Analysis of pig breeding management and trait preferences in smallholder production systems in Kenya

Abstract

SummaryData on breeding management, breed and trait preference for pigs were collected from smallholder farmers in Kiambu and Kakamega Counties of Kenya. The production systems evaluated were semi-intensive and extensive and depicted varying pig production intensities, production objectives, pig performances as well as farmers’ breed and trait preferences. The perception of the importance of traits was evaluated to obtain a more balanced objective view on production and/or breeding objectives. The data collected were analysed through computation of indices, which represented a weighted average of all rankings of a particular trait. In the semi-intensive system, preference for performance traits such as size, growth rate and body weight, scored the same index (0.181), followed by the reproduction trait – prolificacy (0.161). In the extensive system, the indices for these traits were 0.187, 0.183, 0.163 and 0.106, respectively. Spearman's non-parametric rank correlations were calculated for ranking of traits of economic importance to indicate the directional effects and plausible trade-offs between traits. In the semi-intensive system, correlations were moderate between growth rate and both size and weight. In the extensive system, correlations were moderate for growth rate with both size and body weight. Appropriate breeds that suit the divergent production systems need to be identified and utilized based on performance and adaptability to ensure efficient resource use.

Traditional farmers’ pig trait preferences and awareness levels toward reproductive biotechnology application in Zambia

“…The other traits identified were growth rate and age at first mating, which were reported previously in South Africa and Kenya [ 20 , 44 ]. Similar to our FGD findings, preference for these traits was attributed to farmers’ desire to have pigs grow or multiply faster so they could sell and generate a higher income [ 20 ].…”

Assessment of ecosystem services provided by livestock agroecosystems in the tropics: a case study of tropical island environment of Guadeloupe

“…In the present study, the practice of pig manure recycling is rarely used in farmers’ practices. Similar conclusions were found in Mbuthia et al ( 2015 ) when they studied pig farming systems in Kenya and in Fanchone et al ( 2020 ) when they compared the diversity of agroecological practices in Martinique, whereas pig manure recycling was found to be frequently used in Vietnam (Huyen et al 2019 ).…”

“…In our analysis, farmers with a low number of animals were considered because small LFS (such as family farms) represent the traditional practice in the Caribbean since the time of slavery and these practices remain in Guadeloupe, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas (Xandé 1999 ; Sainton et al 2012 ). Therefore, these LFS cannot be ignored due to their particular functions for household sustainability, as it was shown in some tropical regions (Mbuthia et al 2015 ; Gourdine et al 2018 ; Huyen et al 2019 ).…”

Multiple criteria decision-making process to derive consensus desired genetic gains for a dairy cattle breeding objective for diverse production systems

“…Such approaches are an alternative to the formal economic weighting approach for situations with under-developed market channels or where animals have nonmonetary values (or both), and for situations with multiple production and marketing systems. Some participatory approaches used in deriving trait preferences in livestock systems in the literature are conjoint analysis (Tano et al, 2003), choice experiments (Scarpa et al, 2003;Byrne et al, 2012), weighted indices (Bett et al, 2009;Mbuthia et al, 2015), Wilcoxon signed rank (Gizaw et al, 2010) and AHP (Sae-Lim et al, 2012;Omasaki et al, 2016).…”