Access to veterinary services and expenditure on pig health management
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Date
2020-10-07
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
Pig farming has gained momentum for most smallholder farmers in developing countries as a means of livelihood and household
incomes. However, prospects of the pig enterprises are constrained by pig health management issues which affect both its
productivity and profitability. Using a cross-sectional survey of 240 smallholder pig farmers, we assessed factors influencing
farmers’ access to veterinary services and expenditure on pig health management in northern Uganda. Data was analysed using
the binary logit and censored tobit regression models. Access to veterinary services was significantly influenced by pig herd size
(p < 0.05), Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) membership (p < 0.1), breed (p < 0.05), production system (p < 0.05)
and number of health issues recorded on farm (p < 0.01). Education level (p < 0.01), farming household members (p < 0.05), pig
herd size (p < 0.01), breed (p < 0.05), previous disease incidences (p < 0.05), household labour available (p < 0.1) and access to
veterinary services (p < 0.01) significantly influenced pig health expenditure. Efforts to improve access to veterinary services and
improve pig health management should focus on promoting more intensive production systems and improved breeds that are
associated with better access to veterinary services and reduced cost of pig health management.
Description
Keywords
Smallholder, Pig production, Pig health, Expenditure, Veterinary service, Uganda