A newly launched pig genetics project seeks to increase the productivity and profitability of the Ugandan smallholder pig enterprises by developing a genetic improvement strategy to ensure the availability and accessibility of appropriate pig breeds. Continue reading
The focus of the government of Uganda is to transform agriculture from subsistence to commercially oriented systems. The work being done by ILRI resonates with government’s objectives Continue reading
Pork meat sold in Vietnam has been found by researchers to commonly carry bacteria that could cause disease—but they also found that the risk of that meat sickening people is largely reduced due to the Vietnamese habit of buying very fresh meat and cooking it shortly thereafter. The research results indicate ways that the safety of pork meat can be even further improved in this fast-growing and -evolving market. The bottom line is that ensuring safe pork consumption in Vietnam is very important—and very doable. Continue reading
The experiences of developed countries, which now have relatively safe food, is that command-and-control approaches to food safety, which rely mainly on inspection and punishment, are less effective than approaches in which stakeholders are empowered and encouraged to self-regulate, motivated by the realisation that this is more profitable in the long term. Continue reading
Nagaland launches a comprehensive state pig-breeding policy, the first of its kind in India, developed through participatory and consultative processes. Continue reading
ILRI research to better control classical swine fever, also called hog cholera and pig plague, a highly contagious viral disease of pigs of all ages, usually killing the animals within two weeks of infection. The disease is endemic in the states of northeast India, where pig husbandry and meat eating are ubiquitous among the tribal communities that inhabit this remote region, isolated from the rest of India except through a slender corridor flanked by foreign territories. This article, one of a series being posted on the ILRI News blog, is one of 21 stories published in the ILRI Corporate Report 2014–2015, which you’ll find here: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/68631 Continue reading
Simon Lubega (left), manager of the Wambizzi Pig Cooperative Abattoir, in Uganda, in discussion with the EC’s Roberto Ridolfi (right) and other stakeholders during a tour of his biogas plant (photo credit: ILRI/Brian Kawuma). This article is written by Brian Kawuma, communications officer for ILRI in Uganda. Members of the Uganda country team of the … Continue reading
The authors call for further exploration of strategies to conserve root, tuber and banana crop residues during the harvest period to reduce waste and improve incomes for smallholder pig farmers in Uganda. Continue reading
A new risk assessment paper, Assessing the potential role of pigs in the epidemiology of the Ebola virus in Uganda, was published in the science journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases on 27 Aug 2015. The authors are scientists at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). Presently, there is no solid evidence that pigs have any role in the past outbreaks of Ebola virus disease. But the risk assessment paper indicates that further research on the role pigs may play in Ebola virus transmission in Uganda is warranted. Continue reading
This 2-minute film presents a ‘day in the life’ of a research-for-development project working to improve smallholder pig production in Uganda. The film highlights the big opportunities as well as challenges faced by small-scale pig producers in this East African country. Continue reading
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