Browsing by Author "Pezo, D."

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    Animal health services delivery systems and disease surveillance in the smallholder pig value chain in Uganda
    (International Livestock Research Institute, 2014) Dione, M. M.; Ouma, E. A .; Lule, P.; Pezo, D.
    The assessment of the performance of the pig health delivery services is essential in order to determine constraints and opportunites for intervention along the value chain. Questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were administered to drug stockists, paraveterinarians and veterinary officers in three districts of Uganda in order to assess the pig health delivery and the disease surveillance systems. The results show that most of the service providers are para-veterinarians who act in a poorly-organized system, characterized by poor implementation of quality assurance of the products. The main constraints are related to lack of professional animal health workers, poor drug handling and administration, high transaction costs of drugs and services and poor transport means related to bad road status and high cost of fuel. As a result of these, smallholder farmers face low productivity and high pig mortality due to low effectiveness of treatments coupled with weak biosecurity measures. There is need to strengthen the health services delivery node and reinforce health delivery systems policies in the smallholder pig value chain in Uganda.
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    Perception and practices of farmers on the utilization of sweet potato, and other root tubers, and banana for pig feeding in smallholder crop livestock systems in Uganda
    (Livestock Research for Rural Development, 2015) Dione, M. M.; Pezo, D.; Kyalo, G.; Mayega, L.; Nadiope, G.; Lukuyu, B.
    Limited access to quality feeds and reliable feed supply are amongst the priority constraints of smallholder pig production in Uganda. Among the feeds given to pigs, sweetpotato (SP), banana and other root tubers residues are common. However, information on farmers’ perceptions and practices on the proper use of these residues for pig feeding is limited. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing those aspects, as well as to identify opportunities for better use of these residues in the pig-SP systems. A qualitative survey was undertaken in Masaka and Kamuli, two districts of Uganda with high pig population and SP production. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and Key Informant Interviews (KII) were undertaken with 80 small scale pig and SP producers and 24 key informants. Results from this study revealed that the majority of pig farmers in those districts use SP and other RTB crop residues as animal feed. During the rainy season, farmers scored high the utilization of SP crop residues, with the latter being the leading contributor to the pig diet especially in the rural area. SP crop residues are usually fed to pigs fresh without processing. Among the residues, fresh raw vines represent the largest part fed to pig (70%), as compared to roots and peels. The way these residues are offered vary, for example in peri-urban areas with easier access to commercial feeds, farmers feed the crop residues mixed with concentrates; whereas in rural areas with limited access to commercial feeds, crop residues tend to be given without supplementation. However, the full potential of SP and other RTB crop residues for pig feeding is not yet fully exploited as farmers accept that a large amount is wasted (37% in Masaka and 40% in Kamuli). In Masaka, the proportion of SP crop residues utilized at household level mostly for pig feeding was 40%, while in Kamuli was 52%. This study demonstrated that there is potential for better use of SP and other RTB crop residues as pig feed in the smallholder pig farming systems in Uganda, but the major constraint as pointed out by farmers is the poor access to technologies for preserving these resources. Therefore, there is a need for further exploration of strategies for conserving SP and other RTB crop residues during the harvesting period for use in pig feeding during times of feed
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    Risk Factors for African Swine Fever in Smallholder Pig Production Systems in Uganda
    (Transboundary and emerging diseases, 2017) Dione, M. M.; Akol, J.; Roesel, K.; Kungu, J.; Ouma, E. A.; Wieland, B.; Pezo, D.
    Smallholder pig production in Uganda is constrained by poor management and high disease burden, with African swine fever (ASF) being one of the most important contributors. However, data to develop appropriate evidence-based disease mitigating interventions along the pig value chain are lacking. This study aimed at determining risk factors associated with the occurrence of outbreaks of ASF in selected districts. A cross-sectional survey of 1195 pig-keeping households in three districts was carried out between April and July 2013. Households were classified into one of three value chain domains (VCDs) based on where the production was located and where most of the products were sold: rural-rural (R-R), ruralurban (R-U) and urban-urban (U-U). Findings revealed that crop farming is the most common primary activity in the R-R and R-U VCDs, while pig keeping was the most common primary activity in the U-U VCDs. Pigs are mostly kept tethered or left to roam in the R-R and R-U VCDs, while in the U-U VCDs, they are mostly confined in corrals. Nearly 20% of the farmers whose farms were hit by an ASF outbreak subsequently sold all their pigs (healthy and sick) to the market in panic. Factors that positively correlated with recent ASF outbreaks were prompt disposal of dead pigs on farms (P < 0.001, OR = 2.3), wild animals present in the village (P < 0.001, OR = 1.7) and farmers sourcing drugs from stockists (P < 0.001, OR = 1.6); while protective factors were the presence of perimeter fences (P = 0.03, OR = 0.5), attendance of farmers at secondary-school level and above (P < 0.001, OR = 0.6), routine cleaning of the pig pens (P < 0.001, OR = 0.6) and pigs being the only livestock kept by farmer (P = 0.01, OR = 0.7). Given the current situation, there is a need to raise awareness among farmers and other value chain actors of biosecurity measures and create incentives for farmers to report ASF cases.