Empowerment of rural youth through backyard pig farming: A rewarding enterprise

A climate resilient backyard pig farming model was implemented in Singimari village of Cooch Behar district under the National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project by Cooch Behar Krishi Vigyan Kendra. Ghungroo pigs, a climate resilient indigenous breed of northern part of West Bengal, were introduced among rural youth and small farmers. The breed is well adaptedto low input production systems, possesses high prolificacy, better disease tolerance and performs efficiently under local climatic conditions. Scientific interventions such as low-cost housing, mineral supplementation, deworming, vaccination and feeding using locally available resources including rice bran, kitchen waste, colocasia and green fodder were demonstrated. The intervention significantly improved litter size, litter weight and piglet survival compared to local pigs.