Awareness concerning optimal pig production management and animal welfare among smallholder farmers in Tanzania

The aim of this study was to assess smallholder farmer awareness in terms of good pig management and to identify serious management issues that should be readily changeable despite resources being limited in a rural setting. Methodology was a combination of questionnaire and observational surveys performed at pig-keeping households practising either confinement or a free-range system. Households were identified using the snowball method. A total of 120 pig-keeping households were included, of which 32 practised free-range systems and 88 confined their pigs. The observational survey included management practices and welfare assessment based on one pig from each of the 120 households. The results indicated that farmers were not aware of the basic requirements of pigs regardless of the production system practised. Water was often neglected and provided less frequently among those practising free-range. Pigs kept free-range also received treatment less frequently compared to those kept confined. Pigs were generally kept in poor conditions with risk of injury and without shelter from wind, rain, cold, heat, and sun. Welfare issues exist within both production systems, but issues within the confinement system could be easily eliminated with proper management. More knowledge on basic pig husbandry is required in the region and is essential for improving production. Educating farmers on the basic requirements for water and feed, alone, could vastly improve smallholder pig production. Education on pig management should therefore be a cornerstone in any research activity involving smallholder farmers in rural areas.http://www.ufaw.org.ukam2017Veterinary Tropical Disease

The Effect of Processing Method of Dolichos Bean (Lablab purpureus L. Sweet) on the Digestibility and Perfonnance of Growing-finishing pigs

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences (TAJAS), 1998; I (2): 121-130A 4 x 4 Latin sqf!.are experiment was carried out using 4 bancows to investigate the effect of processing method on the digestibility ofnutrients of dolichos beans and nitrogen retention in pigs. Four diets were formulated to contain the control diet with 0.09 soybean meal or 0.33 of the control diet and O. 67 of each of either raw, boiled or roasted dolichos bean meal in diets I, II, III and IV, respectively. In another experiment, four diets were formulated such that O. 18 of raw (Diet 2), boiled (Diet 3) or roasted (Diet 4) dolichos bean meals replaced the 0.09 soybean meal contained in the contro[,(Diet I). These diets were ded to 12female and 12 castrated male pigs in a 4 x 2 factorial arrangement. Feed intake, growth performance and slaughter characteristics were evaluated. Mean values of crude protein digestability and nitrogen retention in the raw dolichos meal (50.6% and 18g/d) were relatively lower than in the processed meals (p ~ 0.05). The' corresponding values for boiled dolichos meal were higher (p < 0.05) than those of roasted meal (73.6% versus 65.2% and 12.8g/dversus 8. 7g/d)~ Animals fed on the raw dolichos diet (Diet 2) had significantly lower growth rates and poorer feed conversion ratio. The two parameters were improved on the animals fed on heat-treated dolichos diets. It was concluded that thermC!-processing, particularly boiling greatly improved nutrient availability and overall utilisation of dolichos bean meal for pigs

The Effect of Processing Method of Dolichos Bean (Lablab purpureus L. Sweet) on the Digestibility and Perfonnance of Growing-finishing pigs

Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences (TAJAS), 1998; I (2): 121-130A 4 x 4 Latin sqf!.are experiment was carried out using 4 bancows to investigate the effect of processing method on the digestibility ofnutrients of dolichos beans and nitrogen retention in pigs. Four diets were formulated to contain the control diet with 0.09 soybean meal or 0.33 of the control diet and O. 67 of each of either raw, boiled or roasted dolichos bean meal in diets I, II, III and IV, respectively. In another experiment, four diets were formulated such that O. 18 of raw (Diet 2), boiled (Diet 3) or roasted (Diet 4) dolichos bean meals replaced the 0.09 soybean meal contained in the contro[,(Diet I). These diets were ded to 12female and 12 castrated male pigs in a 4 x 2 factorial arrangement. Feed intake, growth performance and slaughter characteristics were evaluated. Mean values of crude protein digestability and nitrogen retention in the raw dolichos meal (50.6% and 18g/d) were relatively lower than in the processed meals (p ~ 0.05). The' corresponding values for boiled dolichos meal were higher (p < 0.05) than those of roasted meal (73.6% versus 65.2% and 12.8g/dversus 8. 7g/d)~ Animals fed on the raw dolichos diet (Diet 2) had significantly lower growth rates and poorer feed conversion ratio. The two parameters were improved on the animals fed on heat-treated dolichos diets. It was concluded that thermC!-processing, particularly boiling greatly improved nutrient availability and overall utilisation of dolichos bean meal for pigs