Photo 1. Pig production is a household enterprise managed mostly by women

Unlocking livestock development potential through science, influence and capacity

development ILRI APM, Addis Ababa, 15-17 May 2013

Developing capacity Influencing decisions

The Smallholder Pig Value Chains Development (SPVCD) in Uganda Project

This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported Licence May 2013

Some preliminary achievements on:

1. Partners familiarized on the use of Outcome Mapping methodologies

2. Extension staff in three districts and facilitators trained on the application of the Value Chain Assessment tool kit.

3. Researchers and development agents used VCA data for identifying best-bet interventions to be tested.

1. Project sites selected by partners in a participatory manner.

2. The project is catalyzing the creation of a platform for the development of the smallholder pig sector in Uganda, involving government research, academic and development institutions, NGOs, as well as farmers and other actors from the private sector

Danilo Pezo, Emily A. Ouma and Michel M. Dione

Delivering science

Introduction. Over the past three decades pig population has increased from 0.19 to 3.2 million, and in 2011 Uganda had

the highest per capita consumption of pork in Sub-Saharan Africa (3.4 kg person-1 year-1). More than 1.1 million poor households (18% of the total population) own pigs, mostly managed by women

and children as a crop-livestock systems’ backyard activity. Pigs contribute in diversification of smallholders’ risk and livelihood security. Income from pigs is used for

paying school fees, purchasing farm inputs and covering emergency cash needs, while the manure is used to fertilize high value crops.

The smallholder pig production and marketing systems are dominated (90%) by a large informal subsector (i.e., farmers, traders, butchers, and retailers), with poorly organized markets and limited access to services and information, resulting in considerably inefficiency and poor handling, that compromises pork quality and safety, as well as economic benefits to most VC actors.

1. A situational analysis of the smallholder pig sector produced

2. A tool kit for in-depth assessment of smallholder pig value chains developed and tested

3. Constraints and opportunities of smallholder pig production systems in three districts assessed

Project Goal. To improve livelihoods, incomes and assets of smallholder pig producers, particularly women, in a sustainable manner, through increased productivity, reduced risk, and improved market access in pig value chains.

Objectives. Identify market opportunities for pork in Uganda, and the multiple factors preventing smallholder pig

producers from exploiting those opportunities, with focus on constraints caused by animal disease threat, feed resources availability and quality, and performance of markets and services.

Develop and pilot test a set of integrated packages for smallholder pig production and market access for specific production systems, resource profiles and market settings in Uganda.

To document, communicate and promote appropriate evidence-based models for sustainable, pro-poor pig value chains.

Approach and Activities. The project field work effectively started in October 2012, and is applying the value chain approach recognizing that uptake of improved technologies and strategies by farmers and market actors is dependent on the incentives created all along the value chain. The principal activities conducted are:

In-depth value chain assessments to identify the current constraints and opportunities for improving its performance

A series of on farm/market studies to evaluate impacts of best-bet interventions on technical performance, economic viability and potential welfare–including food security- for women and other smallholder producers. These should result in improved livelihoods for families involved in pig production, and for poor consumers to get safe pork at affordable prices.

Enhancement of partners’ (i.e., researchers, development agents) capacities for applying value chain and participatory approaches in R4D efforts targeting the smallholder pig sector in Uganda through training, as well as by the production and dissemination of synthesis materials on lessons learned and impacts, packaged in suitable formats for a range of target audiences. Figure 1. A generalized smallholder pig value

chain model in Uganda

Partners. IFAD-EU (the donor agency), CIAT, MAAIF, NaLIRRI, NAADS, Makerere University, The Local Governments of Kamuli, Masaka and Mukono districts, the Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns (VEDCO), Vétérinaires Sans Frontièrs – Belgium (VSF), The Ugandan Piggery Organization (UPO), Farmgain Africa, Wambizzi Cooperative, Pig Production and Marketing Uganda Ltd.

Photo 2. Informal pig slaughtering, processing and marketing is common in Uganda