Pig as pet

I know the word " pig as pet " sounds funny to some people. It probably because they are unaware or they see pigs useful for only commercial purpose. Pigs are intelligent and can be trained to perform numerous tricks and task.

Pigs are social, charming, emotional, odour free, sensitive and easily bind with humans. Recently they have enjoyed the quality of being widely admired as house pet particularly the dwarf breed which is very sensitive and the pot bellied pig (PBP) the commonly used breed as pig pet. Pigs get attracted easily to humans, they will readily roll over for a tummy rub as well as snuggle with you. They don't bark, prowl the streets or spread rabies as compared to dogs..

While pigs are trainable and can learn at a faster rate than dogs, pig behaviour is far different from dog behaviour.As eager as a dog can be to please his master, a pig's respect,trust and cooperation must be earned. If the pig should have its way,you would be pleasing it. You cannot force a pig to do what it doesn't want to do, it has to be it's idea. Don't  expect your pig to jump on you and lick your face after coming from work..Having a pet pig is like having a two year old child.

Pigs are intelligent, smart and they can be manipulative, demanding, and stubborn. They can easily get bored, depressed, I'll tempered, aggressive and destructive if not given attention by a loving carer. ..Pigs are emotional and territorial. As with any other pet, it's important to teach your pig good manners, pigs love to learn tricks such as sitting, turning circles, shaking hands,retrieving objects and all others..They are capable of learning many behaviours and words, even full sentences like"sit" "be calm"..They appreciate and seek out human company.

The more interesting part is that pigs are inexpensive to care for, Firstly,  make sure you can easily reach your vertinary doctor incase it gets ill, if pigs are properly cared for, they don't easily get ill..
Secondly, pigs are omnivores, they practically feed on anything,  give your pet pig a supplementary feed to be healthy. The quality of feed depends on age, size, and activity level of the pig. Avoid feeding table - scraps to your pig pet. Your piggy ain't a garbage disposal.

Make sure your pig have their outdoor time because of their nature of rooting and digging, ensure you provide a properly secured yard outside with beddings and a overhead shelter to protect against rain and excessive sunshine.  You will need to "piggy proof" your house as you would do to any other pet, make sure your household cleansing products, medicines, aerosols, perfumes and other toxins are kept away from your pig's reach.
Pigs do not have sweat glands, so they will attempt to cool down by rolling in water or mum, so a wallow or a small Puddle should be provided for it to cool off.

It's high time you take a pig as a pet, I'm sure you won't regret it...

Agriculture - The future of Nigeria

Nigeria is categorized under the developing countries because  we have not been able to utilize and maximize our potentials and prospects. Nigeria was food self-sufficient in the 1960's and was well known for its global position in major agricultural commodities like cocoa, oil palm, cassava and others. We found oil and became too dependent on it, that we left agriculture and now Nigeria is a net food-importing nation spending on average $11billion on importing wheat, rice, sugar, and even the largest importer of rice in the world. This is nothing to talk about.


Mr Adewumi Adesina the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development said in his speech in Columbia university that "Diamonds may last forever, but oil does not. The future trajectory of earnings from crude oil does not look good, as other nations are finding shale oil and shale gas. We must free ourselves from dependency on crude oil and agriculture is the sector where we have the greatest potential to achieve this and now is the time"


Dr Nteranya Sanginga on his statement on the topic Rejuvenation; Investing in agriculture for the future of Nigeria and it's young people, said "You cannot eat oil - at least not crude oil. Oil has not transformed Nigeria agriculture over the last 30 years. It has not fed hungry people and developed rural areas. Nigeria is a developing country and it will remain a developing country unless Nigerians act to seize the opportunities at hand and this opportunities are found in agriculture"


Nigeria is blessed with natural resources, it is blessed with fertile soil. Out of over 84 million hectares of arable land only 40% are cultivated. We have 263 billion cubic meters of water, two of the largest rivers in Africa. We also have a cheap labour force to support agricultural intensification. Our population of 167 million makes us a huge market. But we must not be the market for others, we must create markets locally for our own farmers. Nigeria has been a food exporter of major food and cash crops including rice, groundnut, cassava, cocoa, cotton, and palm oil in the past and can still be once more. All we need is direct investment on Agricultural research and development.


Young people with prospects will build the foundation for their future, young people are encouraged to go into agriculture, to be farmers and food processors of tomorrow. Young farmers shouldn't just farm to feed themselves and their families alone but to grow food for the cities and the nation.


We need the government to invest more on the agricultural sector, to  create more awareness for our young farmers and encourage them. Investing on young, rural people is one of the solutions to our pressing problem. As Dr Nteranya Sanginga have said this will help eliminate poverty and hunger, curtail migration to cities and abroad, and lay solid foundation for national regional and global security.


Most Nigerian farmers are poor, this is as a result of decades of neglecting agriculture and the corruption between our so called "political farmers" that do not allow the rural farmers have access to some of the inputs and facilities given to the farmers generally. We can't do without agriculture in Nigeria, Agriculture generates about 40% of our GDP,  It provides food for the nation and 'without food we can't survive, at least we can't feed on oil' As Mr Adesina said, there is nothing more important than food. A nation that does not feed itself becomes a threat to its own sovereign existence, Growing our own food, processing what we produce and becoming competitive in export markets and creating jobs all across our economy are crucial for our national security.


We the students need to study and understand how the agricultural sector works, we need to be well versed and grounded in technical skills as well as economics, business management, business law, intellectual property rights and our Universities and Agricultural colleges need to be well connected to the agric business and agro-allied industries to develop innovations and technologies and set a good path for we the upcoming farmers.


If Western education should be cancelled in Nigeria today, we will all go back to Agriculture. .so its time to take up the opportunities before us and expand our agricultural sectors. . PROUDLY AGRICULTURIST!