An Analysis of the profitability of pig production in Bindura district

Author

Tarume, Tatenda B.

Title

An Analysis of the profitability of pig production in Bindura district

Abstract

In Zimbabwe, a lot of individuals are venturing into pig farming. Regardless of an increase in pig production, farmers in the Bindura district are failing to maximize their profits and improve their living standards. Many researchers were mainly focusing on the production of pork neglecting the return per dollar invested by the farmers. The researcher has observed gaps in the literature, therefore, this study intends to fill the identified gaps by analyzing the profitability of pig farming in Bindura District. Primary data was acquired from 60 randomly selected pig farmers in Bindura District using structured questionnaires. Secondary data was gathered from Bindura AGRITEX, Bindura VET, feed companies, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Descriptive statistics which includes frequencies and percentages were used to analyze demographic data. To find out the level of return per dollar invested in pig production, the researcher used the Gross Margin Budget to show the average return per dollar invested. The researcher adopted multiple linear regression to determine the factors that affect the profitability of pig production. It was estimated using the OLS method using the SPSS version 2020. To determine the constraints faced by the pig farmers in Bindura District, the researcher used the Likert scale method. The outcome of linear regression shows that the selling price and the number of pigs owned significantly affect the return per dollar invested positively (P<0.05). However, the use of biosecurity affects the return per dollar invested negatively (P< 0.05). This is because materials that are used for biosecurity will increase the variable costs and, as a result, it reduces the revenue of pig farmers in Bindura District. High cost of feed, high cost of veterinary drugs, and shortage of slaughtering facilities were the main production challenges amongst constraints associated with pig farming in Bindura District. The total revenue, total variable cost, and gross margin were $USD 182, USD$91 and USD$ 91, respectively per month per porker. Conclusively, the study found that pig farming was profitable in Bindura district. Therefore from the identified challenges, the researcher recommends that the government should formulate pricing policies that allocate viable pork prices to avoid the exploitation of farmers by middlemen who purchase porker at very low prices at the farm gate. Farmers are also encouraged to use crossbreeds with tolerance to diseases since the drugs and vaccines required for pig production are expensive.

Date

May 2022

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Variable costs

Ordinary least square

Profitability

Supervisor

Mr. V.T Munyati