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Science experts, policy makers and other pig industry stakeholders gathered in Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, in December last year to discuss important findings and insights on the impact of heat stress on the pig sector in the country, as a result of climate change.
Pig farming is a profitable enterprise in Uganda. However, the pig sector could face substantial disruption as a result of rising global temperatures and humidity.
Model projections and spatial analysis developed by scientists at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT predict that severe heat stress conditions will be dominant throughout the country, with over 120 of Uganda’s 134 districts experiencing progressive heat stress conditions in the coming years.
Why pigs matter
Dr. Julius Okello, Team Leader Infrastructure at the Delivery Unit of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) cited low productivity as a barrier for growth as well as a lack of data to inform policy formulation and implementation. He emphasized the need for a national register of pig farmers as a starting point to consolidate data for the pig industry in Uganda.
What the science says
Dr. Birthe Paul, environment scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity, together with research associate, John Mutua, led the scientific briefing and presented the main research findings described in their recently published policy brief on heat stress. Dr. Birthe highlighted that although there is more research done on the effects of climate change on crops, “what we do know is that heat stress is among the most severe expected impacts.”
She recommended that heat stress risk be high on the agenda for Uganda’s pig sector. “Because of their physiological make-up, heat stress can cause a reduction in pigs’ growth, reproduction and health, and at times cause premature death.”
"According to current climate model projections, over 90% of districts in Uganda will experience severe heat stress conditions by 2100" said Mr. Mutua. "While the time horizon of the projections may feel long, northwestern parts of the country are already being affected by heat stress."
Uganda has already put in place policies and plans to support climate change adaptation. However, several key challenges remain. First, they are not specifically targeted to support piggery nor do they consider the impacts of heat stress. Second, the implementation of the jointly developed policies, strategies and plans remain unclear.
Getting pigs in the policy agenda
Discussions focused on the additional impacts of climate change that would also affect the pig industry. This included unavailability of inputs, such as insufficient production of maize, which could result in competition between human and animal food and lead to livestock feed shortages. Rising temperatures and humidity could also see a rise in pests and diseases, affecting animal health and an increased demand for veterinary services, which many smallholder farmers are either unable to afford or access. Water availability was also cited as a big concern, with many current water sources drying up, thereby restricting access and driving up the costs of water.
The policy briefing closed with declarations of commitments by participants. Some of the high-level commitments included: raising awareness of heat stress, its impacts and policy recommendations at the highest level of government; a revision of policies and regulations on climate change to include all types of livestock – including pigs; prioritization of implementation of water programs for production; integrating the pig sector into national climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies as well as promoting more climate smart agriculture practices and programs across the country.
The outputs from this workshop will contribute to the overall MorePork program under the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock aimed at developing and testing an environmentally sustainable and gender-inclusive integrated intervention packages to improve pig productivity and incomes of value chain actors. This policy briefing is part of an upcoming multi-stakeholder learning series around livestock and climate change.
February 12, 2021 - ILRI
