Generally believed to be one of the largest producers of pork along the East Coast Demerara/West Coast Berbice corridor, Vasil Wood believes that after several decades there is still much more that needs to be done to create a thriving national pork production industry. When Stabroek Business visited the Goed Intent, Mahaica plot on which both his home and his farm are located, there was clear evidence of a measure of success realised over Wood’s more than three decades in the industry.
Like other pig farmers with whom this newspaper has spoken in recent years, however, Wood remains concerned about what he says is a permanent gap between effort and reward, which local pig farmers have had to endure. The challenges, he says, are persistent and formidable, ranging from frustrating fluctuations in both the supply and price of feed to a market that remains tightly controlled, largely by middle men and restaurateurs whose returns from the sector can equal and sometimes exceed those of the pig farmers.
Just a few days prior this interview, Wood had to travel as far as Nigg on the Corentyne coast to purchase rice bran, an essential part of the diet of the pigs that he rears. Wood says it is the uncertainties associated with feed supplies coupled with the voracious appetites of pigs that is one of the biggest challenges. The 104 bags of rice bran which he secured last week cost $700 per bag and will probably last around four weeks; rice bran is only one ingredient of the pigs’ diet.
Another ingredient, rice husk, also a byproduct of the rice industry, like rice bran is subject to the vagaries of supply and demand in the rice industry itself. Rice husk and rice bran, for example, are currently sold at around $500 per bag though sudden fluctuations in supply can see prices increasing by as much as $200 per bag.
Increased paddy exports mean a reduction in the volume of milled rice and, by extension, reduced supplies of byproducts to serve as feed for the pig industry. The same constraint applies during the out-of-crop period in the rice industry.
The mix of ingredients that comprise the pigs’ diet includes fish meal, the waste left behind by fishers and fish sellers. Wood says that while this protein element in the pigs’ diet is acquired at no cost there is still a cost associated with transporting it to the farm. The frequent scarcity of the ingredients that comprise the pigs’ diet means that pig farmers spend much of their waking hours either contemplating food sources or chasing leads associated with food availability.
Vitamins and medicines associated with de-worming can cost Wood up to $1800 per month.
Market demand makes issues of diet a key consideration. The demand for mostly lean, healthy pigs challenges farmers to apply the appropriate diet. Wood says buyers have become expert at assessing the ratio of fat to lean meat and are particularly reluctant to purchase pigs reared beyond seven months.
Prices have long been a bone of contention between pig farmer and middlemen who arrive at the farm gate looking for prices that guarantee their own profit. Wood says that while it could cost around $25,000 to rear a pig to 100 to 115 pounds, the selling price is unlikely to be more than $28,000. He says that the disparity between the returns being sought by the farmer and the price offered by middlemen is an issue that has to be settled if the industry is to survive.
Another major market-related concern has to do with negotiations between farmers and buyers for the restaurant industry. Buyers’ demands can include carcasses that are delivered de-boned and without heads, requirements that significantly reduce the returns to the pig farmer.
Stabroek Business’ own enquiries reveal that it is the middlemen – at least most of them – who are making a killing in the pork industry. Currently, the price of pork at the farm gate is between $260 and $280 per pound. On the retail market, various cuts of pork can range from $500 to $560 per pound. While Wood declined to discuss the details of the relations between farmers and middlemen he says he believes $350 per pound would be “a fair price” for farmers.
While the issue of better positioning pig farmers to benefit more from the industry they serve is supposed to be one of the primary objectives of the recently created Guyana Swine Producers Association, little has been heard from the body in recent months. The available evidence suggests that farmers on the East Coast Demerara/West Coast Berbice corridor are either turning their backs on the industry, or else, significantly scaling back on the levels of investment. “It is true that these days there are plenty of empty [pig] pens around,” Wood says.
Wood, however, is enduring. Concerned over the need to respond to market demand for a reduction in the volume of fat, he moved to acquire 50 Dutch Landrace pigs from the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) Landrace pigs are a common second breed in crossbreeding programmes in modern production, because of their good meat structure and maternal abilities. They are very efficient at converting food to meat and produce little excess fat. Accordingly, they are also ideally suited for bacon and ham production. Wood believes diversification into the bacon and ham sub-sector, is a pursuit that would offer additional market options to pig farmers.
The 54 year-old farmer credits the Institute of Private Enterprise Development (IPED) with providing access to capital for development. Loans acquired from IPED have been used for infrastructure development including the erection of concrete pens and the installation of water nipples to ensure a regular supply of fresh water for the pigs.
Wood is concerned that timely savings, investments and loan repayment are frequently compromised by a culture of extended credit and even further lengthy delays in payments to pig farmers. In his own case he says that payments can frequently be outstanding for many months, a circumstance that compromises cash flow and impedes the efficient execution of business.
Thieves, too, are the bane of his existence. The day before this interview, Wood lost four pigs to thieves. Theft, he says, is a regular occurrence.
Wood and his wife Yvonne both grew up in a pig-rearing environment; their parents having been part of the sector. Wood says his own business will be passed to his sons. In a matter of weeks each of his two sons will be gifted two pigs and appropriate sums of money to start their own enterprises. That, he says, is his way of ensuring that the legacy is sustained.
