Pig Farming Level 3

Who it is for. People who have completed Pig Farming Level 2, or who already manage a herd of sows and can show the Level 2 skills. In Ghana's framework, National Proficiency II leads to National Certificate I, which covers complex work with minimum supervision. This module sits at about that level: you work with little supervision, solve non-routine problems, supervise others and run an enterprise.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. Units 1 to 4 are advanced pig skills and leading others. Units 5 to 7 build your own business: registration, books and growth. The Hub's Money Skills for Small Business Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 teach general bookkeeping and venture basics; this module goes deeper for a piggery.

Competency standard

Range. A farrow-to-finish unit of 10 sows, with a scale-up plan to 20. Evidence. Unit sizing sheet; scaled layout drawing; batch movement plan.

Choose a system and scale

Intensive pig farming needs major investment and carries great risks without experience; grow step by step. A farrow-to-finish unit brings in no new pigs except breeding stock, which is a big biosecurity advantage.

Size the unit (10 sows, example)

Space and building rules

Layout principles

1. One-way pig flow: farrowing → weaners → growers → finishers → loading bay. Pigs never move backwards.
2. Clean and dirty routes: feed comes in on one side; manure and dead pigs leave on another.
3. Loading bay at the fence: trucks never enter; load and unload outside the fence.
4. Isolation pen far from the main houses, downwind, for new breeding stock.
5. Feed store dry, rat-proof, close to the gate so feed trucks do not enter the clean zone.
6. Water: a tank or borehole sized for at least two days of drinking plus washing; work it out from the water rule above.
7. Manure: drains to a covered pit, compost area or digester at least 30 m from and downhill of any well.
8. Shade and wind: long side across the prevailing wind; trees as a wind-break towards neighbours.
9. Room to grow: leave space to add pens for 20 sows.

All-in/all-out

Disinfect housing after pigs leave and before new pigs come in. The order is remove dung and bedding, wash, dry, then disinfect. Plan the batch so each grower pen is emptied completely, cleaned and left to dry before the next batch.

Check yourself 1

1. Why is farrow-to-finish safer for biosecurity than fattening bought-in weaners?
2. What does "one-way pig flow" mean?
3. Why build one more grower pen than you need?

Competency standard

Range. At least 12 months of herd records (real or practice). Evidence. KPI sheet; two fault-tree analyses with actions; follow-up report.

Key performance indicators

The FUNAAB growth figures are for Large White × Landrace crosses. Use your own first year as your baseline.

A KPI review, step by step

1. Collect the year's sow cards, litter records, pen weights, feed invoices and sales book.
2. Put them in a spreadsheet: one row per litter, one row per pen batch.
3. Calculate each KPI above, for the year and by quarter.
4. Mark each KPI green (on or better than target), amber (within 10%) or red.
5. Pick the two red KPIs that cost the most money.
6. Use a fault tree (below) for each.
7. Agree one action, one person and one date for each, and check the KPI again in 3 months.

Fault trees

Pre-weaning deaths too high

FCR worse than target

Sows returning to heat or not cycling

Causes include long suckling, poor condition, cut feed after weaning, heat above 35 °C, low light, boar problems; brucellosis, leptospirosis and parvovirus can cause abortions and losses. Check the boar's service record first, then call the vet.

Culling decisions

Write a culling rule and apply it every weaning: for example (example rule) a sow is culled after two returns to heat, a litter below 6 born alive twice, a damaged udder, lameness, or a sow that was thought pregnant and did not farrow. Replace with gilts selected at about 3 months from your best sows.

Check yourself 2

1. How do you calculate pre-weaning mortality?
2. Give three things to check when FCR is high.
3. Why look at the age at which piglets die?

Competency standard

Range. One commercial or semi-commercial pig farm. Evidence. Vet agreement and calendar; scored audit with actions; compliance register; contingency plan and drill report.

Working with your vet

• Agree in writing: visit frequency, what the vet checks, who may phone the vet out of hours, and how instructions are written down.
• The vet writes every medicine instruction; you keep the medicine record with batch numbers and withdrawal dates (Level 2).
• Medicines: only FDA-registered products. Germs become resistant when medicines are used at the wrong dose, too often or for too short a time; Ghana has a national action plan on antimicrobial resistance.
• Treated pigs are not sold or eaten before the withdrawal period ends.
• Several abortions at once, sudden deaths, or bleeding from body openings: call the vet the same hour.

Biosecurity audit sheet (score 0, 1 or 2 per line)

Total out of 24. Any 0 on perimeter, swill or dead pigs is an urgent fix, whatever the total.

Compliance register

Which EPA category a piggery of a given size falls into, and its fee, were not found: ask the Authority's Western Region office in writing and keep the reply.

ASF contingency plan

1. Trigger: any sudden death, or two or more pigs with high fever, purple skin, vomiting or bloody scour.
2. First hour: stop all movement and sales; call the District Veterinary Officer; lock the gate and post signs; workers stay on site until they wash and change.
3. Carcasses: cover and leave for the vet's instructions on safe disposal.
4. Records: prepare the herd list, movement and sales records for the last 30 days, and the visitor book; the vet will ask.
5. Neighbours: with the vet's agreement, warn nearby pig farmers.
6. Money: ASF has no treatment or vaccine, and compensation is at the Minister's discretion, not a legal right. Keep an emergency reserve (for example 3 months of fixed costs, example), and ask insurers what pig cover exists (Unit 5).
7. Restocking: only when the vet says, after cleaning and disinfection; new stock from trusted sources.

Diseases that affect your staff and customers

Pork tapeworm passes to people through undercooked infected pork, and its eggs from human faeces infect pigs; prevention includes penning pigs, sanitation and meat inspection. Provide a toilet and hand-washing station for workers. Brucellosis can pass from pigs to people: gloves for farrowing and abortions.

Check yourself 3

1. Name three lines on the biosecurity audit that must never score 0.
2. Who decides when you may restock after an outbreak?
3. Why keep an emergency reserve?

Competency standard

Range. A farm with 2 or more workers (or a role-play team). Evidence. Three SOPs; one weekly roster; a training record; a safety and welfare checklist.

What a good SOP looks like

1. Title and purpose. "Morning feed and water, grower house: so every pig gets the right feed and clean water before 8 am."
2. Who. The worker on the roster.
3. Tools and PPE. Farm boots, overalls, gloves, scoop, scale, record sheet.
4. Steps. Numbered, short, one action each.
5. Checks. What "done right" looks like, and what to report.
6. Stop rules. When to stop and call the supervisor or the vet.
7. Record. What to write, where.

Example SOP: daily health round (grower house).

1. Boot change and footbath at the house door.
2. Stand at each pen for one minute before entering. Count the pigs.
3. Note any pig not getting up, not eating, coughing, scouring, or with purple skin.
4. Check drinkers and troughs.
5. Write the pen number and what you saw on the round sheet.
6. Stop rule: a dead pig, or two sick pigs with fever or purple skin: leave the pen, lock the gate, phone the supervisor at once (ASF plan).
7. Wash hands; sign the sheet.

SOPs every piggery needs

Rosters

Rules: no task without a named person; a back-up for each task; the farrowing on-call is on the roster; nobody works every day without rest. The Labour Act gives workers 15 working days' paid leave a year; plan cover.

Training and checking

1. Show the SOP and do the task while the worker watches.
2. Do together the next day.
3. Watch the worker do it alone and tick a checklist.
4. Sign the training record (name, SOP, date, trainer).
5. Check weekly with spot checks; praise good work; retrain if needed.

Safety for workers

Welfare for pigs

Healthy pigs grow faster. Check daily: shade and cooling, clean water, enough floor and feeder space (Unit 1 table), no overcrowding, no mixing of big and small pigs, calm handling with a board, no beating or kicking, prompt vet care for sick or injured pigs. A Ghana pig welfare code was not found (not verified).

Accessibility in your team

Under the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), persons with disabilities have rights to employment; access to public facilities in Ghana remains poor. Write SOPs with pictures and large print, use flashing as well as sound alarms, put feed bins and scales at reach height, and assign tasks by ability: records, health rounds, feeding from outside pens and sales suit many workers with disabilities.

Check yourself 4

1. Name five parts of a good SOP.
2. What are the five steps of training a worker on an SOP?
3. Name two worker hazards on a piggery and their controls.

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own planned piggery. Evidence. Registration checklist; start-up budget; payroll sheet; one-page business plan draft.

Choose a legal form

Companies file an annual return (GH¢175 a year; late GH¢1,000 for 1–4 years, GH¢2,000 for 5 or more; first return 18 months after incorporation).

Which suits a piggery? A family farm often starts as a business name. A group of farmers sharing a boar, feed buying and transport may suit a cooperative or partnership. A farm that borrows heavily, employs several workers and faces ASF risk may prefer a company, because it limits what the owners can lose (teaching advice, not a legal opinion; ask a lawyer).

Registration and permit steps (in order)

1. Talk to the Assembly first about land use and whether pigs are allowed at your site. Some Assemblies prohibit keeping swine in a town without a permit. STMA lists a fee for registering premises for rearing livestock and a livestock farms line in its 2025 fees; the exact figure for your farm size must be confirmed with the Assembly.
2. Tax number. Your Ghana Card number is your individual TIN since 1 April 2021; a company gets a TIN after ORC registration.
3. ORC registration (fees above). Business-name renewals can be done on USSD *222#.
4. Assembly business operating permit. STMA runs a permit portal (tcc.stma.gov.gh); annual fees are due by 31 March.
5. Environmental Protection Authority. Ask whether your piggery must register or get a permit; operating without a valid permit where one is required is an offence. Undertakings likely to have a significant environmental impact must register before building.
6. Veterinary Services. Introduce your farm to the District Veterinary Officer; ask about movement permits for buying breeding stock and selling pigs across districts.
7. Fire. Ask the Ghana National Fire Service about a fire certificate for feed stores and offices.
8. Processing pork? If you plan to package pork products, you will need FDA registration. Locally made food product registration is GH¢100 (micro) to GH¢500 (large) per annum under L.I. 2481. Slaughter must be at a registered slaughterhouse.
9. SSNIT employer registration before you hire.
10. Insurance. Use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission. The Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool piloted cover for the untimely death of smallholders' livestock in 2017; current cover for pigs was not verified. Ask about fire, buildings, equipment, stock and public liability too.

Tax choices

• Modified Taxation Scheme (sole traders): turnover GH¢20,001 to GH¢750,000 and not VAT-registered: 3% of turnover. GRA's own page still showed GH¢500,000 on 8 October 2026. Partners and owners of several businesses are excluded.
• VAT: 20% in total from 2026 under Act 1151; registration threshold for goods GH¢750,000 a year; a VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme. Whether sales of live pigs or fresh pork are taxable, zero-rated or exempt was not verified. Ask the GRA in writing.
• Companies: 25% standard rate; provisional tax quarterly; annual return within four months of year-end. The 18.5% and 12.5% rates apply to manufacturers in some locations; whether pig farming qualifies was not verified.
• Withholding: large buyers such as hotels may withhold 3% of payments for goods; keep the certificate.

Location settings that give good returns

Start-up budget for a 10-sow farrow-to-finish unit (all figures example)

(Arithmetic checked by script: 120,000 + 60,000 + 25,000 + 8,000 + 75,000 + 2,000 = 290,000.) The first porkers are sold about 9 to 10 months after the gilts are mated (114 days pregnancy + 160–200 days to sale), so working capital must cover that long wait.

Finance options

• Own savings and family, with a written agreement.
• Savings groups and susu for small amounts (terms not verified).
• Banks and microfinance. The Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14.00%; loan rates were not verified. Lenders will ask for records and a cash forecast (Units 6 and 7).
• GIRSAL guarantees agricultural loans through about 40 partner lenders.
• Ghana Enterprises Agency: SME GO, Business-in-a-Box, SME High Growth, Kaizen; Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West.
• Ghana EXIM Bank SME facilities with a Takoradi office.
• 2026 Budget: GH¢401 million for a Women's Development Bank, GH¢170 million for a National Apprenticeship Programme, GH¢160 million for Adwumawura. Eligibility was not verified.
• Pig Farmers Association of Ghana says financing is farmers' main challenge and is exploring input financing.
• Assemblies' disability fund: ask your Assembly about support for persons with disabilities; the share was not verified for this module.

Hiring and supervising

Roles: stockperson (feeding, cleaning, health rounds); farrowing attendant; records and sales clerk (can be part-time); night watch at farrowing times; driver (hired as needed).

Pay and law:

• Minimum wage 2026: GH¢21.77 a day, about GH¢587.79 a month at 27 days.
• Written contract for work of 6 months or more (s.12); written statement of terms within 2 months (s.13); 15 working days' paid leave (s.20); 12 weeks' maternity leave (s.57); casual workers are paid at least the minimum for each day (s.74).
• SSNIT: worker 5.5% + employer 13% = 18.5% of basic pay; paid by the 14th of the next month; late payment 3% a month.
• PAYE from 1 September 2026: first GH¢588 a month at 0%, next 80 at 5%, next 100 at 10%, next 2,900 at 17.5%, then higher bands; SSNIT is deducted first; due by the 15th.

Market yourself

• WhatsApp Business catalogue: porkers by weight and date ready, breeding gilts with records; clean-pen photos only.
• Google Business Profile with your farm's location and phone (use the loading bay as the meeting point, never the pens).
• Signage at the road; buyers stay outside the fence.
• Referrals and regular buyers: butchers, chop bars, hotels, caterers; give first choice and fair weights.
• Proof: show health and withdrawal records and a vet's visit log.

Accessibility

Plan level, firm paths between houses; a seated records and sales desk; feed bins and scale displays at reach height; picture SOPs; visual alarms; and roles by ability, as in Unit 4.

Check yourself 5

1. What is the ORC fee for a business name, and the yearly renewal?
2. Up to what turnover can a sole trader use the Modified Taxation Scheme in 2026?
3. When must SSNIT and PAYE be paid?

Competency standard

Range. One month of a 10-sow farrow-to-finish unit (example figures). Evidence. Completed cash book, herd valuation, P&L, balance sheet, trial balance, break-even and month-end checklist.

The records

Keep records in Ghana for at least 6 years from the end of the year of assessment. Assets = liabilities + owner's equity; debits increase assets and expenses, credits increase liabilities, capital and income; a trial balance is a partial check. Small-business accounts follow IFRS for SMEs, with a new edition from 1 January 2027.

Valuing the herd

Pigs are your biggest stock. At every month-end:

1. Count every pig by class.
2. Value each class by a fixed method, for example (example method) a price per head for sows and boars, and a price per kg of estimated live weight for growing pigs, a little below the market price to be careful.
3. Write the method in your books and use it every month.
4. Livestock output for the month = pig sales + closing herd value − opening herd value − pigs bought.

This shows the real result of a month in which you sold few pigs but your growers gained weight. Ask your accountant which valuation method the tax authority accepts (not verified here).

Depreciation

Straight-line depreciation = (cost − end value) ÷ useful life.

• Equipment GH¢60,000, 5 years, no end value: 60,000 ÷ 60 months = GH¢1,000 a month.
• Buildings GH¢120,000, 20 years (example life), no end value: 120,000 ÷ 240 = GH¢500 a month.

A worked month: October (all figures example)

Break-even price, margin and mark-up

Debtors and credit

Most pig farms lose money on credit to butchers. Rules: written terms (days, limit, a deposit), a receipt with weight and price, a call at day 25, no new credit while a bill is past 30 days. Weigh every pig at sale with the buyer present.

Reconciliation: MoMo and bank

Every week, match your MoMo and bank books to the statements. Example: the MoMo book shows GH¢27,360 received; the statement shows GH¢27,086 after charges of GH¢274. Record the charge as an expense; book and statement then agree. An unexplained difference is a warning: find it the same week.

Taxes in the books

• PAYE by the 15th, SSNIT by the 14th.
• Modified Taxation Scheme: 3% of turnover if eligible. Example: a year's sales of GH¢470,880 (Unit 7 forecast) × 3% = GH¢14,126.40. The business is below the GH¢750,000 MTS ceiling and the GH¢750,000 VAT threshold for goods; the VAT status of live pigs was not verified.
• Companies: quarterly provisional tax and an annual return within 4 months.
• Withholding certificates from large buyers reduce your tax: keep them.

Software and calendar

Use a spreadsheet, or a free plan such as Zoho Books or Wave.

Month-end routine

Check yourself 6

1. What is livestock output?
2. Why can a profitable month leave cash lower?
3. What is the difference between margin and mark-up?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own business. Evidence. Growth plan; 12-month cash forecast; one-page plan; panel score.

Quality and customer care

• Sell healthy pigs, past any withdrawal date, weighed in front of the buyer, with a receipt.
• Be on time; tell regular buyers two weeks before pigs are ready.
• Keep a complaint book and fix the cause.
• Show buyers your health and vet records.

Pricing strategy

• Know your break-even price per kg (Unit 6) before you talk price.
• Watch the association's farm-gate price and local prices; in 2023 they were GH¢30 per kg live and GH¢45 carcass, and prices in towns are higher.
• Time farrowings so more pigs are ready for Christmas and Easter (plan 114 days + about 160–200 days to sale back from the festival).
• Sell breeding gilts with records at a premium only if your records and health status justify it.

Value addition, contracts and partnerships

• Carcass sales through an approved slaughterhouse with meat inspection; dressing about 75–80%.
• Processed pork (sausages, smoked pork) needs FDA product registration (GH¢100–500 per annum by size) and a hygienic facility.
• Supply contracts with hotels, caterers and chop bars: write weight, price per kg, delivery day, payment days and what happens in a disease restriction.
• Group action: join the Pig Farmers Association of Ghana or a local group for prices, input financing and disease alerts.
• Manure: biogas for the farm and compost for vegetable farmers.

Scaling carefully

Records for lenders, ethics and succession

• Lenders want 12 months of books, a herd inventory, a cash forecast and evidence of sales.
• Ethics: never sell sick pigs or pork from treated pigs before withdrawal; never hide a disease; pay workers on time; treat neighbours fairly about smell.
• Succession: train a family member or senior worker on every SOP; write down passwords, buyers, suppliers and the vet's details.

A 12-month cash forecast (all figures example)

Assumptions: the Unit 6 farm; GH¢32 per kg live, 95 kg per porker; 25% of porker sales on 30-day credit, collected the next month; a cull sow (160 kg at GH¢25) every second month; monthly cash costs GH¢35,462 (feed 24,000, other costs 5,712, loan and interest 2,750, drawings 3,000); GH¢2,500 for permits and insurance in February; a new farrowing crate GH¢6,000 in June; opening cash GH¢19,898 and October's debtors GH¢9,120 collected in November. Tax and depreciation are left out of the cash flow. (Arithmetic checked by script.)

Sales include cull sows in Dec, Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug and Oct (GH¢4,000 each).

Reading the forecast.

• Year: 147 porkers and 6 culls; sales GH¢470,880.
• Cash grows from GH¢19,898 to GH¢55,974. The tightest months are January (a low sales month after Christmas) and June (the new crate).
• Cash out is almost the same every month because the herd eats every day; cash in swings with sales. That is why the Christmas plan matters.
• Turnover is below GH¢750,000, so as a sole trader the farm could use the Modified Taxation Scheme: about GH¢14,126 a year at 3%.
• Test it: what if the price falls to GH¢28? What if feed rises 15%? What if a movement ban stops sales for two months? (A two-month stop removes about GH¢73,000 of cash in while cash out continues: the farm would run out of cash within the first month of the stop without a reserve.)

Business ideas for growth

Capstone

Present to a panel: a one-page business plan and a 12-month cash forecast for your own piggery.

Check yourself 7

1. Name four checks before growing from 10 to 20 sows.
2. What does a stress test show?
3. What registration does processed pork need?

1. A 10-sow herd has 22.4 litters a year with 7.47 pigs weaned per litter. How many pigs weaned a year?
2. Name four layout principles for a piggery.
3. A herd had 200 born alive and 34 died before weaning. What is pre-weaning mortality?
4. Give two causes of high FCR and their fixes.
5. Name five lines of a biosecurity audit.
6. Under which Act must owners notify disease, and is compensation a right?
7. What must an SOP include?
8. What are the ORC fees for a business name and a partnership?
9. A stockperson earns GH¢1,200. What is the employer's SSNIT?
10. Equipment costing GH¢36,000 lasts 6 years with no end value. What is the monthly depreciation?
11. Sales 40,000; closing herd 85,000; opening herd 80,000; no pigs bought. What is livestock output?
12. Cost GH¢25 per kg, price GH¢30. What are the margin and mark-up?

Best next reads: Agrodok 1, Pig keeping in the tropics; the Hub's Money Skills for Small Business Level 2, Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2, Animal Feed Formulation Level 3 and Bio Digester Technology manuals.

What this module does not cover: medicine, vaccine and hormone doses; castration and other cutting acts; artificial insemination; slaughterhouse operation; detailed pork processing; legal or tax advice for your own case (ask a lawyer or accountant).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.