INCORPORATING RISKS IN ECONOMIC VALUES FOR PIGS IN SMALLHOLDER PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN KENYA

Abstract Text: This study derived economic values for production traits (dressing percentage, live weight for growers and sow) and functional traits (feed intake for growers and sow, preweaning, postweaning, and sow survival rates, total number of piglets born, and farrowing interval) in different smallholder pig production systems in Kenya. In addition to traditional bio-economic profit model, a risk-rated model was used to derive risk-rated economic values. This model accounted for imperfect knowledge concerning risk attitude of farmers and variance of input and output prices. Positive economic values obtained for traits DP, LWg, LWs, PoSR, PrSR, SoSR and TNB indicate that targeting them in improvement would positively impact profitability in pig breeding programmes. Accounting for risks in the EVs did not yield errors greater than ±50%. Therefore both traditional and risk-rated models can be satisfactorily used to predict profitability and develop selection index criteria in pig breeding programmes.

Keywords: pigs, smallholder, traits