Twenty household farmers in West Kwaio, Malaita Province, are running their own piggery with funding from the Solomon Islands Agriculture Rural Transformation (SIART) Project, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock said. The Suisae Piggery Association is among 16 piggery Agribusiness Producer Organizations (ABPOs) supported by the project, which is funded by the World Bank and implemented by the ministry.

The group has finished building its breeding shelter, fattening shelter and storage shed, and now has four pregnant sows and one boar. Once the sows deliver piglets in the coming weeks, the young pigs will be moved to the fattening shelter, which can hold up to 100 piglets. The 20 member households take in 60 individual farmers who manage the project together.

Local farmer and association member Paul Misika said the group was aiming high but could not be certain of the return. "We estimate to earn around $100,000 when our piglets are ready for the market," he said, adding that the figure depended on how well members fed and looked after the piglets and that the earnings could be less.

Mr Misika said the project was a big help for families in the community, which he said had never received such support before, and he thanked the World Bank through SIART.

The ministry said SIART has invested a total of $8.7 million in 20 piggery ABPOs — 16 in Malaita Province, 3 in Guadalcanal Province and 1 in Makira/Ulawa Province — which it says is improving the livelihoods of 532 households and benefitting around 3,000 individuals across the three provinces. A total of $902,000 has been disbursed to the 20 groups to buy weaners and feed and to run their operations.

According to the ministry, SIART has paid for pig houses, breeding stock, feed and equipment and distributed weaners to members, and requires the groups to meet environmental safeguards standards covering housing, waste disposal and animal welfare.

Source: Drawn from "Farmers in West Kwaio set to benefit from SIART supported piggery project", published by the Solomon Islands Government portal (solomons.gov.sb) on 4 November 2026 under the Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock. https://solomons.gov.sb/farmers-in-west-kwaio-set-to-benefit-from-siart-supported-piggery-project/