Development of balanced diets using local feeds for smallholder Kenyan pigs: implications for livelihoods, human health, and gender Natalie Carter,1,2 Cate Dewey1, Ben Lukuyu2, Delia Grace2, Cornelis de Lange3

1. Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Canada 2. International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya 3. Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Canada

Background and Rationale Pig production can alleviate poverty1. In western Kenya, farmers, many of them women, raise 1-3 pigs and sell them to pay for medicine, education, and food2,3.

Insufficient feed, seasonal shortages, and unbalanced diets contribute to slow growth of local breed pigs. Slow pig growth results in farmers earning below-potential profits and income.

Inexpensive, nutritionally balanced pig diets are needed to improve pig performance.

What we did: • Modify National Research

Council (2012) nutrient requirement for Kenyan pigs

• Estimate growth rate and nutritional needs of Kenyan pigs from 5 feeding trials 4,5,6,7,8

• Identify locally available pig feeds2, 9

• Review literature and conduct nutritional analysis on local feeds

• Collect price of feeds at local markets

• Estimate seasonal availability (extension officers)

• Rate accessibility of ingredients to farmers

• Formulate least cost diet 10 using linear programming model

• Seasonal availability, farmer access to ingredients, and human/pig food competition were considered when formulating diets.

Conclusions • Balanced least-cost pig diets make use of locally available feed resources, promote

sustainable smallholder pig production, and improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers,

particularly resource-poor and widowed women.

• Research about the impact of these diets on men and women smallholder farmers and their

pigs, seasonal feed shortages, and human/pig food competition is planned.

Natalie Carter

cartern@uoguelph.ca

Department of Population Medicine , University of Guelph

50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada

This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution –Non commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License June 2012

Ecohealth 2014-August 2014 Montreal, Canada

Objectives 1. Estimate the nutrient requirements of local

breed pigs raised on smallholder farms in western Kenya,

2. Develop affordable, nutritionally balanced pig diets using seasonally available local ingredients,

3. Efficiently use locally available resources, promote sustainable smallholder pig production, and improve the livelihood of smallholder pig farmers.

Results: Nutrient sources and human/pig competition

Figure 2. Example s of available pig-feed ingredients in western Kenya

Grist mill waste 35.3%

Maize brewers waste 5.8%

Wilted cassava leaf 20%

Fresh cattle blood 38.4%

Salt 0.3%

Micronutrients 0.25%

Maize flour 45%

Fresh cattle blood 29.1%

Sweet potato vine 20%

Sun-dried fish

5.4%

Salt 0.3%

Micro nutrients

0.25%

Figure 5. Wet season diet: least cost with sweet potato vine

Figure 1. A smallholder farmer feeding her local breed pig Photo: ILRI

Results: Ingredient composition for least-cost diets (% of diet dry matter)

References 1. FAO, 2012. Pig Sector Kenya. FAO Animal Production and Health Livestock Country Reviews. No. 3. Rome. 2. Kagira, JM., Kanyari, N, Maingi, N, Githigia, SM, Ng’ang’a, JC and Karuga, JW, 2010. Characteristics of the smallholder free-range pig production system in Western Kenya, Tropical Animal Health Production, 42, 865-873. 3. Dewey, CE, Wohlegemut, JM, Levy, M, and Mutua, FK, 2011. The impact of political crisis on smallholder pig farmers in Western Kenya, 2006–2008, Journal of Modern African Studies, 3, 455-473. 4. Ndindana W, Dzama K, Ndiweni PNB, Maswaure SM and Chimonyo M, 2002. Digestibility of high fibre diets and performance of growing Zimbabwean Mukota pigs and exotic Large White pigs, fed maize based diets with graded levels of maize cobs, Anim. Feed Sci. Technol., 97, 199-208. 5. Codjo AB, 2003. Estimation des besoins énergétiques du porc local du Bénin en croissance entre 7 et 22 kg de poids vif. Tropicultura, 12, 56-60. 6. Kanengoni AT, Dzama K, Chomonyo M, Kusina J, Maswaure S, 2004. Growth performance and carcass traits of Large White, Mukota and Large White x Mukota F1 crosses given graded levels of maize cob meal, Anim. Sci., 78, 61-11. 7. Len NT, Lindberg JE and Ogle B, 2007. Digestibility and nitrogen retention of diets containing different levels of fibre in local (Mong Cai), F1 (Mong Cai · Yorkshire) and exotic (Landrace · Yorkshire) growing pigs in Vietnam, J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr., 91, 297–303. 8. Anugwa FOI and Okwori AI, 2008. Performance of growing pigs of different genetic groups fed varying dietary protein levels, Afr. J. Biotechnol., 7, 2665-2670. 9. Mutua FK, Dewey, C., Arimi, S., Ogara, W., Levy, M. and Schelling, E., 2012. A description of local pig feeding systems in village smallholder farms of Western Kenya. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 44, 1157-1162. 10. Skinner S.A., Weersink A, and deLange CF,2012. Impact of Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles (DDGS) on Ration and Fertilizer Costs of Swine, Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 60, 335–356.

Figure 4. Dry season diet: least human/pig food/feed competition

Table 1. Nutrient sources for pigs and human/pig food/feed competition

Nutrient type Pig feed ingredient Pigs and people

compete to eat it

Energy Cattle blood

Energy Avocado

Crude protein Cattle blood

Crude protein “Weeds” amaranth, dayflower, hairy beggarticks

Crude protein Wilted cassava leaf

Fat (ether extract) Avocado

Calcium Amaranth

High in fibre Cattle rumen contents

High in fibre Rice bran

High in fibre Millet brewers’ waste