A Study on Swine Management Practices Adopted by the Rabha Community of Assam, India

Abstract

Pig farming plays a significant role in boosting the socioeconomic status of the tribal farmers of Assam and hence an extensive study was carried out to find out the various swine management practices adopted by the farmers in Kamrup and Goalpara districts of Assam where majority of the Rabha tribe resides. The results from the study revealed that majority of the farmers reared crossbred pigs (85.00%), followed by non-descript (14.00%) and both non-descript and crossbred pigs (1.00%). 86.66% pig farmers reared pigs for fattening, 6.67% for breeding and both fattening and breeding. Majority of the pig farmers adopted natural service for breeding of their pigs (87.33%), followed by artificial insemination (10.67%) and both natural service and artificial insemination (2.00%). 87.00% provided service once after onset of heat to the sows, 6.00%  provided service twice at 12-hour interval and 7.00% of the farmers kept no record of the number of services received by the sow. 10.00% of the sows farrowed twice a year, 2.00% farrowed once a year and 0.33% thrice a year. 86.33% of the farmers never wean their piglets, 11.00% wean piglets before 2 months and 2.67% wean after 2 months of age. The average age at maturity and first service was 183.95±3.23 days and 205.26±2.89 days respectively. Average litter size at birth and at weaning was 8.37±0.38 and 6.13±0.35 respectively. Castration of piglets, regular deworming and vaccination, special care of pregnant and farrowing sows, care of newborn piglets including cutting of needle teeth and cleaning of pig sties was practiced by 75.00%, 8.66%, 7.67%, 7% and 1.67% respectively.  The study revealed that the demand for piggery entrepreneurship has been gaining importance in the tribal areas of Assam and can play a significant role in generating employment and providing a stable source of income to the farmers. It is hence the need of the hour to promote sustainable animal husbandry practices with scientific intervention and help in socioeconomic upliftment of the tribal farmers.