Census report of pig artificial insemination service providers in Mukono, Wakiso, Mpigi and Masaka districts of Uganda

Businge,M. Ahumuza, R., Ouma, E., and Marshall K. 2024. Census report of pig artificial insemination service providers in Mukono, Wakiso, Mpigi and Masaka districts of Uganda. Kampala, Uganda: ILRI

A census of pig artificial insemination (AI) service providers was conducted in the CGIAR Initiative on Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods, Nutrition and Gender inclusion (SAPLING) project sites to ascertain demographic patterns and guide entry points for intervention in the pig genetics value chain. A total of 106 pig AI service providers were interviewed in Mukono, Masaka, Mpigi and Wakiso districts. The majority lived in Mukono and Wakiso. Ninety-five percent (95%) of the technicians were men, and more than 50% were non youth (above 35 years). Overall, the majority were self-employed paravets with animal-related diplomas. Ninety-seven percent (97%) had received formal AI training on essential topics including pig AI procedure, heat detection, pregnancy testing, semen collection, processing, pig breeds and breeding. Only 27% of the technicians had some type of registration under Uganda National Artificial Insemination Technicians Association (UNAITA), AI training entities, local associations and local governments, although some registrations were not AI-related. Technicians in Wakiso had performed more pig AI in the previous 12 months, whereas Mukono technicians worked in more sub-counties than those in the other districts. Easy access to sperm, age, and self-sponsorship at training were among the important features of the technicians who had performed the most AIs in the previous 12 months. The challenges pig AI technicians faced were threefold: semen transportation, at service delivery level and at farmer level.