Feedback on Livestock CRP MorePork
project innovations to guide design
of SAPLING innovation packages
Ronnie Ahumuza, Ben Lukuyu, Karen Marshall, Esther Mungai-Njuguna,
Pamela Wairagala, Peter Oba and Emily Ouma, ILRI.
SAPLING co-creation district workshops, Mukono and Masaka
districts, Uganda.
12 – 15 September 2022

Community Based
Artificial Insemination

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• Most of the farmers were able to get improved breeds
• Reduced cost and stress of having to raise a boar/take the sow to
the boar
• Risk reduction of contracting diseases in pigs like African Swine
Fever.
• The intervention helped farmers get more than 10 piglets from
one sow
• Large numbers of sows inseminated within a short time

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• They expected AI service providers to act with urgency when
informed that the sows were on heat, but they would delay
• Farmers expected AI service providers to always have the semen
on standby or stored nearby which wasn’t the case
• Poor bio-security by inseminators at the farms which increased
the risk of spreading diseases
• Limited information provided on the source of the semen (boar)
to prevent chances of inbreeding

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Semen banks should be established near by to prevent the problem of
semen reaching when its weak and cannot make the sows pregnant
• A model farm with proven boars should be established for farmers to
decide from which semen should be collected
• The farmers need more training and sensitization on how to handle sows
before and after insemination since many of them lost pregnant sows
• AI service providers should be trained on how to communicate and handle
farmers to improve on their relationship
• Training of AI service providers on biosecurity
• Increase pig market linkages as a result of increased litter size from AI

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• Surety of the availability of market for their pigs. In the recent
community AI, pigs were many in the communities and
aggregators really took advantage and bought their pigs cheaply
• Sensitization on why sows do not conceive after being
inseminated they could lead to better participation
• Establishing model farms with proven boars where they could
choose their most preferred breed

PigSmart – Extension
Messaging

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• After listening to the audio, some learnt the importance of cleaning
and proper sanitation of the sty so their pigs have a better appetite
• Some started using AI and the piglets produced by AI grow faster and
have less fat hence better prices on the market
• Some used to treat their own animals, but they now call the vet
because they are more experienced and know better how to treat
the animals
• They learnt how mix feed for the different pigs at different stages of
growth

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• The audios were played only once, and the farmers could not
remember their content in order to put it in practice
• Most farmers were visited only once and were not followed up, so it
was hard to put into practice what they heard
• For some, the audios were too long so they could not keep up with
the discussions that followed them because they couldn’t remember
• For some, the timing was poor, and they were busy and could not
give the facilitators time
• The farmers expected to have the audios given to them on CD or
Flash drives for future review which was not done

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• The audios should be put on the farmer’s phones, on CDs or on flash
drives so that the farmers can refer to them even after the
interaction with the extension worker is done
• The audios should be shorter so that they are easily followed and
remembered and to save on time
• In the audios, they should have emphasized that pigs could be fed
with forages in addition to the feeds locally known to the farmers

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• The extensionists should call prior so that the farmers can organize
for a time they are less busy for more effective interactions
• The audios should be given to the farmers on CDs or flash drives so
that even those that were not able to interact with the extensionists
can listen to them and learn something from those who did

PigSmart - Feed
Calculator for
extensionists

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• Reduced the workload on the extensionists to do the feed
rationing for farmers.
• Eased access of information by extensionists on different
ingredients needed by the farmers.
• It promoted locally available feeds since the feeds in the app are
available.
• Rationing of feeds fed to different pig ages

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• Language of the content in the app was hard for the farmers to
understand
• Too many ingredients in the app confusing the farmers on what
to opt for if at all the ingredients are no longer on market
• Lack of a focal person to keep the morale of the village-based
agents when rolling out the feed calculator app

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Enabling the use of the feed calculator app offline especially in
deep rural villages.
• Reduce on the number of ingredients to ease affordability of
feeds.
• Reduction on the continuous need for updating of the app which
requires the developer’s permission to re-access the app.
• Provision of a commission to the village-based agents as an
incentive to increase their morale of rolling it out to more
farmers

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• Localization of the content in the app to increase understanding
of its operation.
• Increase on the sensitization of women pig farmers since they
are active in the questioning about the app even after the
intervention.
• Sensitization taken to household level to increase women
participation since they mostly stay home and more involved in
pig farming than men

PigSmart - Feed
Calculator for farmers

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• They learnt how to mix feeds which helped their pigs grow faster
compared to how they used to feed them
• It helped them save and avoid wastage since they learnt that a pig
can eat twice a day compared to the mindset, they had that pigs
don’t get satisfied hence continuous feeding
• Since they learnt how to mix their own feed, they no longer need to
incur costs on transporting a professional to come help mix their feed
• The content on the application was detailed with information on
feed, concentrate and feed formulation for pigs of all stages

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• There were no alternatives to the ingredients on the application and
yet some of the ingredients are rare on the market
• The language used in the application is English and yet some farmers
are illiterate
• The application is suitable and user-friendly only to farmers that
have smart phones and yet most farmers don’t have smart phones
• The app did not include places where the ingredients are sold
• The trainings from the village-based agents were fast paced and most
farmers did not understand on how to do it by themselves

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Codes that can be used on non-smart phones should be made so that even the
farmers that don’t have smart phones can access the information on feed mixing
• The language on the app should be translated to Luganda so that even the
farmers who don’t know English can use it as well
• The app should include agro in-put shops that sell these ingredients for easier
access
• It should also include a platform where the farmers can access aggregators who
can buy their pigs
• Summarization of the app content on paper or books to help those that cannot
use or afford smartphones
• Deployment of VBAs in all villages to better assist farmers after trainings are done
and check on the progress at pig farms

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• The farmers who have learnt how to use the app should teach their fellow farmers
who may not have learnt anything about feed mixing
• The information on the app should also be printed in booklets so that it can easily
be accessed by farmers without smart phones
• Provision of refresher courses to farmers to remind them on how the app
operates
• Localization of the content in the app to attract the men, women and youth who
are not learned

Forages for pigs

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• The forages reduced feeding costs since they are used in combination
with grains and crop residues
• The farmers also said that the vigor and health of the animals
improved since forages are highly nutritive
• Forages were a source of fiber. They no longer had to go looking for
banana peelings, potatoes leaves etc. which were no longer available
since few farmers were planting potatoes and bananas
• Forage were very palatable and had a high vegetative growth which
increased the amount of feed pigs ate

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• Some farmers reported that the pigs didn’t like the brachiaria
varieties which were provided
• Farmers were only taught how to plant forages but not on how to mix
forages with feeds (quantities) and how to cut forages since
brachiaria has long leaves which cannot be easily eaten by piglets.

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• More seeds should be provided
• More trainings to sensitize farmers would be helpful
• Trainers should meet some farmers at their homes to increase
participation among the women and the elderly
• ILRI should carryout trainings with farmer groups and not only
individuals in the groups
• Farmers should be linked with suppliers of forage seeds because
they did not know where to obtain them

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• Trainings should be done on a Sunday when they are free because men had other
engagements to attend to like businesses
• Since most women were busy with household chores and the elderly women did
not want to move so they preferred that some trainings should be done at their
homes
• Youths need to be sensitized on the importance and benefits of pig production so
that they are involved in pig production which will motivate them participate in
trainings on fodder
• Trainings should be done in youth groups
• Men need more sensitization about the forages to improve their participation

PigSmart – Gross Margin
Calculator

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• Increased knowledge about farm accountability (expenses and
income)
• Increased knowledge about book keeping and its advantages.
• Farmers got to know the progress of the enterprise whether they
are making losses or profits.

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• Minimal interaction between the Village Based Agents (VBAs)
and farmers during the follow up of the gross margin calculator
training
• They prefer booklets so that they can fill in their information and
calculate their own gross margins instead of the papers that
were used

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Provide pig producers with booklets they could use to record
their expenses, profits etc. and taught on how to calculate their
own gross margins so that they can do it themselves
• Increase the frequency of visits to farmers and follow ups so that
there is constant sharing of information to improve production
• Component of marketing should be included so that pig farmers
are able to improve on their profits since market is still a
challenge to them

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• Organize and sensitize only youth trainings to motivate them to
get involved
• More women are involved in pig farming than men thus more
women trainings at village level are needed to motivate them as
most them stay home with busy schedules to move to training
centers in towns
• Trainings need to be organized at a favorable time when men are
free as most men have other main sources of livelihoods where
they spend most of their time
• Generally, village level trainings are needed to motivate them

Market Systems
Development Approach -
Aggregators

www.cgiar.org
What worked well?
• A better relationship between farmers and aggregators was created in that
farmers trust the aggregators to get pigs on credit and pay later
• Aggregators can now get better quality pork because they have helped connect
farmers to better quality feed suppliers
• They also get the pigs at a cheaper price now because they connected farmers to
people who sell piglets at cheaper prices
• Aggregators got a central place, Masaka City Abattoir where they can work
together and get pork collectively without having to move very long distances to
look for pigs
• Some learnt how to save from the training received from Enterprise Uganda

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• The training on Feed calculator and better feeding was done mostly
in urban farmers and not taken to farmers in the village who also
need it.
• The aspect of AI did not help increase the number of pigs for market
because the pigs produced fewer piglets after AI compared to before.
• Some aggregators fear to connect the farmers to some feed suppliers
because they don’t trust them, and it may kill their good relationship
with the farmers.
• The training that happened did not address the issue of African
swine fever that has greatly affected the market.

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Aggregators would appreciate it if they were linked to financial
institutions in order to access capital for to expand their businesses
• Aggregators would appreciate it if the trainers often came back to
follow up on the things that they trained them
• The aggregators preferred to have the aspect of AI completely
scrapped because it did not help produce more piglets as promised

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• There should be a better way of mobilization because most of the
farmers that were invited for the trainings were the ones known by
the chairman yet there are more farmers
• Trainers should go deeper in the villages in order to sensitize the
aggregators/farmers in the villages about these new interventions
because most of them cannot afford transport to town and have
many responsibilities at home which they cannot leave
• The farmers should be told beforehand that there is a token of
appreciation given to them after the training so that they are
encouraged to come for these trainings

Market Systems
Development Approach -
Farmers

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• The intervention helped most farmers to connect with other farmers that helped
them learn from each other and a wider choice of aggregators that reduced
exploitation
• It also helped them meet input dealers and professional service providers/access
to information e.g. Feed producers, and Vets
• The intervention helped farmers come together to negotiate for some
government land that was used to set up an abattoir
• The farmers have been helped and are now able to sell as a team in order to get
better prices for their pigs
• The training has created a better relationship between farmers and aggregators
so there is always ready market for their pigs

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• Not setting standard prices for their pigs and still leaving the aggregators
to decide by their previous standards
• Not connecting them to far and wider or international markets but still
leaving them to struggle with their usual aggregators who use their eyes to
estimate how much they should pay for their pigs
• Not training and providing them with equipment for practical weighing of
their pigs before determining how much should be paid a particular pig
• The extensionists who were carrying out the training were promoting their
own feed and vet businesses instead of helping the farmers get these in-
puts more cheaply and easily
• The trainings were conducted in town areas and didn’t reach deeper in the
villages
• Some aggregators would not buy pigs heavier than 30kgs which rendered
the farmers helpless if they had bigger pigs

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Involve the feed producers in the meetings to enable them negotiate terms that can
help them afford feeds for their pigs
• Trainings should be extended deeper in the villages so that the farmers in the villages
too can learn about these interventions
• ILRI should provide girth tapes at sub-county level so that the farmers are not cheated
by the aggregators
• The farmers need the vets to train them on how to treat their animals themselves
especially on minor infections in order to spend less money and to avoid over relying
on vets who may not come on time
• ILRI should send supervisors to monitor progress on the interventions taken on as well
as connect them to bigger markets for their pigs
• Trainings should include teaching on contract farming where buyers give farmers
money to rear the breeds they want and then sell them off

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• For men, meetings should be set in the evenings when they are back
from work
• For women, meetings should be extended to their villages so that
they don’t have to move long distances for the meetings
• For the youth, these meetings during holidays to enable student
youths to participate
• The farmers requested that some model farms should be set up
in the villages for easier spreading of the interventions and the
owners of these farms should be trained to be able to train
others

Training and
Certification of feed
producers

www.cgiar.org
What worked Well?
• The feed producers got knowledge on storage e.g., using pellets, and ways to
allow easy aeration throughout the store
• They learnt about feed rationing for example how to mix feed for different stages
of a pig like sows, piglets etc. as well as knowing the different alternatives for each
ingredient if its not on market at the time
• They learnt about record keeping for example expenditures, income and profit.
They also learnt how to save
• Some farmers received training from Enterprise Uganda in Kampala about
mindset change, creativity, marketing and skills development
• They received training on the Feed calculator app, and they extended the same
knowledge to the farmers who bought from them

www.cgiar.org
What didn’t work to your expectation and why?
• Some of the standard equipment they were expected to have at their stores were
not on market and expensive in Masaka and were expected to get them all the
way from Kampala
• The Feed Calculator App was not user friendly for stockists who were illiterate
• The training days were consecutive and didn’t allow some stockisst to do their
own work or run their own programs
• The trainings were done only once and yet some of the workers that were trained
left, and the owners are not able to train the new ones
• The feed stockists expected the extensionists to help them form a cooperative for
those who attended the training, but they didn’t

www.cgiar.org
Adjustment they would like to see in the program
• Some stockists felt that it would have been better if some of the money used in
extension was given to some of them who were financially impaired to help them
boost their stores to the standard ones they were taught about
• Trainings should be done more frequently and not only once so that they
remember what is taught
• The village-based agents should have the information disseminated to different
villages for easy access for those who need it, or they should leave their contacts
for those who needed them
• Stockists requested that ILRI connect them to markets where they can sell their
produce.
• Stockists requested for a policy that controls farmers who get feed on credit and
don’t pay as well one that ensures that quality feed is sold by all stockists because
some mix sand in their feed and sell it cheaper than the rest

www.cgiar.org
What would be done better to help men, women, and youth
improve their participation in the program?
• Some stockists said that some practical topics were taught to only the owners of
the stores and not to their employees, so they weren’t involved. They therefore
requested that they should involve them as well
• Enterprise Uganda should do its trainings more frequently so that more women
and youth participate

www.cgiar.org
Thank You