An all-women Zomba based cooperative operating under the name Tipindule ladies piggery (TILAPI) Livestock Cooperative is on the rise economically after the group successfully ventured into pig farming.
United by their love for pig farming and determination to succeed, members of the grouping, 30 in total, came together in 2021 to form the cooperative.
The cooperative’s chairperson, Tione Mbewe has indicated that soon after its formation, the grouping started thriving.
“The decision to join hands in rearing the pigs paid off as we started realising more from our sales,” said Mbewe.
The cooperative later acquired land where it constructed pigpens kraal capable of holding dozens of pigs.
“The investment paid off as we started making more profits apart from giving us less stress than before when our pigs used to fall prey to diseases,” said Mbewe.
She said through the initiative, the women have achieved financial independence as they are now able to provide food for their families.
The cooperative’s exploits have not gone unnoticed as the Agriculture Commercialisation (AGCOM) has awarded the grouping a matching grant of K53 million kwacha.
“We have used the grant to procure a feed processing machine, construct a 44-pigpens kraal, caretaker’s house, a room for feed processing and conducted trainings on pig farming and cooperative management,” she added.
The cooperative expects to to be selling not less than 60 piglets in every two months at a cost of K60,000 each, according to Mbewe.
Meanwhile, AGCOM National Coordinator DR Ted Nankhumwa has hailed the women, calling their cooperative “a success worth recognising”.
