Challenges of family pig production in Uruguay

Case studies linked to CALUPROCERD

Abstract

In recent years, the Uruguayan pork market has seen an increase in imports and a decrease in local slaughter, which has made it difficult for family pig production to continue due to low income, technological lag, and low product quality. The Uruguayan Limited Agricultural Cooperative of Pig Producers (CALUPROCERD, by its Spanish acronym) emerged as an associative strategy to access a differential market and promote actions to overcome production restrictions and adopt technology on farms. This study presents the preliminary results of an ongoing project that aims to identify the strengths and limitations of the systems, detect critical points, and propose redesigns that contribute to their sustainability. A multidisciplinary team worked on extension and technical assistance based on participatory action research and co-innovation. Four producer families from southern Uruguay who commercialize through the Cooperative and are representative of breeding and full-cycle production systems were selected as case studies. The general problems that family pig production faces were identified, and through the participatory diagnosis, other issues emerged, such as productive and economic inefficiencies. The redesign plans focus on overcoming the identified limitations without compromising socioeconomic and environmental sustainability. To date, economic and productivity indicators that have reported progress include gross product, gross margin, feed margin, and net family income.