Status and trend of Piggery sector in the North Eastern region of India: A critical analysis

Abstract

Pig farming is a popular venture in the North Eastern Region (NER) for pork production and for generating additional source of income for the rural people. This study focuses on the trend of piggery sector in the NER during the years and its status up to the present census. Secondary data from different sources were used for this study to draw conclusive results. The pig resource in the NER in 2019 was 4.24 million, which has increased by 7.29 percent as compared to previous census. The indigenous breeds comprise of about 67.89 percent of the total pig population in the NER. The share of NER to country’s total pig population was 46.85 percent in 2019. Amongst the North Eastern states, Assam has the largest pig population (2.09 million) with a share of about 49.47 percent. Out of the eight states in the NER, only the state of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram had observed an increased in the pig population resources during the current census. The percentage change of pig resources in the NER in the rural areas was only 5.51 percent, whereas in the urban areas, the percentage change was 33.78 percent during 2019. The state of Meghalaya and Assam observed a huge increase in the pig population in the urban areas with a percentage change of about +947.31 and +333.54 percent, respectively during 2012-2019. The pork production in the NER as of 2018-2019 was 85.1 thousand tons, which has declined by -0.37 percent over previous year. The share of NER in pork production has slightly declined during 2018-2019 (21.04%) over the previous year. Comparatively, the NER average yield (38.89 kg/pig) is much better than the national average yield of pork production (37.67 kg/pig) during 2018-2019. Current analysis shows that pig rearing is a popular venture in the NER. Though majority of the pig population consists of non-descript type with lower productive and reproductive performances, implementation of proper cross-breeding programmes and even development of popular and locally acceptable new breeds of crossbred desi pigs with high productive exotic breeds can be a viable option to meet the demand and to remove any production deficit in consumption if arises. Further, a much closer analysis of the pig population and status of pig farming at the village level will help in providing an idea for better planning and implementation of newer schemes.