Current situation and perspectives of pig farming
Authors: Bojkovski Jovan , Trkulja Rodoljub 
Published: April 2024

Pig farming is an important livestock branch in the total agricultural production and economy of the Republic of Srpska. Earlier, traditional pig production was based on an open housing system, the use of natural resources of pastures and forests with small amounts of corn and other cereals. The development of society, the migration of people to urban areas, the abandonment of villages and agricultural production, have led to the need to apply new technologies in agricultural production and the abandonment of traditional production. Domestic production of pigs and pork meat is insufficient in order to meet the demands, whether it is the needs of the population or the needs of the meat industry. This is, above all, the result of historical events in the last thirty years, which have marked social and economic changes, such as the transition of ownership, migration of the population, the slow resolution of structural issues in the overall economic development. Agricultural production is part of these problems, it is difficult to exclude it from the overall, complex relationships that are still significantly expressed. Livestock production of one country is a mirror reflection of the total agricultural production. There is no developed agrarian country without developed livestock breeding. Livestock production multiplies the value of plant production, especially crops used for animal nutrition. In the world, especially in developed European countries, productivity in animal husbandry is at a very high level. Under our production conditions, having a series of unresolved issues and difficulties left to the responsibility of the producers, it takes a lot of effort, knowledge and money to get closer to, and then monitor the production levels of European countries. Free market relations know only the competitiveness of the product, whether it is the quality or the price to be paid by the customer. Pig farmers in our country require different types of support, such as support for investments, breeding technologies, breed assortment of pigs, reproduction and selection, health care, feed preparation, etc. Professional support is also needed on other issues, such as enlarging production, relations with the meat industry and pig feed producers, raising the quality of pork carcasses and pork as a whole, removing barriers for export and stepping onto the international market. Consumers are an important value barometer of production. Today's European consumers are looking for a quality product, safe and controlled with the lowest possible cost. Domestic consumers are increasingly guided by the same principles. This means that the challenges facing pig and pork producers are extremely large and without a well-organized production, but also without a support system, domestic producers will not, for a long time, reach the technological level of production and productivity of pig farmers in developed countries. Therefore, pig production, which needs to become competitive, requires different types of support, primarily professional and financial.