Piggery helps bring the bacon home for Masala
He started with the piggery in early March with three pigs and to date, the pigs have surpassed 13 with other breeds being procured for variety to our customers.
LIMPOPO – Masala Mpheni Ligege, a small-scale pig farmer in Duthuni village outside Thohoyandou in the Vhembe district, has built up Duthuni Piggery from nothing to a fully-fledged commercial farming enterprise.
He said he realised there was a demand for fresh pig meat in his area, which was why he decided to become a supplier of pork meat and in so doing close the gap in the market.
Legege holds a national diploma in extractive metallurgy from the University of Johannesburg, a B.Tech in engineering metallurgy at the Tshwane University of Technology, an M.Eng in metallurgical engineering from the Tshwane University of Technology, and also enrolled for a Black Belt Lean Six Sigma at 2KO Afrika.
Ligege explains that, as with other farmers, cost changes affect the cash flow of his operation.
“Not only do feed prices increase, but the cost of veterinary services also goes up. Creep and grower feed have become particularly expensive. Despite these high costs, he has continued to buy the best feed available as part of his efforts to deliver the best-quality pork,” said Ligege.
He said he also follows commercial grower methods in terms of artificial insemination, biosecurity, and good farming practices.
“As an expansion of my business, I started with the piggery in early March with three pigs. To date, the pigs have surpassed 13 with other breeds being procured for variety to our customers. Providing food security to people, providing jobs and creating a better life for the community means a lot to me as a farmer. My goal is to create a processing plant to create value-added products and offer training to other businesses.
“The most challenging part is bridging the market. To overcome this I have started collaborating with other farmers to have a centralised abattoir to create our value chain,” he said.
He told CV that his family is very supportive, and his mother helped him by giving him the land to start the piggery.
“My siblings help with marketing and penetrating the market. I divide my days into thirds, one third is for business, the second third for my studies and the last third is for me to find inspiration, advice and cultivate my passion. It is a very difficult and challenging journey but I am soldiering on. The learning curve is amazing.”
