Gender in Smallholder Pig Value Chains—ILRI approach Uganda
UNDP/FAO Training on Gender Mainstreaming for Climate Change
Adaptation, Mukono, 9–12 May 2017
Rosemirta Birungi and Emily Ouma

Why gender focus on pig value chains in Uganda?
• Pigs are a dynamic and rapidly growing sub-
sector in Uganda.
• In the past three decades pig population
increased from 0.19 to 3.2 million pigs
• Highest per capita consumption (3.4
kg/person/year) of pork in the region -10
times increase in the last 30 years, whereas
beef is declining.
• More than 1.1 million households raise pigs in
rural and peri-urban settings.
• Pigs contribute to livelihoods and income to
meet emergency needs and school fees (“live
bank”)

Socio-economic Description –SPVC, Uganda
• A large informal sub-sector
– Mostly backyard systems, managed by
women and children
– Low productivity (breeds, feeds & health
constraints)
– Uncoordinated trade & transport
– Unsupervised slaughter slabs, with no
meat inspection in local markets, road-side
butchers, pork joints
– Only 1 approved slaughterhouse in
Kampala (Wambizzi)
– Few investors in formal processor: Fresh
Cuts, Sausage King

Back Drop _ Gender issues in Smallholder Pig
Value Chains
• Observed dominance in participation for different
Nodes, Activities & tasks of the pig value chain (Ouma, et al.,
2014); Mtimet & Baker, (2013); Tatwangire, (2013).
• Whereby,
– women are observed dominating production activities( i.e.
cleaning, feeding, giving water, treating); while,
– men dominating post-production activities (processing,
marketing, service delivery, brokering).

Gender- neutral Assessment 2010-2013
ILRI SPVC Some Key Findings
Pig Production Issues
• Majority of the pig producers households (81%) were male headed.
• Mukono and Masaka, had relatively higher female pig farmers comprising
24.3-25.7%.
• Women play major role in initiating pig production .Men dominate other
components ; drug stocking (92%), livestock feed stocking (82%), live pig trade
(95%), agro-veterinary services (83%) and village boar keeping
businesses.(52%)
• Male headed households had higher asset index (8.1) , 3 times higher than
that of female headed households,-disparity index in rural-urban value chain
domain was the highest (0.58) compared to urban-urban (0.27) and rural-rural
(0.16) VCs
• Pig mortality rates were as high as 39% and 73% in Mukono. –with discernable
differences in breeds (exotic VS local ) and domains urban VS rural)

Some Key Findings –ILRI SPVC Gender- neutral
Assessment ……
Pig Marketing Issues
• Women are not seen at all participating in live pig marketing
• Men are seen to dominate live pig marketing
• The quality assurance standards in the pig production process are yet
to be embraced since there were few traders who grade pork products.
The traders were not aware of existence of quality standards.
• Majority of the farmers did not receive market information (69%) and
extension services (89%) during the period of 2012/2013 production
season. Common sources of extension services to pig farmers were mainly NAADS,
NGOs like VEDCO, other farmers (sharing of information) and animal health service
providers (AHSP).

Some Key Findings –ILRI SPVC Gender- neutral
Assessment ……..
Pig Service delivery
Issues
• Disease surveillance and monitoring
mechanism had not been established.
The few disease surveillance activities
that exited were usually limited to
body temperature checks and parasite
control carried out by farmers
themselves and village veterinarians.
• Limited access to pig health related
information sharing platforms in the
villages

Some Key Findings –ILRI SPVC Gender- neutral
Assessment …….
Institutional Issues
• The membership to farmer groups
and trade associations still low
among the actors
• Only 21% of traders belonged to
trader associations, 31% of producers
were members of farmer groups, and
26% of women farmers were
members of women groups.
• Majority of the producers were
neither member of groups nor
participated in collective action

Some Key Findings :
ILRI SPVC Gender –focused Assessment

Gender- Biased Assessment - 2015-2016
ILRI SPVC
1. Changes in tasks
10 years ago;
– Male dominated all activities , except collecting feeds & treating pigs
– Women do tasks performed at home,
– Men do tasks involving moving away from home.
Present;
– New set of tasks by gender
– Production tasks mostly done by women as home-based enterprise,
– Men mostly involve in processing & trading away from home.
2. Benefits men and women get
Financial, resource , social, and psychological benefits
3. Enabling or constraining factors
• Behavioral Factors
• Commercialization of tasks
• Women emancipation

Way forward
Gender Action needed in SPVC, Uganda
 Understanding
Gender
Empowerment in
pig value chain
 Empowerment
Intervention –
◦ Gendered
Upgrading in
the pig value

better lives through livestock
ilri.org
For more information:
Dr. Emily Ouma:
e.ouma@cgiar.org
www.ilri.org