As CRP3.7 ‘More meat, milk, and fish by and for the poor’ gets closer to final approval by the CGIAR Consortium, ILRI and CIAT have continued the process of engagement for one of the selected value chains: smallholder pig production in Uganda.

Together with representatives from the European Commission (EC) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a joint team from the two Centers recently continued its scoping activities there by visiting a number of people involved in the smallholder pig value chain, including seeing the impressive work to promote smallholder pig production by VEDCO in Kamuli and the Kamuzinda Farm in Masaka.

CRP3.7 then convened a stakeholder meeting in Kampala on June 14th to provide an opportunity for sharing information about ongoing R&D activities related to the smallholder pig value chain and to assess how research might best support further development. A meeting report summarizes the discussions.

The EC Food Security program, through IFAD, is considering support to an initial research activity proposed by CRP3.7 to pilot and evaluate best-bet improved smallholder pig production systems. This research will generate evidence of the effectiveness and benefits of the farm-level component as one part of an overall value chain upgrading strategy. It will also help us better understand where more in-depth research could relieve over time the more fundamental constraints to improving production.