How a Punjab farmer turned pig rearing into a multi-crore enterprise

Indian Express

27-04-2025

IN 2000, when 25-year-old Sukhwinder Singh Grewal, a marginal farmer with just 0.33 acres (1.5 bigha) in Kotli village of Ludhiana, decided to take up pig rearing, his friends and relatives severed ties with him. They told him that it was disgraceful and distanced themselves from him.
Now at 50, Grewal may not have got back his friends but is a known figure in the area and a sought-after guest at weddings and social gatherings.
His remarkable journey has not only earned him recognition but has also helped redefine the prospects of piggery in Punjab. Starting with just two sows (female pigs) and one boar (male pig) by investing Rs 15,000, Sukhwinder now owns over 250 pigs, including 225 breeding sows and remaining boars. He sells between 850 to 1,000 piglets & fatty pigs annually, and also sells 20 per cent of his pigs after processing in the form of meat and pickle. From piggery he is generating revenues of approximately Rs 2.0 to 2.5 crore, with a profit margin of around 40 per cent. This translates into annual earnings of Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1 crore, depending on market conditions.
The road to success wasn't easy for him. Having completed 10+2 and ITI, he aspired to do something in agriculture. But with just 0.33 acres, traditional farming offered little hope.
'My turning point came in 1999, When I was receiving dairy training at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Ludhiana, and a scientist there, Vinod Kumar Jindal, suggested I take up piggery. I was hesitant at first, but that decision changed my life,' he said, adding 'I started my big farm on my small piece of land, but my friends and relatives chose to snap ties with me. Now, 25 years later, the same people seek appointments from me .'
'I started small, but I never treated piggery as a side business. I took it seriously and in last 25 years trained myself every day—not just in Punjab or across India, but even abroad. I've visited five countries, including four in Europe and Canada, to learn modern piggery techniques. I took training in Holland and Canada, visited Euro livestock Expo in Germany several pig farms in Italy, and Belgium,' Sukhwinder said. 'In Europe, the US and Canada, people involved in pig farming have become billionaires and several of them are now big politicians, and businessmen.' Several pig rearers from Europe and Canada frequently visit his farm too.
He has also collaborated with Polar Genetics, Alberta (Canada), and running Indo-Canadian swine breeders pig farm in his village. His farm was the first in India where artificial insemination of pigs with the frozen semen, which was procured from Canada, was practised for the first time in India.
A female pig, he said, delivers piglets twice a year and can produce 25–30 piglets annually. With an average survival rate of 18 piglets per sow per year, even a beginner with 10 sows can expect around 180 piglets annually.
'But feeding these piglets properly so that they gain 20–25 kg within the first two months, managing their health, and ensuring the sow is ready to breed again within 4–5 months, requires meticulous planning, care, and significant investment,' he said. 'Without a sound feeding strategy and a proper marketing plan, the business is bound to fail.' Based on his 25 years of experience, Sukhwinder has calculated that even a single sow requires an investment of around Rs 1.70 lakh. This includes the cost of building a shed, feeding the sow through two deliveries a year, and the diet and care of her piglets. 'Unfortunately, most new farmers ignore these crucial expenses,' he said.
Most piglets are sold locally for Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500 to newcomers who raise them at home. Meanwhile, fatty pigs weighing around 100–120 kg are in high demand in Northeastern states like Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, where pork is a dietary staple. 'They prefer pigs from Punjab both for breeding and dietary purpose because of their quality,' said Sukhwinder, adding that such pigs—usually around seven months old—sell for Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 each.
Sukhwinder, who spent a lot of time in Northeast to study the market, believes that if the state supports small farmers mainly in training and marketing by opening processing units in Punjab, piggery could generate over Rs 200 crore annually for Punjab through sales to these states alone.
The actual weight of breeding pigs can go up to 350 kg for a male pig and 250 kg for a female. Punjab mainly breeds four varieties of pigs: the Large White Yorkshire, Landrace, Hampshire, and Duroc. And around 700 to 1000 small/marginal farmers are taking up piggery seriously in the state.
His efforts haven't gone unnoticed. he has received the Chief Minister's Award and multiple honours in the piggery sector. His pigs won several times in the fairs organised by the animal husbandry department and PAU.