🐖 Piggery (Pork Production) farming in Zimbabwe
Fast turnover livestock enterprise. A sow gives 2–2.4 litters a year and weaners reach 90–100 kg baconer weight in about 5–6 months.
- Season / planting window
- Year-round. Farrow into the cooler months where possible; heat stress above 30 °C cuts conception and appetite.
- Best regions
- Anywhere with clean water and a feed supply — peri-urban Harare, Bulawayo, Chinhoyi, Mutare and Masvingo all have strong pork demand and abattoir access.
- Spacing / population
- Dry sow 2 m²/pig, farrowing crate 4–5 m², weaner 0.4 m², grower 0.6 m², finisher 1 m². Boar pen 6–8 m².
- Expected yield
- 18–24 weaners per sow per year; 70–75 kg carcass at 100 kg live weight; feed conversion 2.8–3.2 over the whole herd.
Stage by stage
Housing & registration
Before you buy any pig
- Build on well-drained ground with the long axis east–west; open sides with a 1 m roof overhang for shade and rain.
- Concrete floors sloped 1:40 to a drain — mud and wet floors cause most piggery disease.
- Separate pens for dry sows, farrowing, weaners, growers/finishers and the boar.
- Provide nipple drinkers: a lactating sow drinks 25–35 litres a day and will stop milking without water.
- Register the unit with the Department of Veterinary Services and site at least 500 m from housing to avoid odour complaints.
Fertiliser and chemicals
- FertiliserSow and weaner meal (18–20% CP)
Ad lib to 30 kg live weight · Weaning to grower stage
Feed is 70–75% of the cost of pork — buy from a reputable mill.
- FertiliserGrower meal (16% CP) and finisher meal (14–15% CP)
2–3 kg/pig/day · 30 kg to slaughter
Field tip
African swine fever is the biggest risk in Zimbabwe. Never feed swill/kitchen waste, control visitors, and keep bush pigs and stray pigs away from the unit.
The rest of this piggery (pork production) guide
- 5 more stages, from land preparation through to storage
- 8 more fertiliser, herbicide, pesticide and fungicide entries with rates
- All field tips, plus the printable and downloadable version
- Your own crop, cost and activity records in the FarmInvest app
Full farming cycle guides
Free and complete — land, equipment, crops, inputs and harvest.