![]() ![]() Some developed for pig feeding, abroad are very sophisticated and are intended for factory farming. But, for farmers these software packages are expensive ( Thomson and Nolan, 2001) and are developed mainly for commercial dairy and poultry production. Many feed-formulation software like FeedSmart ( Dobos and Fulkerson, 2004), InraPorc ( Van Milgen et al., 2008), Winfeed (Feedsoft (MakeFeed ( Nath. In the context of inadequate extension staff, improper feeding and poor production need for an information and communication technology (ICT) tool which can overcome all the above mentioned constraints was strongly felt and so the idea of development of need based feed formulation software was conceived. This calls for the efficient and judicious use of the available feed resources in commercial piggery. The deficiency of more than 60% of the concentrated feed resource in the country is a major threat to the pork industry (NRC on Pig, vision 2030). Total availability of concentrate feed ingredients for livestock feeding was estimated to be about 23 million tonnes and the requirement is 53 million tonnes (NABCONS, 2007). Over 35% of the world’s cereals are fed to livestock ( Trostle, 2008), whereas in India, ≤ 10% of the coarse grains produced (40.5 million tonnes) in the country is used for livestock feeding. Due to low genetic merit and improper feeding average meat yield of pigs in India is only 35 kg / animal, which is about 55% less than corresponding value of the world average (FAOSTAT, 2012). These factors have led to the shift from open grazing-based pig production to concentrate feed based commercial production in many parts of the country. Thus the present shortfall is 0.56 million tonnes or 63.63%. ![]() The total pork requirement of India is around 0.88 million tonnes (NRC on Pig, vision 2030) against this the country produces only 0.32 million tonnes (FAOSTAT, 2012). Projected per-capita demand for meat in India is 11.8 kg in 2015 and 17.9 kg in 2030 ( Keyzer M.A. The spurts in the economic growth, increased per capita income over the decades have diversified food habits of the people in India from staple foods towards protein rich foods like meat and dairy products. The average price quoted on PFF was rupees 1,188. ![]() Post development assessment showed that utility index of the software was found to be very high (UI = 0.76) with maximum willingness to pay (UII = 0.9). Even with good digital literacy most of the commercial pig farmers were not aware of feed formulation software but, majority of them were interested to use it. Average body weight of fatteners at 6 months and litter size was found to be 37% and 29.72% less than the attainable production. The study revealed that majority of commercial pig farmers were not aware of balanced feeding despite 83% of literacy. PFF was administered among 90 respondents including academicians, field veterinarians and commercial pig farmers (30 respondents from each group) in two states to assess the perceived utility of PFF. Based on the need, software called “Pig Feed Formulator (PFF)” was developed to assist the pig farmers in on-farm feed formulation using locally available feed ingredients. A sample of 100 commercial pig farmers across five states of India was interviewed to assess the needs and performance of commercial pig farms. The present study was designed to study these issues and develop a need based pig feed formulation software. There has been limited information about feeding system, production performance, needs and constraints of these farms due to their scattered spatial distribution. Pig production in India have come a long way from traditional open grazing-based pig production to concentrate feed based commercial production in certain pockets of India. ![]()
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