet.

Unlike most her peers, realising that her Cambridge results would not score her entry into tertiary institution she went for special constable policing. 

However, the job did give her the satisfaction she was yearning for hence she started looking for other avenues. Like the saying that business opportunity is another man’s ignorance, Ms Gare did not look far but opted for piggery. 

In Botswana pig farming has always been associated with dirt and filth, but despite that the young woman associate pigs with money. Like the invention of the piggy bank originating over 600 years ago in the 15th century when people would use pots to store what money they had, Gare is keen to turn the piggy bank story into reality with her business. 

The 35-year-old pig farmer, has taken the unconventional path and is currently rearing pigs against the societal expectations. 

Ms Gare has made her intentions known, of becoming one of the successful piggery owners. 

The recent visit to her farm at Shashe mooke to hear about her inspiring journey and the drive behind her determination to succeed in a male dominated field revealed that she meant business. 

“Pigs are regarded as dirty animals and being a complete girly-girl, I wondered how I will dispel this conspiracy theory,” she explained in an interview.

Ms Gare observed that most people, especially women, did not want to associate themselves with pigs as they believed that pigs were dirty and smelly. But for her; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. 

She stated that being choosy was the biggest impediment to prosperity.

Ms Gare who hails from Mochudi, in the Kgatleng District, grew up thinking she was going to do farming differently from her forefathers.  

At the age of 32, she told her doubting father that she wished venture into piggery. Knowing too well that pigs were and are still not welcome in many households in Botswana was her driving factor. Doing something that could make a difference in the society was the wind beneath her wings. 

Ms Gare went into farming with a passion and acquired the knowledge along the way and now she thrives as a pig farmer.

“I was also inspired by the fact that piggery is one of the lucrative businesses in the country and I am hopeful it will bring food on the table and sustain my livelihood as I want to be independent,” she added.

Ms Gare, who is one of the few Batswana female commercial pig farmers in the country, started Zygal Kolobe Farm, along the Shashe river in the Shashemooke area, with only 15 female pigs and one Boer worth almost P20 000.

In 2017, Zygal Kolobe Farm was registered and three structures worth about P145 000 were built before the pigs were brought in.

“The most important thing to do before starting a piggery is to build structures for the pigs such that they are spacious and well ventilated to accommodate them as they grow,” she said.

Ms Gare, who also doubles as a Laboratory Assistant at Mopane Gold Mine attended a one-day piggery production course at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

She also sourced ideas and advice from piggery farmer’s groups on Facebook and other related sources to argument what she already knew. 

She appealed for governments’ support towards pig farmers such as other farmers in order to help pig farmers tackle challenges in the business of piggery in Botswana.

Ms Gare said business people operating piggery were faced with numerous challenges such as expensive pig feeds, adding that government’s intervention by subsidizing pig feeds would come in handy to address the challenge especially in trying times of pandemics.

 Ms Gare, also a former police officer, said that she started Zygal Kolobe Farm without any information besides information from the internet.

She said that when starting the business, her and the co-partner agreed to run only as a farrow operation, to sell pigs to other farmers, however, currently they fatten their pigs and package for pork market which is individuals and Senn Food.

She said that piggery production is a lucrative business, adding that, one pig is able to give birth to 12 or more piglets each worth over P600.

The farmer stated that for such a business one needs to be passionate and hard working to care for the pigs and maintain the farm.

“Farmers tend to rely on employees and miss most of the business’s progression and that is wrong because as a farmer you have to be fully engaged and involved to know how your business is running for it to prosper, she added.

Furthermore, Ms Gare said that the piggery business is not an easy business to tackle although her business is currently doing well with 440 pigs.

She said that pigs are sensitive and very prone to diseases which may take longer for them to mature or they may die which also brings in challenges of feeding as the feeds are expensive. 

“We use half a bag of 50kg pig grower worth about P273 a day mixing it with maize bran. Six maize bran bags are bought every week and starter feeds worth about P170 per bag,” she said.

She added that to maintain and care for the pigs, they feed the pigs once a day and those in preparation for slaughter are fed twice a day to fatten them, adding that every morning and evening the pigs’ chalets are cleaned to keep the pigs healthy from diseases.

Ms Gare further said that another challenge they encounter as pig farmers is that there is low pork market in the country as most of Batswana do not consume pork meat due to religious reasons and few butcheries selling pork.

She also added that with the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the market setting prices has forced pig farmers to reduce prices such that before, pork meat per kg was sold at P40 and now it is sold at P33 per kg.

Besides the challenges, Ms Gare said she was able to buy a truck that had come in handy to the daily operations of the business such as transporting the pigs for slaughter at an abattoir in Sebina.

She said that she had created employment for three individuals. 

Ms Gare said she was hopeful that her business would in future be able to sell 20 pigs per week, adding that currently she was only able to sell 20 pigs twice in a month.

“I also want to have a butchery that specialises in pork,” she added.

For his part, North East Animal Production Department, Principal Technical Officer, Itekeng Kehakgametse said that government was aware of the challenges facing pig farmers such as high feed prices and inadequate slaughtering facilities.

However, he said that the government through the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food security under the Department of Animal production was giving support to pig farmers by offering training, formation of associations, funding piggery projects and by regulating the amount of pork imports.

He said that there are so many opportunities in pig value chain, therefore advising farmers to take piggery as a viable business to make use of them as a lot of employment can be generated. Ends