Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Department of Epidemiology and Disease Control, National Veterinary Institute (SVA), Uppsala, Sweden.
PLoS One. 2023 Jun 9;18(6):e0287041. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287041. eCollection 2023.
Pig production has a short history in Uganda. The majority of pigs are kept by smallholder farmers in rural areas where access to veterinary services is limited, and pig keeping has been suggested as a potential pathway out of poverty for smallholders. Previous research has identified the disease of African swine fever (ASF) as a major threat, causing high mortalities in pigs. With no available cure or vaccine, the only option is to implement biosecurity measures, i.e. strategies that prevent the spread of ASF. This paper draws on data from four months of ethnographic fieldwork in rural northern Uganda. Combining methods of participant observation, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and a survey, the aim was to improve understanding of smallholders' perceptions and responses to pig health issues such as ASF. Applying the concept of practical knowledge, this paper analyses the potential and limitations of smallholders' practice-based knowledge as a means of dealing with pig health issues. The results show that while pigs were appreciated locally for providing an income, many informants found it difficult to deal with pig diseases effectively. Consequently, informants commonly expressed a need for other kinds of knowledge in their pig production, indicating that veterinary advice can play an important role in reducing the negative impact of pig health issues. For animal health provision to have relevance in this context, however, veterinary practitioners must pay close attention to smallholders' priorities and ways of knowing in their livestock keeping. Results further show that pig health issues made some informants abandon pig production altogether. To enhance the potential of pig production as a poverty mitigation strategy in Uganda, research and policy need to focus on ways of bettering general conditions for smallholder pig keeping, including improving the quality of and access to veterinary services in rural areas.
乌干达的养猪业历史较短。大多数猪都由农村地区的小农户饲养，这些地区兽医服务有限，养猪业被认为是小农户脱贫的潜在途径。先前的研究已经确定了非洲猪瘟（ASF）是一个主要威胁，它会导致猪的高死亡率。由于没有可用的治疗方法或疫苗，唯一的选择是实施生物安全措施，即防止 ASF 传播的策略。本文借鉴了在乌干达北部农村进行的为期四个月的民族志实地调查数据。通过参与观察、半结构化访谈、焦点小组讨论和调查相结合的方法，旨在提高对小农户对猪健康问题（如 ASF）的看法和反应的理解。本文应用实践知识的概念，分析了小农户基于实践的知识在处理猪健康问题方面的潜力和局限性。结果表明，虽然猪在当地被认为是一种收入来源，但许多受访者发现很难有效地处理猪病。因此，受访者普遍表示需要在养猪生产中获得其他种类的知识，这表明兽医建议可以在减少猪健康问题的负面影响方面发挥重要作用。然而，为了使动物健康服务在这种情况下具有相关性，兽医从业者必须密切关注小农户在饲养牲畜方面的优先事项和认知方式。研究结果还表明，猪健康问题使一些受访者完全放弃了养猪生产。为了提高养猪业作为乌干达减贫战略的潜力，研究和政策需要关注改善小农户养猪一般条件的方法，包括提高农村地区兽医服务的质量和可及性。
