PIG BREEDS REARED IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria Pig rearing/ Farming and Piggery industry are still in the low ebb, hence more effort is needed to create awareness on pig, as pig meat pork is a good source of animal protein. The breeds of pigs mostly reared in Nigeria are the Large White, Landrace, the Duroc and the various crosses of the above named pig breeds. Pigs utilises waste by-products from crops or industrial processing. They are efficient converter of waste by-products of crops or industrial processing into meat pork. Pigs does not utilise fibre or roughages since they do not have cellulase, which is an enzyme secreted by micro-organisms in the intestine that help in the digestion of cellulose, ligins and fibres unlike ruminants animals. Pigs are cheaper to maintain as it can feed on a variety of materials hence its economic importance to food security.