The study investigates the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale commercial feed producers in Uganda to enhance the quality of compounded feeds, given the challenges of high costs, poor quality, and limited access. Results indicate a significant gap in technical knowledge regarding feed formulation, with most producers relying on customer feedback for quality assessment. The conclusion emphasizes the need for capacity building in technical skills and increased awareness of regulatory policies to improve feed production and quality.

1. Assessing knowledge, attitude, and practices and
small-scale commercial feed producers in Uganda
Ben Lukuyu1, Stella Namazzi2, Pius Lutakome1 and Emily Ouma1
1 International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Feeds and Forages Program, Uganda
2 National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), National Crops Resources Research Institute, Uganda
Tropentag 2021:
Towards shifting paradigms in agriculture for a healthy and sustainable
future
September 15 - 17, 2021,
organized by
University of Hohenheim, Germany

2. 2
Background
• About 33 % of the dairy farmers use compounded dairy concentrate feed
while nearly 56% use feed ingredients.
• The commercial feed industry is dominated by small-scale feed
compounders.
• Despite an abundance of energy-based and protein-based ingredients,
farmers continue to lament about the high prices, poor quality, and limited
access to compounded feeds.
• To improve the quality of compounded feeds on the market, it is important to
understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of small-scale feed
producers.

3. 3
Objectives
• To investigate assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of small-scale feed
producers to identify entry points or key leverage points to improve the small
scale commercial compounded feed production in Uganda.

4. 4
Material and Methods
• Eighty (80) small-scale commercial compound feed producers in three intervention
districts of Mukono, Masaka, Kampala, and two control districts of Mpigi and Wakiso
were interviewed
• The choice of the target and control districts was based on high pig population density
(>50 heads/km2) and the high concentration of feed producers.
• The data for this study were collected through a cross-sectional survey with feed outlets
as the sampling unit using a semi-structured questionnaire programmed in Computer
Aided Personal Interviewing technology using Open Data Kit (ODK).
• Data analysis was done using SPSS and STATA 15.

5. Results and discussion
Production capacity of studied feed producers across districts and by gender
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Masaka Mukono Mpigi Kampala Wakiso
Percentange
of
respondents
Study districts
0.2-2 ton/day 2.1-10 tons/day More than 10 tons/day
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0.2-2
tonnes/day
2.1 to 10
tonnes/day
More than
10 tonnes
/day
Percentange
of
respondents
Male Female

6. Results and discussion
Knowledge on the use of different feed rations
for different pig production stages
83%
14%
3%
YES NO NOT AWARE
79.1
20.9
YES NO
Knowledge on need for least cost feed
formulation to produce quality feed
In practice, feed millers produce only
one standard type of feed tailored to
farmer demands

7. Results and discussion
Level of knowledge related to feed supplementation and protein/energy requirements by
different gender
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Yes No Don't know
Level
of
knowledge
on
feed
supplementation
Male Female
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Male Female
Level
of
knowledge
on
feed
nutrients
Gender
Knowledgeable Not knowledgeable

8. 8
Attitudes of feed producers about pig feeding and use
of compounded feeds
Feed quality laser fare
attitudinal typology
Knowledge attitudinal
typology
Consumer orientated
attitudinal typology
Profit orientated typology
 Laboratory analysis is costly
 Quality of feeds is adjusted
based on demand
 Feed differentiation among
different stages is not
important
 Knowledge of composition
of feed ingredients is not
important in feed
production
 Physical & sensory methods
are sufficient for detecting
quality
 I exclusively use sensory for
determining quality of feeds
 I possess vast experience in
compound feed mixing
 Animal nutrition expertise is
not important in feed
formulation & production
 Poor quality feeds deters
farmers from using it
 High cost of feed ingredients
increases cost of compounded
feeds
 Poor quality compounded
feeds affect pig productivity
 Seasonal variation in costs of
feed ingredients affects the
market price of compounded
feeds
 Choice of formula is influenced by
the price of ingredients but not
quality
 Quality of compounded feeds does
not influence sales.
 Compounded feeds are expensive
and farmers cannot afford them
 Pigs can eat anything irrespective
of the nutritive quality

9. Results and Discussion
Awareness about the existence of policies regulating compounded feeds across the study
districts by scale of feed producers
0 20 40 60 80 100
Masaka
Mukono
Mpigi
Kampala
Wakiso
Level
of
awareness
(%)
Don't know
No
Yes
0 20 40 60 80 100
Small scale producers
Medium scale producers
Large scale producers
Level
of
awareness
(%)
Don't know No Yes

10. Results and Discussion
• Small scale feed producers
relied on customer feedback
to determine the quality of
compounded feeds.
• Few feed millers in Uganda
analyze feeds for quality due to
costs, timeliness, unreliability
of results and inadequate
engagement with them as
clients.
Methods used in detecting quality
of feed ingredients used in
compounding feeds
0 20 40 60 80 100
Percentage using method

11. 11
Key messages
• Feed millers are aware about importance of formulating high quality least cost pig
feed rations by production stages
• However, the level on knowledge on feed nutrient compositions is low and mix one
standard type of feed tailored to farmer demands. This is attributed to knowledge
gap in technical skills among commercial feed producers to formulate and produce
high quality compounded feeds.
• Farmers have negative perceptions about key aspects that influence good quality of
pig feeds
• There is low awareness about the existence of policies regulating compounded feeds
amongst feed producers
• Very few feed producers analyze feed for quality but depend on customer feedback
to establish quality of feeds

12. 12
Conclusion
• The study shows that there are gaps in technical knowledge and practices
regarding feed formulation and mixing, and limited awareness about policies
and regulation of feed production and marketing of commercial feeds in Uganda.

13. 13
Outlook
• Future effort should focus on building capacity in technical skills of feed
formulation of small-scale feed producers and influencing their behaviour
towards mixing good quality feeds that meet the nutritional and safety
standards.

14. CGIAR Research Program on Livestock
The CGIAR Research Program on Livestock aims to increase the productivity and profitability of livestock agri-food
systems in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and eggs more available and affordable across the developing world.
This presentation is licensed for use under the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
The program thanks all donors and organizations which globally support its work through their contributions to the CGIAR system
livestock.cgiar.org
CGIAR Research Program on Livestock
The CGIAR Research Program on Livestock aims to increase the productivity and profitability of livestock agri-food
systems in sustainable ways, making meat, milk and eggs more available and affordable across the developing world.
The program thanks all donors and organizations which globally support its work through their contributions to the CGIAR system
livestock.cgiar.org