Perception of Bhutanese farmers towards pig farming

Abstract

The study was conducted to understand attitude and perceptions of pig rearing farmers towards the future of piggery development. Data were collected from 420 respondents through face-to-face interview using semi-structured questionnaire between October 2018 and April 2019. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Majority of pig farmers were found to practice backyard pig production, and most of them are either illiterate (51%) or with non-formal education (32%). Pigs are reared mainly for income generation and household consumption. The study recoded only 6.2% of the respondents against 93.8% involved in breeding and fattening of pig, respectively. Majority of the respondents reported that the pig farming is profitable, and prefers to rear exotic pig breeds due to faster growth rate. Despite many challenges such as religious disapproval, inadequate and high commercial feeds costs and labour shortage hindering pig development in the country, more than 73% of the respondents reported to continue pig farming as a source of livelihood. Nonetheless, if appropriate policy interventions are not made, the pig farming is likely to decline and local pigs might extinct over the period.