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URBAN FARMER HOSTS SWINE INDUSTRY DAY IN UGANDA

Urban Farmer recently hosted a Swine Industry Day at the Protea Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. Held on 24 January 2019, the event was facilitated by Pig Production and Marketing Uganda Limited and was co-hosted by Alzu Pig Genetics / PIC.

 

Uganda is the leading pork producing and consuming country in East Africa. While information on the actual size of the industry is conflicting, it is understood that the national herd exceeds 200 000 sows and the local consumption of pork tops 125 000 tons per year.

 

If one accepts that the modern sow can produce upwards of 2 000 kilograms of meat per year, then the Ugandan pig farmers should, in theory, be able to produce four times more pork per year than they are currently achieving.

 

These numbers suggest that there is an industry out there which can both, increase production and improve efficiency, dramatically. Encouragingly the numbers also suggest a market which will continue to eat and enjoy any and all the additional pork produced in the country.

 

The event which was attended by the industry stakeholders  – pig breeders, farmers, feed producers, and pork processors – offered a valuable forum for information sharing and discussion. The general consensus amongst participants was that the major challenges facing the industry are related to genetics, nutrition and health. These topics were capably covered by the presenters: Christopher Mulindwa of Pig Production and Marketing, Steven Payne and Kate Roodt of Urban Farmer and Alteli de Villiers of Alzu Pig Genetics / PIC.

 

Perhaps the most exciting and revealing end result of the Day was the realization that small adjustments and improvements amongst the many thousands of pig farmers in Uganda can result in impressive and  immediate increases in production. Watch this space!!

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