The one-kanal miracle: from 1/8 of an acre, Moga farmer’s pigs earn him Rs 61 lakh per annum

“One kanal of scientific pig farming can generate income comparable to what a farmer earns from nearly 50 acres under Punjab’s wheat-paddy cycle. The difference is that my revenue keeps coming throughout the year.”

Even after prices crashed, from about Rs 6,500 to Rs 3,500 per piglet and from Rs 220 to Rs 130 per kg for fattened pigs, the farm still generates around Rs 61 lakh annually with a profit margin of 25-30 per cent. (Express)

His farm currently maintains around 150 pigs, including 40 breeding sows. A sow has a gestation period of around 114 days, followed by nearly 60 days of nursing before piglets are weaned. Each litter produces about eight healthy surviving piglets on average. Piglets are usually sold at 60-65 days of age, while others are retained for fattening. Market-weight pigs reach around 110-115 kg in about 210-220 days before sale.

Ironically, pig farming was never meant to be his main business.

Until 2019, the family’s livelihood came from a fleet of nearly 10 commercial vehicles operating across northern India. Pig farming began as a side venture after Jasmeet underwent scientific training at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, and invested around ₹3.5 lakh.

His family was unconvinced.

“They would say, ‘Assi surran wale kahaawange’ (people will call us pig rearers),” he recalls. “But everything changed when pigs saved us economically during Covid.”

Within months of launching the farm, the pandemic paralysed the transport business. “Our trucks stopped overnight. Payments got stuck. The losses ran into lakhs,” he says. “But the pigs kept breeding. Piglets kept being born, buyers kept coming. Had I not started pig farming before Covid, recovering from the transport losses would have been extremely difficult.”

Within a year, the side business had become the family’s primary source of income.

Today, the farm rears Large White Yorkshire, Hampshire, Landrace and crossbred pigs and maintains around 150 animals, including 40 breeding females. Every year, they produce nearly 350 piglets and another 350-400 market-ready pigs, ensuring year-round cash flow.

Today, the farm rears Large White Yorkshire, Hampshire, Landrace and crossbred pigs and maintains around 150 animals, including 40 breeding females (Express)

Even after prices crashed, from about Rs 6,500 to Rs 3,500 per piglet and from Rs 220 to Rs 130 per kg for fattened pigs, the farm still generates around Rs 61 lakh annually with a profit margin of 25-30 per cent.

Jasmeet blames weak marketing, not weak demand. “Demand is strong. The problem is there’s no organised government-backed marketing system. Traders control procurement, so farmers sell at whatever price they’re offered.”

Since 2019, the farm has sold around 5,000 piglets and fattened pigs, generating business worth several crore rupees.

He now trains aspiring pig farmers free of cost and says scientific management is the key. “Eighty per cent of success depends on nutrition and management,” he says, pointing to the farm’s strict biosecurity measures against diseases such as African Swine Fever and Classical Swine Fever.

Punjab has around 1,200 pig farmers and an estimated pig population of 45,000-47,000, but Jasmeet believes the sector is still underexploited.

“The Seven Sisters alone buy pigs worth nearly Rs 800 crore every year from producing states. Punjab has the potential to build a business worth hundreds of crores if processing and organised marketing improve,” he says, noting that the National Livestock Mission offers financial assistance of up to ₹1 crore for scientific piggery projects.

For Jasmeet, the biggest lesson from the pandemic is simple: “In today’s agriculture, knowledge is as important as land. Sometimes the biggest opportunity isn’t found on large farms, but in rethinking what a farm can produce.”