Cite as: Birungi, R., Birungi, F. K., Matsiko, F., Nambi-Kasozi, J., Dawit, G. M. and Woldegebrial, Z. 2020. Socio-psychological factors influencing upgrading intentions in smallholder pig value-chain: A study based on application of Theory of Planned Behaviour. African Journal of Rural Development 5 (4): 247-260. Recieved: 28 April 2020 Accepted: 30 October 2020 Published: 31 December 2020 ABSTRACT Despite increased application of behavioural approaches in agricultural contexts, upgrading behaviour of smallholder farmers and traders still receives minimal attention in development of agricultural value chains. This study pays attention to antecedents of upgrading behaviour in smallholder pig value chains, by identifying factors influencing upgrading intention and examines how Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is useful in determining the upgrading intention. A cross-sectional study was conducted with men and women selected from four pig- related enterprises, i.e., pig farming, pig selling, pork distribution, and pork retailing. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with 296 individuals, randomly selected from pig-producer communities in Masaka district of Uganda. The intention to upgrade the model was developed based on TPB and estimated using survey data. Principle component analysis and hierarchical regression were performed to identify the most important components of the TPB model and socio-psychological factors necessary for upgrading intention in pig value chains. Results reveal that the individuals’ beliefs about outcomes of upgrading and resources they access, have significant positive influence; while household members have significant negative influence on the individual’s intention to upgrade. Practically, this finding could be useful in understanding the behaviour of farmers and other actors in agricultural value chains. Theoretically, this study advances the methodology and application of TPB model for agricultural value chain development, by providing a set of questionnaire items that could be used for future behavioural studies in various social contexts. Key words: Gender, pig value chain, theory of planned behaviour, Uganda, upgrading RÉSUMÉ Malgré l’application accrue d’approches comportementales dans les contextes agricoles, l’amélioration du comportement des petits exploitants agricoles et des commerçants reçoit encore peu d’attention dans le développement des chaînes de valeur agricoles. Cette étude s’intéresse aux antécédents du comportement de mise à niveau dans les chaînes de valeur porcines des petits exploitants, en identifiant les facteurs influençant l’intention de mise à niveau et examine comment la Théorie du Comportement Planifié (TCP) est utile pour déterminer l’intention de mise à niveau. Une étude transversale a été menée auprès d’hommes et de femmes sélectionnés dans quatre entreprises liées au porc, à savoir l’élevage porcin, la vente de porc, la distribution de porc et la vente au détail de porc. Des entretiens semi-structurés ont été menés African Journal of Rural Development, Vol 5(4) October-December 2020: pp. 247-260. ISSN 2415-2838 This article is licensed under a Creative Commons license, Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Socio-psychological factors infuencing upgrading intentons in smallholder pig value chain: A study based on applicaton of Theory of Planned Behaviour R. BIRUNGI, 1 F. K. BIRUNGI, 1 F. MATSIKO, 1 J. NAMBI-KASOZI, 2 G. M. DAWIT, 3 and Z. WOLDEGEBRIAL 4 1 Department of Extension and Innovation Studies, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda 2 Department of Animal Production, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda 3 Agricultural and Resource Economics, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 451, Mekelle, Ethiopia 4 Natural Resource Economics and Management, Mekelle University, P.O, Box 451, Mekelle, Ethiopia Corresponding Author: rosemirta@yahoo.com