No more guesswork: Tool developed for better prediction of live weights of local pigs in western Kenya

Pig farmers in rural western Kenya can now have better bargaining power and a chance of getting a fair price when selling their animals, thanks to a newly developed tool that uses body length and girth measurements to estimate pig weight within reasonable levels of accuracy.

A study published in the January/February 2011 edition of the Journal of Swine Health and Production details how the weight-prediction tool was developed and validated based on 298 observations of pigs in Busia and Kakamega districts of western Kenya where smallholder pig keeping is a popular enterprise.

Households here typically keep one or two pigs of local nondescript breeds that are either tethered or left free to scavenge for feed.

No formal market structures exist for sale of the mature pigs; local traders and pork butchers usually travel between farms on bicycles looking for pigs to buy.

The selling price is based on the weight of the pig but because farmers cannot afford to buy weighing scales, they have no option but to guess the weight based on visual assessment.

This guesswork method of "weighing by looking" is evidently less accurate than the use of a scale and often results in the farmers underestimating the weight of their pigs and thus selling at a price far below market value.

Weight predictions using body measurements have been studied in other countries and for various species of animals.

However, this was the first time that weight prediction using girth and length measurements for pigs was being studied in rural western Kenya or in similar settings in East Africa.

Based on weights and body measurements, mathematical weight equations were developed for three categories of pigs: young (under 5 months), market age (5.1-9.9 months) and breeding age (over 10 months).

Farmers were also asked to "guesstimate" the age and weight of the pigs in each category.

The weight predicted by the equation was more accurate than that estimated by the farmers.

For 90% of the market-age pigs, the difference between the actual weight and that predicted by the equation was 4.6 kg which was significantly lower than the difference of 24 kg between the actual pig weight and the farmers' estimates.

The authors suggest that the weight-prediction tool will offer smallholder farmers in western Kenya the opportunity to get better market value for their local pigs and will act as an incentive to better manage their pigs through improved feeding and husbandry.

Separate analysis is ongoing to evaluate the effect of the tool on the farmer-trader bargaining process and on pricing.

The study was part of research by the lead author, Florence Mutua, towards a PhD degree in epidemiology from the University of Nairobi (awarded 2010).

The paper’s co-authors are Cate Dewey of the University of Guelph, Samuel Arimi and William Ogara of the University of Nairobi, and Esther Schelling of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

Dr Mutua’s ILRI supervisor was Dr Thomas Randolph, agricultural economist and head of ILRI’s research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets.

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Citation
Mutua FK, Dewey CE, Arimi SM, Schelling E and Ogara WO. 2011. Prediction of live body weight using length and girth measurements for pigs in rural Western Kenya. Journal of Swine Health and Production 19(1): 26-33.

New study calls for better training of local pig farmers in western Kenya to boost profits

Better marketing, improved access to credit, and training on good pig husbandry practices are among key interventions needed to boost the profitability of indigenous pig production in western Kenya, a new study reports.

Production of indigenous pigs is a popular enterprise among farmers in western Kenya because it is a low-risk venture with minimal input requirements in terms of space and feed. Smallholder households in this region typically keep one or two pigs that are either tethered or left free to scavenge.

The study published in the Nordic Journal of African Studies examined the beliefs and perceptions on local pig production among smallholder farmers in Kakamega District in western Kenya. The study also sought to establish the challenges the farmers face in production and marketing of their pigs, and possible avenues for improving pig husbandry and boosting farmer incomes.

Focus group discussions were held with four groups of 8-12 farmers each, as well as divisional staff working in livestock production, agriculture, health, adult education and social services.

Some of the constraints hampering the growth of indigenous pig farming include poor rural infrastructure, lack of local pork processing facilities, low levels of awareness among farmers on appropriate pig breeding methods, and religious beliefs surrounding consumption of pork.

The authors acknowledge that the challenges affecting the sector will need to be addressed first before any reasonable gains can be achieved.

“Future research needs to directly address the issues raised by the farmers and staff to enable the smallholder pig sector to thrive in this region of Kenya,” the paper concludes.

For example, training and extension tools for farmers will need to be revised to incorporate the different topics suggested by farmers and the staff so that training workshops better meet the needs of the participants.

The study was part of research by the lead author, Florence Mutua, towards a PhD degree in epidemiology from the University of Nairobi (awarded 2010). The paper’s co-authors are Samuel Arimi and William Ogara of the University of Nairobi, Cate Dewey of the University of Guelph and Esther Schelling of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

Dr Mutua’s ILRI supervisor was Dr Thomas Randolph, agricultural economist and head of ILRI’s research team on smallholder competitiveness in changing markets.

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Citation
Mutua F, Arimi S, Ogara W, Dewey C and Schelling E. 2010. Farmer perceptions on indigenous pig farming in Kakamega District, Western Kenya. Nordic Journal of African Studies 19(1): 43–57.

Quantitative approaches can improve value chain analysis of livestock systems, new study says

Value chain analysis has important applications in development settings but research gaps exist in quantifying the impacts from value chain interventions. Various quantitative methods exist that have the potential to strengthen measurement of value chain impacts.

A new study published online on 18 December 2010 in the journal Food Policy examines the application of two modelling platforms, system dynamics and agent-based modelling, in quantitative value chain analysis of livestock systems within a developing-country context.

The paper, Quantifying value chain analysis in the context of livestock systems in developing countries, is authored by Karl Rich of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and on joint appointment at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), R Brent Ross of Michigan State University, Derek Baker of ILRI and Asfaw Negassa of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

View the abstract here

Citation
Rich KM, Ross RB, Baker AD and Negassa A. 2011.Quantifying value chain analysis in the context of livestock systems in developing countries. Food Policy 36(2): 214-222.

ILRI report quantifies demand for improved quality and safety of livestock products among urban Bangladeshi consumers

Demand for animal products has been increasing rapidly in Bangladesh due to urbanization and increases in per capita income.

There are rudimentary indications that demand for improved food quality and safety has also been increasing and that consumers were willing to pay higher prices for such attributes of products.

However, there is little empirical evidence on the criteria and indicators of quality and safety that consumers use in their buying decisions, or that suppliers use in differentiating products to promote sales, or the extent to which consumers are willing to pay for such attributes.

This study is the first attempt to comprehensively characterize and quantify Bangladeshi urban demand for animal products with a focus on quality and safety.

Based on a multi-stage sample survey of 900 households from Dhaka and Mymensingh cities, successive analyses present statements of preference based on ratings, identified quality criteria, stated sources of supply and recent purchasing behaviour both at home and away from home, and econometric analysis of relationships between price ratings and quality ratings across attributes, so as to generate willingness to pay for those attributes.

The findings show that officially defined grades and quality standards of livestock products are either absent or poorly defined and enforced.

On the other hand, producers and consumers in the market use specific attributes or criteria and indicators to differentiate quality and safety of livestock products and they also charge and pay different prices based on those attributes.

Although targeted at urban populations, considerable variation between locations in terms of the product preferences and attributes used to differentiate quality was identified.

Establishment of standards and grades will become necessary to meet consumer demand on the one hand and facilitate producers and market agents to respond to consumer demand on the other.

Whether smallholders will have any comparative advantage in supplying an expanding market requiring more homogenous and better quality and safer products need to be studied regularly along with studies on consumer demand because of the dynamic nature of the emerging and evolving market, the industry and the sector.

Access the report here.

Citation
Islam SMF and Jabbar MA. 2010. Consumer preferences and demand for livestock products in urban Bangladesh. ILRI Research Report No. 23. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya.

ILRI research report features case studies on consumer demand for livestock products in Africa and Asia

Rising developing country demand for livestock products propelled by income and population growth, and by urbanization offers poverty reduction opportunities to actors in the supply chain.

The increase in volumes demanded also features diversification and increased demand for quality attributes. Reliable food safety and information on animal husbandry and geographic origin have long been recognized as value-adding differentiation mechanisms in the developed world.

Anecdotal accounts suggest that this is also the case in developing countries.

However, little consistent rigorously researched evidence has been published on this subject.

This report presents results based on case studies conducted in a number of developing countries in Asia and Africa: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Tunisia, and Vietnam.

An overview of the theoretically consistent methods used and a synthesis of the results obtained in the various case studies are presented first followed by the case studies each describing a study of specific commodities in specific developing country locations.

A consistent set of results emerges, wherein consumers exhibit willingness to pay for quality and safety in animal-origin foods, and within which this willingness to pay is strongest amongst the wealthy and the urban dwellers.

However, the intricacy and variety of quality definition and measurement are demonstrated fully, as they occur between and within countries, commodity groups and other settings.

The key message from the results is the evidence that quality and safety considerations in products of animal origin food provide commercial opportunities for developing country producers, market actors and industry participants.

Access the report here.

Citation
Jabbar MA, Baker D and Fadiga ML. (eds). 2010. Demand for livestock products in developing countries with a focus on quality and safety attributes: Evidence from Asia and Africa. ILRI Research Report No. 24. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya.

Informal contract arrangements are an economic boost for Vietnam’s small-scale pig farmers

Farmer Ma Thi Puong feeds her pigs on her farm near the northern town of Meo Vac, Viet Nam. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann)

The rapid growth in demand for pork in Vietnam presents an opportunity for rural pig-keeping households to improve their incomes. This project on contract farming for equitable market-oriented smallholder swine production in northern Vietnam sought to characterize the ‘true’ costs and benefits of contract farming of swine in northern Vietnam.

The ultimate objective was to understand the barriers to participation of smallholders in contract farming and other market arrangements and to identify a set of policy and intervention options that would facilitate profitable market-oriented livestock farming partnerships.

The project was carried out in four provinces of northern Vietnam that supply slaughter pigs to the Hanoi market: Bac Giang, Ha Tay, Thai Binh and Thanh Hoa. Selected case studies assessed a variety of institutional arrangements and provided information on marketing arrangements for pigs and pig products under different institutional forms, and on contractor strategies for targeting and selecting producers in Northern Vietnam.

Below are a few key highlights of the project findings.

Scale of production is a barrier to smallholder participation
Smallholder farmers keeping only a few pigs tended to be locked out of participating in formal contract arrangements primarily because contractors preferred to engage farmers with more than 50 sows and large-scale farms that generated outputs of more than 5 tonnes live weight per year.

Informal contract arrangements benefit smallholders
Informal contracts with co-operative societies can help small-scale farmers generate better returns in short-duration pig production systems such as production of crossbreeds under farrow-to-wean and grow-to-finish systems. However, for longer production cycles (farrow-to-finish), independent producers had higher returns to labour. The benefits of contract farming arrangements included lower transaction costs, protection from production and market risks, and access to quality inputs, services, financing, information and markets for outputs.

Informal contract arrangements are effective
Based on the comparison of returns to labour between farmers with and without contracts, informal contract arrangements were effective in facilitating economic returns from pig production by providing farmers with a number of benefits and services such as price discounts, technical assistance, market information, delivery of inputs to farm and collection of outputs from farm.

The project was supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative (FAO-PPLPI) and administered by the Market Opportunities theme of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in collaboration with staff from Hanoi Agricultural University and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

For more information, please contact Dr Lucy Lapar of ILRI (l.lapar [at] cgiar.org).

In the news: Director of ILRI's market opportunities theme interviewed on Vietnam agriculture TV channel

Agricultural economist and director of the Market Opportunities Theme at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Dr Steve Staal, was interviewed on the Weekend Agro-Products Market programme on VTC-16, Vietnam’s Agriculture and Rural Development television channel.

Dr Staal was speaking during a workshop for an ILRI-led project aimed at improving the competitiveness of pig producers in an adjusting Vietnam market. The workshop was held on 5 October 2010 at the Melia Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam to mark the end of the project and to present research findings to stakeholders.

He highlighted the key findings of the project, noting that smallholder pig producers in Vietnam are indeed competitive and are likely to remain so, especially in light of projected future increases in consumer demand for fresh pork.

The three-year project (2007-2010) was sponsored by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). The project collaborators were the Centre for Agricultural Policy - Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development (CAP-IPSARD), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Oxfam Hong Kong and the University of Queensland.

More information is available on the project website http://www.vietpigs.com.vn/