Analysis of the economic performance of peri-urban
and rural smallholder pig producer enterprises in
Masaka and Mukono Districts of Uganda
Lule Peter Mulindwa1,2, Ouma Emily1, Pezo Danilo1., and Elepu Gabriel2
1International Livestock Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda.
2Department of Agribusiness and Natural Resource Economics, Makerere University,
About 1.1 million (18%) households in Uganda are involved in pig production as a source of food and income. . Although piggery is
gaining prominence among smallholders, it is not one of the prioritized livestock enterprises in the Development Strategy and
Investment Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries as well as in the National Development Plan. Moreover,
there is lack of information on the economic performance of the pig enterprise in Uganda. This study aimed to fill this information
gap by examining the profitability of the pig enterprise in smallholder farms in two districts of Mukono and Masaka.
• In general, smallholder pig
production systems showed a
positive gross margin (Table 1)
• The smallholder pig enterprises in
the urban-urban value chains had
higher gross margins than the
rural-urban value chain(Table 2)
Peter Lule Mulindwa
p.lule@cgiar.org ● P.O. Box 24384 Kampala Uganda ● +256 759127931
www.ilri.org
Acknowledgements: The authors thank the staff of Mukono and Masaka district local governments and participating farmers
Funding: International Fund for Agricultural Development - European Union (IFAD-EU), in the framework of the Smallholder Pig Value Chain Development (SPVCD) Project led
by ILRI .
This document is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution –Non commercial-Share Alike 3.0
Unported License September 2014
October 2014
Producer level household surveys were conducted on a random sample of 132 pig keeping households in Katwe-Butego and
Kabonera sub counties in Masaka, and Mukono Town Council and Kyampisi sub counties in Mukono district. Katwe-Butego and
Mukono Town Council are typical urban-urban value chains whereas the other two represent rural-urban value chains. Rural – urban
value chain domains imply rural production targeting urban consumption areas while urban-urban value chain domains typically
refer to peri-urban production targeting the urban markets.
The economic performance of the smallholder pig production systems was assessed using gross margins per pig unit estimated
based on herd inflows and outflows, variable costs and revenues in a period of 12 months (June 2012-May 2013). A pig unit was
defined as equivalent to a breeding sow of more than 10 months of age with an average live weight of 62.2 kg.
Introduction
Materials and methods
Results Recommendations
Table 1: Annual gross margins in Uganda shillings per pig unit in
the study area
1 US dollar = 2500 Uganda shilling at the time of study
Value chain
domain type District
Gross
margins
Urban-urban
Masaka 136,157
Mukono 170,160
Rural-urban
Masaka 76,025
Mukono 124,918
Effective mean 126,815
Table 2: Annual gross margins by
value chain domain in Uganda Shillings
The profitability of smallholder pig
production in Uganda could be improved
by:
• Utilization of locally available feed
resources strategically supplemented to
reduce costs.
• Controlling piglet mortality through
hygiene measures and proper sow
feeding to increase milk production.
• Developing linkages with lucrative
markets and service providers through
sustainable business models.
Variable n Mean SEM
Pig Units 132 6.5 1.7
Revenues
a. Total sales 132 117,028 117,293
b. Inventory value 132 155,861 117,517
c. Boar service * 132 29,579 91,096
Total Revenue 132 302,468
Costs
a. Feeds 132 89,729 105,166
b. Labor 132 36,740 42,551
c. Pig health 132 8,644 8,617
d. Boar service * 132 4,411 5,257
Total Costs 132 139,524
Loss due to death and others 132 36,128 52,897
Gross margins 132 126,815
• Feeds represented the highest variable
cost (64%) (Table1).
* Boars service is a revenue for boar keepers and a cost for breeders