A systematic review of herd health research in the pig value chain in mid-northern Uganda: Constraints, gaps and opportunities

The pig sector in Uganda is growing rapidly, partly driven by increase in human population, urbanization and changing consumption habits. The demand for pork is projected to outpace supply in the coming decades, yet supply remains low. To bridge this projected supply gap, pig production and productivity needs to increase significantly, combined with increased efficiency in production and value chain performance. Nevertheless, despite existence of a growing market for pork, the current production and market systems in the country are inefficient with diverse constraints.

This systematic review study was conducted to provide (1) an analysis of the pig herd health research situation in Uganda’s mid-northern (Acholi and Lango) subregions; (2) summarize key challenges and constraints faced by pig value chain actors and (3) highlight major herd health research gaps with a view to inform future interventions. A comprehensive literature search was done using Harzing’s Publish or Perish software tool (version 8. 18.5091). The search used key words: Pigs, pork, value chain, livestock policy, northern Uganda, pig markets, veterinary services, pig feeds, reports, practitioners, herd health, diseases, African swine fever, parasites, respiratory pathogens, antimicrobial use, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, cysticercosis, artificial insemination, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial use and zoonoses.

Results revealed that while significant opportunities exist in the region, the pig value chain faces a diversity of constraints, which if addressed could potentially transform the sector. The growing demand for pork and other related products, backed by rising population and increasing per capita incomes provide immense opportunities for all actors involved in the value chain. However, endemic diseases remain a major threat and setback to the development of the value chain, particularly African swine fever (ASF), and parasitic and zoonotic diseases such as Taenia solium cysticercosis. This review highlights the following key herd health constraints and gaps to the growth and productivity of the pig industry in the region:

• Weaknesses in national livestock sector policies and institutional arrangements of VC actors for collective action
• Structural and organisational gaps in inputs’ supply, quality, poor funding and delivery of veterinary services
• High incidence of economically important diseases such as African swine fever (ASF), gastro-intestinal (GI) parasites, Taenia solium cysticercosis and bacterial diseases
• Gaps in technical knowledge and information on herd health, welfare and biosecurity practices of farmers and value chain (VC) actors
• Poor or inadequate infrastructure for pork production, processing and value addition
• Weak institutional linkages with other VC actors - such as feeds, breeding services and marketing (in transportation, value addition and processing node)
• Hazards in the pork value chain including zoonoses, food safety and antimicrobial resistance (AMR)