Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences

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Pearl Millet Socioeconomic and Production Characteristics in Uganda
(National Semi Arid Resources Research Institute, 2015) Lubadde, Geofrey; Tongoona, Pangirai; Derera, John; Sibiya, Julia
Pearl millet is an important cereal grown by farmers in environmentally marginalised areas. In Uganda it is mainly grown in northern (Acholi), northeastern (Karamoja) and eastern (Teso) regions. The regions are characterised by semi-arid conditions with high temperatures, low mean annual rainfall and widespread chronic food insecurity. Technologies that increase pearl millet productivity under such conditions have been developed in international research institutes to highlight the importance of pearl millet as a resilient crop suitable for drought conditions. However, not much is known about the importance of the crop in Uganda. A baseline survey was thus conducted to document pearl millet farmers’ socioeconomic and production characteristics in the country. Information was collected about demography and food security situation, livelihood, social capital and trainings, importance and utilisation of pearl millet, agronomic characteristics, desirable and undesirable traits, factors of crop and animal production, post-harvest handling, production and marketing constraints and coping strategies. Results indicated that the average age of heads of households (mainly males) was 45.78 years while that of their spouses was 37.22 years; with a pearl millet growing experience of over six years. In addition, majority of the households had 6-10 members many of whom were below 15 years. The heads of households were married with education experience of more than five years while their spouses were generally illiterate. The household heads and their spouses farmed the land as their main economic activity. Furthermore, majority of the households lived under poor conditions where the main house had a single room built of mud and wattle with grass as the main roofing material and earth floor. The poor living standards were worsened by majority of the households facing perpetual food insecurity mainly due to drought, insect pests, plant diseases and lack of improved planting materials.
Impact of Uganda’s National Agricultural Advisory Services Program
(International Food Policy Research Institute, 2011) Benin, Samuel; Nkonya, Ephraim; Okecho, Geresom; Randriamamonjy, Josée; Kato, Edward; Lubadde, Geofrey; Kyotalimye, Miriam; Byekwaso, Francis
The importance of agricultural extension in agricultural and rural development is widely known, so it is not surprising that agricultural extension has attracted substantial investment of public resources since t he 1950s, when national agricultural advisory services began t o be formally established by government s, and has strongly returned to the international development agenda (World Bank 2007a). Due to competing uses of public resources for promoting overall growth and equitable distribution, however, careful reflection of the impacts of and returns to public spending in agricultural advisory services is necessary. This is the aim of this study, which focuses on t he NAADS program in Uganda that has been implemented since 2001. The NAADS program, which is a key strategy for implementing t he government ’ s poverty reduction and national development plan, was conceived as a move away from t he t op-down approach that is publicly funded, with services provided by public agents, to a demand-driven approach that is still largely publicly funded but wit h services provided by the private sector. The program targets the development and use of farmer institutions and in the process seeks to empower them t o procure enterprise-based advisory services, manage linkages wit h marketing partners, and conduct monitoring and evaluation of the advisory services they receive from the private sector (Uganda, NAADS Secretariat 2001). By end of the 2006–07 financial year, the period of the analysis in this study, about UGX 110 billion (in 2000 UGX) had been spent on the program, which had been extended t o 545 sub counties (about 83.1 percent of the total sub counties in Uganda at the time) from the initial 24 sub counties in six district s where it had been launched. Furthermore, about 1,622 contracts with private-sector service providers had been signed, more than 40 enterprises had been promoted, and about 40,000 farmer groups and 716,000 farmers (representing about 20 percent of the national farming households) had received services from the program
Impact Evaluation and Returns to Investment of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) Program of Uganda
(International Food Policy Research Institute, 2008) Benin, Samuel; Nkonya, Ephraim; Okecho, Geresom; Randriamamonjy, Josee; Kato, Edward; Lubade, Geofrey; Kyotalimye, Miriam; Byekwaso, Francis
Uganda has for a long period of time experienced strong economic growth. In the 1990s, gross domestic product grew steadily by more than 6% per annum from a low rate of 3 percent in the 1980s, and the proportion of the population living under the poverty line declined from 56.4 percent in 1992 to 31.1 percent in 2006. This remarkable turnaround from the depression associated with the political turmoil and economic mismanagement of the 1970‘s until the mid-1980s has been achieved through sound policies linked to investments and economic liberalization undertaken by the Government of Uganda (GOU) with support from the donor community. Despite the substantial progress made, several challenges remain in sustaining the momentum by way of increasing productivity, ensuring sustainable use of natural resources, and reducing poverty, hunger and human disease. Recognizing the importance of a multi-sectoral approach to accelerating growth and reducing mass poverty, the Government of Uganda has since 2000 been implementing the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA) as a key policy initiative aimed at reducing mass poverty to a level below 28 percent by 2014. The PMA, which is situated within the country‘s vision of Prosperity for All and is supported by the broader Rural Development Strategy, has an ambitious agenda of policy and institutional reform across seven pillars, a key one of which is improving delivery of agricultural extension through the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program. Since its inception in 2001, NAADS has devised an innovative extension service delivery approach, that targets the development and use of farmer institutions and in the process empowers them to procure advisory services, manage linkage with marketing partners and conduct demand-driven monitoring and evaluation of the advisory services and their impacts. NAADS was initiated in 2001 in six districts (Arua, Kabale, Kibaale, Mukono, Soroti and Tororo), within which the NAADS program began working in 24 sub-counties. By end of 2006/07 financial year, the program had been extended to 545 sub-counties (about 83.1 percent of the total sub-counties), and is expected to cover the entire country by end of the financial year 2007/08, ending the first phase (Phase I) of the program. By the end of the 2006/07 financial year also, UGX 110 billion (in 2000 value terms) had been spent on the program.
Climate change and adaptation options in Karamoja
(Organ: Food Agric, 2010) Mubiru, Drake N.
Agriculture is the backbone of the Uganda’s economy and the livelihood of many people. However, most of the agriculture in Uganda depends on rainfall and therefore inherently sensitive to climate conditions. This makes agriculture one of the most vulnerable sectors to the risks and impacts of climate change and variability. It is projected that crop yields from rain-fed agriculture in some countries in Africa could be reduced by up to 50% by 2020 as a result of climate change. Natural resources constitute the primary source of livelihood for the majority of Ugandans and the economy of Uganda depends on exploiting its natural resources. Management of these natural resources is therefore important and critical to Uganda’s long-term development. Climate is a key determinant of the status of Uganda’s natural resources, such as agriculture, forestry, water resources, wildlife, etc. However, climate change, which has started manifesting itself through intense and frequent extreme weather events, is posing a serious threat to the country’s natural resources, and social and economic development. The impacts of climate change create challenges and impose severe losses and hardships on the poorest communities as their livelihoods are likely to be more sensitive to adverse impacts of climate change. The most dominant and widespread disaster due to climate change is drought, whose frequency is observed to be on the increase. Drought has severely affected the agricultural sector leading to impacts such as famine, malnutrition, low production and productivity of crops and animals, etc. Although all the agro-ecological zones of Uganda are grappling with the effects of climate change and variability, the Karamoja sub region is most affected. This is attributable to the fact that it is the least socially and economically developed in Uganda, even among the generally poorer parts of northern Uganda as a whole. It is characterized by a combination of acute poverty, vulnerability to drought, poor infrastructure and basic services delivery, limited marketing opportunities, natural resource degradation, social and cultural marginalization, long-standing dependency on external aid and most importantly chronic insecurity.
Making Agri-Food Systems Work for the Rural Poor in Eastern and Southern Africa
(National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI), 2011) Odongkara, Konstantine; Kalunda, Patrick; Akello, Beatrice; Ntakyo, Prossy; Mbilingi, Bwambale; Akwango, Damalie; Kaidhiwa, Michael; Nasuuna, Agnes; Omadi, Robert; Mutenyo, Helen; Biso, Godfrey; Alaso, Agnes
The overall goal of the project is improved food security and sustainable natural resource management in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) region, to be achieved through enhanced adaptation of pro-poor agri-food system innovations. The specific objectives and outputs are: i) To identify and promote local innovations and adaptation strategies that work for the poor rural men and women to cope with food security vulnerabilities. ii) To adapt and scale up technology and market innovations for promoting orphan crops that enhance food security, increase incomes and ecosystem integrity in selected areas of Malawi, Kenya and Uganda. iii) To analyze and promote specific policies and governance mechanisms for sustainable agri-food systems. iv) To determine mechanisms for scaling up agri-food systems and sustainable agriculture. Several interventions have been implemented to address food security in the region. However, what is new in this project is that it takes the holistic agri-food system approach, has a pro-poor focus, emphasises ‘orphan’ crops and integrates natural resource, market and governance aspects within the approaches. The significance of the ‘orphan’ crops approach is that they are important for food and nutrition of poor farmers; provide income opportunities for the vulnerable groups, particularly the women; help to diversify the farming systems and spread risks and are usually more resilient to seasonal and climate change. In Uganda, the project has been implemented in three districts, namely Tororo, Mukono and Ntungamo. Among the districts, Tororo is considered a highly food insecure area, while Mukono is considered a food secure area. Ntungamo may be described as moderately food secure with food security being threatened by widespread ecological and demographical changes.
Technical performance and carbon footprint of commercial dairy farms in South West Uganda
(Wageningen Livestock Research, 2022) Vries, Marion de; Twongyirwe, Ronald
Dairy production in Uganda is rapidly expanding as a result of a high and increasing market demand and strategic prioritization of dairy for agricultural development. While the increase in production contributes to improved nutrition and livelihoods of rural communities, it may also be accompanied with significant increases in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the Ugandan dairy sector and may lead to increased deforestation. The aim of the present study was to estimate and compare technical performance and GHG emissions of dairy farms participating the dairy development project SNV TIDE in south western Uganda. To this end, longitudinal data were collected from 101 commercial dairy farms participating in the SNV TIDE project in the districts Kiruhura, Lyantonde, Ntungamo, Isingiro and Mbarara in south western Uganda. GHG emissions were estimated using life cycle assessment (LCA). Results of this study can contribute to development of effective GHG mitigation strategies for the Ugandan dairy sector.
Capacity Building in Agronomic Practices, Waxing and Relative Humidity Storage Technologies for Shelf-life Extension of Fresh Cassava Roots
(CGIAR Research Program, 2016) Nyamutoka, Pamela; Wanda, Kelly; Matovu, Moses; Aceng, Sharon; Muyinza, Harriet; Kaliisa, Robert; Menya, Geoffrey; Nuwamanya, Ephraim; Nyakaisiki, Elizabeth; Nanyondo, Rose; Abass, Adebayo
Cassava is an important source of food and income in Uganda. Consumption of cassava has been increasing especially in the urban areas. Total consumption of fresh cassava in 2013 was estimated to be 1.32 MT per annum (RTB-ENDURE - Cassava Sub-Project scoping study, 2014). Market demand for fresh cassava in 2013 was estimated to be 309,528 MT per annum and was projected to increase to 387,074 MT in 2018, signifying a 25% increase. New market segments for fresh cassava roots have been emerging for both the niche and mass markets. Fresh cassava was found to be consumed in various forms. According to findings from the RTB-ENDURE Market Study (2015) high-end restaurants had introduced cassava recipes while fried cassava chips were a delicacy in road-side food catering services, a new phenomenon. Further, the study revealed that the most preferred consumption form was in fried form (37% of the study respondents), followed by boiled (35% of the study respondents) and steamed in banana leaves (25% of the study respondents). Cassava enjoys a unique position as a convenient food that is easy and fast to prepare. It is in recognition of this fact that cassava has been selected as one of the ten priority crops to assist Uganda transform its agricultural sector through provision of household incomes, employment and food security. However, despite this growth in demand, both utilization of and income derived from marketing of fresh cassava are being hindered by the rapid postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of the roots. Cassava suffers spoilage within two to three days of harvest. The implication is that it cannot be marketed over a long time and distance thereby reducing incomes to growers and traders, leading to less investments and hence low productivity. To address this challenge, the RTB-ENDURE Cassava Sub-Project also known as “Extending the Shelf life of Fresh Cassava Roots for Increased Incomes and Postharvest Loss Reduction” aimed at introducing, testing, validating and assessing the efficacy of two technologies for increasing the shelf-life of fresh cassava roots, and thereby assisting to increase the value to growers, traders and consumers along the entire value chain. These technologies included high relative humidity storage and waxing. Both relative humidity storage and waxing of fresh cassava roots are in commercial use elsewhere. However, their applicability and feasibility in Uganda was unknown since these technologies were new. Therefore, the approach used in RTB-ENDURE Cassava Sub-project involved knowledge sharing between the Ugandan research team and its counterpart at CIAT in Colombia, one of the countries where these technologies are being commercially adopted. CIAT has substantial experience in conducting research on PPD of cassava and on how to tackle the issue of the rapid deterioration of the roots by use of suitable varieties, agronomic practices and pre-harvest techniques such as pruning. CIAT scientists and value chain actors in Colombia trained the Ugandan research team in various aspects of high relative humidity storage and waxing, including varietal selection, PPD scoring, and the agronomic and pre-harvest techniques that reduce PPD. The project team conducted a scoping study and later a detailed market assessment, carried out on-station research on varietal selection (based on PPD susceptibility) and validation of the technologies for shelf-life extension, and established two pilot pack houses in western Uganda. These included one pack house in Kyenjojo district to test a farmer operated business model and another one that was established in Kabarole district to test a trader operated business model. Thereafter, the project built the capacities of both operators and their identified partners and potential suppliers to promote the adoption and adaptation of these shelf-life extension innovations. This report describes the capacity building process and activities that were done to enable the value chain actors adopt and adapt the pre-and post-harvest practices, and waxing and high relative humidity storage technologies in order to run a successful business enterprise.
An Assessment of the Risk Associated with the Movement Broilers to Market Into, Within, and Out of a Control Area During a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in the United States
(University of Minnesota Center for Secure Food Systems, 2018) Cardona, Carol; Alexander, Carie; Bonney, Peter; Contadini, Francesca; Culhane, Marie; Goldsmith, Timothy; Halvorson, David; Linskens, Eric; Malladi, Sasidhar; Ssematimba, Amos; Umber, Jamie; Weaver, Todd; Walz, Emily
In the event of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the United States, poultry industry, local, State, and Federal authorities will implement a foreign animal disease emergency response. In these circumstances, permit requests to move poultry and poultry products must be supported by risk assessments which demonstrate that the risk of HPAI spread associated with the movement is acceptable. Performing the risk assessments prior to an HPAI outbreak can enhance emergency response and facilitate timely movement permitting decisions during an outbreak. This document assesses the risk that the movement of market-age broilers to processing (i.e., broilers to market), during an HPAI outbreak, from a premises located within the Control Area, will result in HPAI virus spread to a virus-free poultry premises. This risk assessment is a joint effort of the Secure Broiler Supply (SBS) Working Group, which is made up of representatives from the broiler industry, academia, State Animal Health Officials (SAHOs), and the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA:APHIS), to support permits for the terminal movement of broilers to processing during an HPAI outbreak. This assessment is applicable to intensively raised commercial or contract grow-out broiler premises that do not have other poultry on the premises and practice an all-in, all-out single-age growing system. These broiler facilities must participate in the USDA APHIS National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) and follow the SBS Plan in the event of an HPAI outbreak. The SBS Plan contains science-based outbreak measures developed by the SBS working group to mitigate the risk of HPAI spread associated with the terminal movement of live birds to market.
An Assessment of the Risk Associated with the Movement Turkeys to Market Into, Within, and Out of a Control Area During a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Outbreak in the United States
(University of Minnesota Center for Secure Food Systems, 2018) Cardona, Carol; Alexander, Carie; Bergeron, Justin; Bonney, Peter; Culhane, Marie; Goldsmith, Timothy; Halvorson, David; Linskens, Eric; Malladi, Sasidhar; Ssematimba, Amos; Walz, Emily; Weaver, Todd; Umber, Jamie
In the event of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak in the United States, poultry industry, local, state, and federal authorities will implement a foreign animal disease emergency response. In these circumstances, permit requests to move poultry and poultry products must be supported by risk assessments which demonstrate that the risk of HPAI spread associated with the movement is acceptable. Performing the risk assessments prior to an HPAI outbreak can enhance emergency response and facilitate timely movement permitting decisions during an outbreak. This document assesses the risk that the movement of market-age turkeys to processing (i.e., turkeys to market), during an HPAI outbreak, from a premises located within the Control Area, will result in HPAI virus spread to a virus-free commercial poultry population (e.g., another poultry farm or birds remaining on a multi-age premises). The purpose of this assessment is to provide regulators with an objective and defensible method of assessing the disease risk associated with the movement of live turkeys (for meat) to slaughter.
Developing generic tools for characterizing agricultural systems for climate and global change studies
(CCAFS, 2013) Rufino, Mariana C.; Quiros, Carlos; Boureima, Moussa; Desta, Solomon; Douxchamps, Sabine; Herrero, Mario; Kiplimo, Jusper; Lamissa, Dikite; Mango, Joash; Moussa, Abdoulaye S.; Naab, Jesse; Ndour, Yacine; Sayula, George; Silvestri, Silvia; Singh, Dhiraj; Teufel, Nils; Wanyama, Ibrahim
Standard methods are needed to collect data to evaluate the performance of agricultural systems. Standardization allows comparisons across systems, and potentially the extrapolation of recommendations to similar development domains. The Integrated Modelling Platform for Mixed Animal Crop Systems (IMPACT, Herrero et al., 2007) is a data collection protocol and computer software tool designed to gather minimum datasets in smallholder crop-livestock systems. The protocol collects information ranging from household composition to crop and livestock production to household food consumption and household assets. Although IMPACTS’s datasets are detailed to conduct a wide range of crop-livestock systems analysis, the data collection on the field proved to be time and resources demanding. The protocol works in monthly time steps i.e., most of the data is collected per month, thus it takes considerable time to complete an interview. The printed forms comprise over 30 different templates that resemble the screens in the software, and although this could speed up data entry, its use on the field for data collection often tends to be inoperative. In 2011 CCAFS commissioned to ILRI the task of assessing the possibilities for simplifying IMPACT to carry out a characterization across the 15 CCAFS benchmark sites (Table 1). The objective of this project called ‘IMPACTlite’ was to modify IMPACT to be able to collect household-level data detailed enough to capture within-site variability on key performance and livelihood indicators that could be used for a range of analysis including the modelling of impact of adaptation and mitigation strategies on livelihoods, food security and the environment. A team composed of agronomists, economists, computer, environmental, and social scientists modified and tested the new tool in a number of sites. The changes implemented to the tool are reported in Quiros et al. (2011). In this report we describe the steps undertaken in the implementation of the surveys using IMPACTlite in the IGPs, the progress achieved, and next steps planned for 2013.
The Concentrate Feeds Supply chain in Uganda: emerging trends and implications on quality and access to smallholder farmers and chain efficiency
(East Africa Dairy Development, 2013) Lukuyu, B.; Baker, D.; Baltenweck, I.; Poole, J.; Kabi, F.; Katongole, C.; Nadiope, G.; Byarugaba, A.; Kugonza, J.; Wabwire, R.
The increasing effective demand for livestock products such as milk, meat and eggs in Uganda drives farmers to supplement their livestock with concentrates to improve on their productivity. In Uganda about 33% of the dairy farmers use compounded dairy concentrate feed while a sizeable percentage of households nearly 56% use feed ingredients such as maize bran and rice bran as straights (EADD, 2010). The annual production of compounded feeds by the commercial feed millers is estimated at about 75,000 tons with small scale mixers producing 40,000 ton (Graffham et al. 2003). In some areas farmers often supplement with compounded feeds aimed at maintaining the animals’ condition and sustaining production during the dry season (Lukuyu et al. 2009). However, Uganda is faced with serious problems related to availability of well formulated and balanced rations for adequate dairy cattle feeding. Despite an abundance of cereal grains and their by products such as maize and maize bran, sorghum, millet, rice bran and root crops (e.g. cassava) as energy concentrates as well as protein concentrates such as soybean, sunflower cakes, cottonseed cakes, peas and groundnuts, farmers have continued to lament about the high prices of commercial feeds and poor quality feeds (Nakiganda et al. 2005).
Freshwater fish seed resources in Uganda
(FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, 2007) Waiswa Mwanja, Wilson
The aquaculture sector in Uganda has started to grow very rapidly during recent years with the commercialization approach taken by the government. Aquaculture is now seen not only as source of dietary protein but also as a means of generating income through improved productivity and managing aquaculture production as a business venture. This has attracted a new class of farmers.The issues of fish seed availability and quality have become a major challenge. This new trend has made the government to turn to private sector for improved supply of the required quality and to meet the needed quantity of fish seed. Fish seed propagation in Uganda was, until the late 1990s, a remit of the public sector. Currently there are nearly 50 private fish hatcheries ranging from small- to medium-scale with a few large commercial operation. The country’s projection for meeting the aquaculture and stock enhancement seed requirements is about 450 million fingerlings annually. The general plan is to meet this demand through privately-owned and operated fish hatcheries. Use of the private sector calls for trained manpower and exposure to appropriate technology. There is also urgent need to improve broodstock management skills and to initiate breeding programmes for improvement of the productivity of key aquaculture species. Although government has established some regulations under the “Fish (Aquaculture) Rules 2003” to regulate fish seed production and distribution, there is still a need for technical assistance to review and develop clear and implementable standards and guidelines for the private fish hatchery owners and operators in Uganda.
Local and regional variations in conditions for agriculture and food security in Uganda
(AgriFoSe2030, 2018) Barasa, Bernard
Uganda’s agricultural environment is characterized by smallholder farmers. Majority of these are found in rural areas and food insecure. This study specifically explored to understand and put across the determinants of local and regional distribution of key crops grown and livestock reared; constraints and opportunities along the agricultural value chain; and institutional and stakeholder involvement in setting policy agenda. This information was born through review of published and grey literature. The findings of this comprehensive review broadly reveal that the major key crops grown in Uganda today are: coffee, bananas, maize, beans, cassava and rice; while in terms of animals and birds: cattle, goats, pigs and local chicken are the most kept by farmers respectively for food security. In terms of local and regional variations, coffee and banana are highly productive in the eastern and western highlands while the remaining crops flourish in the flat plains and valleys (wetlands). The dryland belt ‘cattle corridor’ that stretches from north-eastern to south-west Uganda has the highest numbers of livestock reared. Considering both the livestock and crop value chains, constraints which are also the determinants of opportunities, can be categorized along four dimensions, namely: a) production and productivity constraints, b) market access and value addition constraints; c) enabling environment constraints and d) Institutional Framework constraints. Since 2000, informed by the Poverty Eradication Action Plan the agriculture policy frameworks have been formulated against the backdrop of the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) as a multi-sectoral policy framework for agriculture, food security and rural development. Before the formulation of PMA, agricultural interventions were scattered and there was no comprehensive policy framework to guide the sector. Currently, the PMA – thus subsequent policies, programs and plans, have not yet recognised a holistic approach in modernizing agriculture, as well as the interconnection among the various sectoral stakeholders. However, harmonisation and implementation of these policies and associated programmes and plans should provide leverage for enhanced productivity and reduced food insecurity. This study provides synergies between agriculture and food security to guide future policy formulations, enactment of pending bills and allocation of funds. Potential areas of investment in smallholder agriculture are presented and how to transform the sub sector into a profitable venture.
Assessment of the Impacts of Farmer Participation in Farmer Research Groups in the Highlands of Kabale, Uganda
(Africa Highlands Ecoregional Programme (AHI);, 2002) Tumwine, Jackson; Turyahabwe, Nelson; Manzi, Geoffrey
The African Highlands Initiative (AHI) is promoting community-based participatory research approaches using farmer research groups (FRG) to catalyse farmer participation in research, and to widen the impact of participatory research. However, there is dearth of systematic empirical studies that evaluates the quality of participation in FRGs, and their impacts. This report summarises the results of an empirical study that investigated the types of participatory research that occurred at the different stages of the research process, how farmer participation occurred, who participates in FRG, what are the factors that determined farmers' participation in FRG, and what criteria to use in monitoring and evaluating the performance of FRG. Results showed that the types of participation were more of functional consultative and collaborative types, but varied in the different stages of the research process as farmers were increasingly taking on more roles and responsibilities. Farmer participation in FRG tend to follow a "U" shaped curve, with high participation at the initial stages of the process, followed by dramatic decrease as many farmers drop out from the groups, and slow increases towards the end of the first seasons. Similarly, there was a significantly higher participation of male farmers at the beginning of the process, compared to women. However, as FRGs progressed, the proportion of men decreased while the relative proportion of women increased dramatically to reach about 67% of farmers in mixed groups, and 24% of the FRGs were women only. These results suggest that FRG proved to be a more effective mechanism to involve women and the resource-poor farmers in research who would otherwise be bypassed by conventional approaches. The results of the Logit regression model confirmed that the probability of participating in FRG was higher for women compared to men, and that there were no significant differences in wealth circumstances between FRG members and the rest of the community. We argue that FRG as an approach has a great potential for catalyzing the participation of farmers as partners in research and development activities. However, this requires significant support and personal commitment of researchers to broaden the scope of FRGs from a functional consultative type to a more collegial empowering type, and from variety evaluation to broader natural resources management research and other developmental issues.
Farmer Training on Sweetpotato Silage Making in Masaka District
(International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2015) Kabirizi, Jolly M.L.; Lule, Peter; Mabuya, Julius; Kigongo, John
I. Introduction CHAIN UGANDA was sub-contracted by CIP to implement the project “Expanding utilization of RTB and reducing their post-harvest losses in Masaka district”. During the process of implementing the above project, CHAIN UGANDA entered into an agreement with CIP where CHAIN agreed to perform some activities. One of the deliverable was to conduct training on sweetpotato silage making in the two pilot sub-counties (Nyendo Senyange & Buwunga). As a way of achieving this, CHAIN UGANDA in collaboration with NaLIRRI, CIP and ILRI conducted two workshops, one in each of the sub-counties. The major objective of the workshop was to equip farmers with the knowledge of sweet potato silage making.
Strengthening capacity of Ugandan veterinarians: Report from a training for “Pig Herd Health Champions” at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2-13 March 2020
(International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2020) Dione, Michel; Magnusson, Ulf; Jacobson, Magdalena; Lutakome, Pius
In the past, the pig health research agenda of the smallholder pig value chain in Uganda has focused on single infectious diseases, which have been looked at separately. This has generated a lot of useful information that helped characterize the pig health status (Dione et al., 2014; Ouma et al., 2015; Dione et al., 2016; Roesel et al., 2017; Dione et al., 2018). However, the link of health issues to the wider herd” ecosystem” has been missing. For example, the importance of feeding strategies, co-infection, and reproductive management is not fully acknowledged. Herd Health Management (HHM) is a method to optimize health, welfare, and production in a herd. Pigs are within a delicate “ecosystem” which needs to be analyzed when managing a herd. In the HHM, one doesn’t focus on a single infectious disease, but rather on general farm conditions such as feed strategies, biosecurity, general health, reproductive management, husbandry, and management skills. The whole need to ensure sustainable production to maximize profit (Figure 1). However, some externalities such as greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and animal welfare need to be addressed to ensure that the production system remains sustainable and resource-efficient into the future.
Transferring participatory research skills to stakeholders: Training extension staff on African swine fever data collection along the smallholder pig value chain in Uganda
(International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2015) Dione, Michel; Kawuma, Brian
African swine fever (ASF) is the most feared disease by smallholder pig by value chain actors in Uganda, because of its high mortality (Dione et al., 2014). Though many farmers are threatened by the disease, low biosecurity is common along the pig value chain. To explain the current bad practices, value chain actors often point out their lack of knowledge on best practices in pig management (Dione et al., 2014; Ouma et al., 2014). Also issues related to lack of capacities and incentives for value chain actors to adopt biosecurity measures for the control of ASF were observed in the field during value chain assessment carried out by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) (Ouma et al., 2014). These factors might have contributed to the persistence and dissemination of the disease amongst the pig population shown by the numerous outbreaks observed in the country. Farmers who are the big losers during those outbreaks are often worried, and a lot of them exit from the business following ASF outbreaks. Currently, there are no effective actions that are being undertaken to control the disease locally, even less so at national level.
MorePork II project Uganda Report of the pig welfare survey in project sites
(International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2021) Nsadha, Zachary; Oba, Peter; Dione, Michel; Doyle, Rebecca
The animal health flagship is one of the components of the project ‘Improving pig productivity and incomes through an environmentally sustainable and gender-inclusive integrated intervention package’ (MorePork II) project, which is implemented by partners of the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock (CRP Livestock) in Uganda. The focus of the animal health flagship is to contribute to the delivery of context-specific intervention packages for improving pig productivity in Uganda. As part of the animal health intervention packages for the CRP Livestock integrated project, we designed a tool to assess the current status of pig welfare in project sites. The information collected will be used to guide the design of subsequent interventions to improve overall pig welfare, herd health and productivity. Provision of facilities for domesticated pigs provides good welfare to the pigs and is a key element in pig farming. Pigs attain their fullest potential in growth and productivity if the ambience, feed and treatment provided by the farmers are adequate to meet all physiological needs. This constitutes the adequate welfare of the pig. This pig welfare survey aimed to collect data on what the farmers are providing to the pigs and identify any gaps in relation to animal welfare. The survey revealed that three pig management systems: intensive, semi-intensive and freerange, are practiced in the four project sites in Mukono and Masaka, the intervention sites and in Mpigi and Wakiso, the control sites. However, farms using the free-range system were not included in the survey because pig housing is one of the important aspects considered in the evaluation of pig welfare.
Field report on the Participatory Training of smallholder pig farmers on biosecurity measures for the control of African swine fever (ASF) in Masaka and Lira districts of Uganda
(International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2015) Dione, Michel M.; Lule, Peter; Opio, Felix
African swine fever (ASF) is among the major production constraints for smallholder pig farmers in Uganda (Atuhaire et al., 2013, Dione et al., 2014). There is no vaccine or treatment for the disease. The only control measure is implementation of biosecurity along the pig value chain. However, adoption and implementation of biosecurity measures is challenging in the current context of pig production, because of the nature of the production systems which are characterized by poor housing, husbandry practices and hygiene during pig handling and slaughtering process. Low level of knowledge and awareness of value chain actors about the ways to control the disease is also a big constraint (Dione et al., 2014) . Following an ASF outbreak, farmers operate “panic sales” and slaughters in order to avoid financial losses attributed the death of the pigs. Such practices contribute to the spread of the diseases within and outside their community. However, farmers complain about lack of knowledge about pig management and biosecurity (Dione et al., 2014);yet implementation of proper biosecurity measures requires farmers to be well equipped with a minimum package of knowledge on how to apply these measures. In order to address this knowledge gaps, ILRI and partners developed a training of trainers (ToT) manual on biosecurity for the control and prevention of ASF, which module is tailored to smallholder pig keepers in Uganda. To test the efficiency of this tool, a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) was designed in two districts namely Masaka and Lira. A second version of the training manual was established to meet the training requirements. The later version was in a form of Participatory Training (PT) module. It is in this context that the pig farmers in villages of Masaka and Lira were trained using a PT tool. This report highlights observations and discussions with farmers of the treatment groups during the training sessions.
Uganda smallholder pig value chain site scoping report: Lira, Kibaale and Hoima districts
(International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2014) Ouma, Emily; Dione, Michel
The site scoping exercise was conducted between 23rd June and 18th July 2014. It mainly involved farmer field visits, by ILRI’s Uganda pig value chain projects team to identify the pig value chain domains that exist in the three districts (Lira, Hoima and Kibaale) that were selected through a scoring exercise by stakeholders for further pig value chain work during the inception workshop of the Irish Aid-funded smallholder pig project on “More pork by and for the poor: Catalysing emerging smallholder pig value chains in Uganda for food security and poverty reduction”. Details of the district selection process are documented in the workshop report1. In the Western region, stakeholders of the inception workshop selected both Hoima and Kibaale districts for the pig value chain work while in the Northern region, Lira was top scored. Since only 2 districts were to be selected as additional project areas, part of the objective of the site scoping exercise was to prioritise selection of one of the two districts in the Western region and provide a rationale.

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