CAMBODIA COMMUNITY PIG ENTERPRISE

For more information:

Ronaldo Estera Regional Program Manager Asia
ICS Asia head ofce D-19 Angkor shopping arcade. Siem Reap, Cambodia Ofce: + (855) (0)63 763 528 Mobile: + (855) 97 31 41 051 E-mail: ronaldo.estera@icsasia.org Skype: ics.ronaldo.estera

Joyce Ridderhof Social Business Developer

Smallepad 32 3811 MG Amersfoort The Netherlands Ofce:+ 31 33 303 0250 Mobile:+ 316 43 19 71 28 E-mail: joyce.ridderhof@ics.nl Skype: joyce.ridderhof

Check our website for all our activities: www.ics.nl

ICS-factfolder-pig enterprise-DEF.indd 1-2 04-04-13 10:38

CAMBODIA - COMMUNITY PIG ENTERPRISE

ICS (Investing in Children and their Societies) strives towards a better future for children in rural Africa and Asia. Through its projects and programs, it builds on a sustainable growth in welfare and wellbeing by simultaneously investing in economic and social opportunities and needs. The central building blocks of the work of ICS are social business, child protection and skillful parenting. The issue Many Cambodian women, in the attempt to raise additional income for the family, obtain micro-credit loans for raising pigs. In rural communities this venture is a very common way for families to raise household income. However, not all pig-raising efforts are successful. Some women enter into local arrangements where, in exchange for a loan, they are asked to raise pigs and cover the cost of maintenance including food, medicine, etc. When it is time to sell the pigs, the woman must also give 50% of her profits to her lender. This arrangement does not provide sustainable income. Community Pig Enterprises Although arrangements have the potential to be profitable, in practice this is rarely the case. While the women receive the piglets for free, they need to pay for the feeding and maintenance of the pigs themselves. The local breed of pigs needs between eight and ten months before it can be sold, and therefore the cost of raising them results in a considerable investment. When taking into account the time and effort spent during these months, the costs of raising the pigs often outweigh the returns from the sale of which the grower normally receives a 50% share. The business men (who only provide the piglets and have little other investments) enjoy much higher profits. Lacking the financial literacy to keep track of their expenditures, many women and households do not have clear insight into whether they have made a profit or not. A recent feasibility study shows that pig-raising in Cambodia only becomes profitable when having a minimum of approximately seven - ten pigs, while in current practice most households engaged in pig farming have no more than three.

The Community Pig Enterprise aims to develop a community pig-raising model centered on raising household income and skills. The model will offer a range of services such as high-end piglets, training on commercial pig-raising and marketing, veterinary support, piglet dispersal and a contract growing plan in Oddar Meanchey province. The project intends to invest in the pig-raising economy and support the pork value chain. The project will be primarily focused in Oddar Meanchey, but will also include neighboring provinces for market.

Goal The main goal of this project is to develop a competitive and economically viable local pork value chain in Oddar Meanchey that improves the income of smallholder producers and the quality of meat in local markets. It will do so by establishing a Community Pig Enterprise that makes available profitable contract growing arrangements for local smallholder producers. Increased profits will partly result from increasing the output of quality lean meat relative to the investments and by improving producers position in the chain.

In short
The Community Pig Enterprise has high quality breeds of sows. Their piglets are sold to contract farmers. ICS supports these farmers to raise the piglets in good health and sell them profitable to the market.

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