OAHN Swine Network Project: Swine Smallholder Postmortem Project (in progress)

Project Lead: Dr. Josepha Delay

Collaborators:  Dr. Tim Pasma, Dr. George Charbonneau

Project Proposal

Swine production is becoming increasingly dichotomous, with large, highly specialized and vertically integrated intensive farms in contrast with (often subsistent) traditional smallholder production. Half of the world’s pig population is raised in a smallholder production setting (Dietze et al, 2011). While smallholder production is typically thought to exist in developing countries, smallholder units are also present in Canada and Ontario, as approximately 1600 sites holding less than 50 pigs are registered with Ontario Pork (Frank Wood, personal communication). Smallholder swine production has been studied in Kenya (Dewey et al, 2014), Mozambique (Penrith et al, 2008), the Philippines (Parke et al, 2016) and Vietnam (Cuong et al, 2014), but to date there are no known studies of smallholder swine production in Ontario. The purpose of this project is to conduct a baseline surveillance study of smallholder swine production units and to establish connections with smallholder producers in Ontario. This project will build on methods used in previous OAHN projects for surveillance in poultry small flocks and small ruminants. For the purposes of this project, a smallholder will be defined as a producer housing less than 100 pigs.

Infographic: Information sources for smallholder swine producers and pet pig owners – https://www.oahn.ca/resources/infographic-information-sources-for-smallholder-swine-producers-and-pet-pig-owners/

Smallholder Swine Course for Veterinarians – https://www.oahn.ca/resources/smallholder-swine-course-for-veterinarians/