Pig Welfare Baseline Survey in MorePork II Sites (2021)

The project, “Improving pig productivity and incomes through an environmentally sustainable and gender-inclusive integrated intervention package (MorePork II)” is a 3-year project (2019-2021) that aims at strengthening market linkages to incentivise the adoption of an integrated basket of productivity-enhancing best-bet interventions tested through the technology flagships of the Livestock CGIAR Research Program (Livestock CRP). The integrated productivity-enhancing best-bet interventions include capacity building in herd health and disease control, improved genetics through communal based artificial insemination (AI), and improved quality of commercial feeds through a business model to certify smallscale, feed producers. The project will also test candidate climate-smart adaptation and mitigation options at the farm level mainly through manure management and heat stress management, in order to minimize the impact of climate change on pig value chains, especially through greenhouse gas emissions, and on the other hand, increasing the resilience of pig value chains to changes in climate. The project is informed by the successes and lessons of the first phase of the Livestock CRP, with more emphasis on addressing the financial resource constraints and market inefficiencies that limit the uptake of productivity-enhancing best-bet technological interventions. The project is funded by the Livestock CGIAR Research Program as Uganda’s priority country program. The CGIAR Research Program on Livestock aims to create a well-nourished, equitable, and environmentally healthy world through livestock research for development. It provides research-based solutions to help smallholder farmers, pastoralists, and agro-pastoralists transition to sustainable, resilient livelihoods, and productive enterprises. The MorePork II is led by ILRI, CIAT, Swedish University of Agricultural Science(SLU) and implemented through Livestock CRP flagships namely Livestock Genetics, Livestock Health, Livestock Feeds, and Forages, Livestock and Environment, Livestock Livelihoods, and Agri-Food Systems (LLAFS), Gender, and Capacity Development. The Livestock Genetics flagship, in collaboration with a public sector partner (Makerere University) and a private sector partner (Vetline Services), focuses on strengthening the artificial insemination (AI) system for distributing high-quality pig genetics. The Livestock Health component focuses on strengthening and disseminating advisory services in herd health and best practices in biosecurity among value chain actors with the support of the PigSmart platform. The Livestock Feeds and Forages component focuses on providing better feed to farmers through piloting and evaluating a training and certification scheme of small scale commercial feed producers, enhancing uptake of well-selected and tested superior heat-tolerant food/feed crop cultivars for pig feeding, and promoting the adoption of well-balanced and least-cost rations developed through the FeedCalculator App. The Livestock and Environment component supports the MorePork II project in three key areas: i) assessing the environmental impacts of different pig production systems, and changes introduced by integrated technology packages, ii) estimating and mapping the potential future heat stress of pigs in Uganda, and iii) reducing the environmental footprint through improved pig waste (manure) management and adaptation to heat stress. The Livestock Livelihoods and Agri-Food Systems (LLAFS) flagship work with pig aggregators is aimed at creating market pull-through market arrangements that will provide reliable pig markets to men and women farmers and where possible also provide linkages to input suppliers as well as other necessary business development services. Additionally, LLAFS focuses on following up with MAAIF on willingness to develop and implement a Livestock master plan for Uganda. The PigSmart platform is a cross-cutting component of the MorePork II whose proposition to the project is to coordinate the various digital solutions and initiatives developed under each flagship to maximise the access to timely and appropriate digitalized extension services by pig farmers, with an intentional focus on young women entrepreneurs. The scaling assessments are designed to provide the MorePork II project with a framework for scaling proven technologies and solutions across all the flagships, based on a ‘deep dive’ on the most critical components of the ‘integrated package’ using the scaling readiness tool. Under the MorePork II project, the animal health flagship focused to deliver context-specific intervention packages for improving pig health and welfare, with resultant positive effects on pig health and productivity. This study aimed to assess the current status of pig welfare in Uganda, as a baseline for assessing impacts of proposed welfare interventions on health and productivity. The study was done in 4 high density pig producing areas in central Uganda in 2021. The activity was a baseline survey conducted in 4 high producing districts of central Uganda (Masaka, Mpigi, Wakiso & Mukono). A questionnaire tool configured in ODK was developed and pretested and revised before field use. The tool was used to collect data from farms and pigs using core welfare indicators. The assessments were done at pen and individual pig levels. The key indicators (both qualitative & quantitative variables) used during the survey included resource-based (thermal comfort, space requirements, floor type, bedding, water supply) and animal-based indicators (health and illness, nutrition and injuries). Farm level data.