Indigenous Technical Knowledge and Its Potential Application to Uganda's Pig Sub-sector

Abstract

Uganda's pork consumption is speculated to exceed any other livestock meat consumption by 2050. However, the current trendin pig production may not meet the demand due to pig production constraints such as recurrent disease incidences and highfeeding costs. The proposed modern practices are not cost‐effective, especially for resource‐constrained pig farmers. This review,therefore, synthesises previous studies on the practicability of integrating Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) in pig pro-duction to mitigate the prevailing pig production challenges in Uganda. By employing ITK, smallholder farmers have realised that indigenous pig breeds are disease‐resistant and suit the prevailing harsh tropical conditions. In addition, affordable plant‐based concoctions have been developed to cure diseases in pigs. For example, Centella asiatica has been identified as a potentialpurgative for diarrhoeal infections. Integrating pigs in cropping systems has also been adopted as a low‐cost alternative toeffectively feed pigs for optimal performance. Fortunately, most of the ITK options for solving pig production challenges arefeasible in Uganda. Thus, ITK should be embedded in the country's extension system to increase smallholder farmers'awareness about its potential of improving pig production. An ITK‐modern technology integration would probably meet theacceptance and be suitable for commercial pig producers