Cheaper animal feeds to be availed

Subsidised animal feeds 
Under this unique arrangement, Seeds of Gold understands that farmers can now purchase subsidised quality silage, hay, and assorted compound animal feeds from the nine government ranches spread out across the country.

They include Aswa, Got Apoy, Maruzi, Sanga, Nshaara, Kasolwe, Lusenke, Ruhengyere and Rubona, these are all distributed in all regions of the country. 

The ranch price of one kilogramme of silage, according to the agency, is Shs500, a 17 kilogramme bale of Chloris gayana hay is Shs10,000, and one kilogramme of assorted compound animal feed is Shs1,500.

In an interview with us, Dr Peter Beine, the NAGRC&DB executive director, reasons that by inviting the public to the products at subsidised prices, the aim is to bolster food and animal feed security in the country.

“We have taken a significant step towards ensuring that our livestock industry thrives and contributes meaningfully to the national economy. The availability of high-quality animal feed will enhance the overall productivity of our livestock and uplift the livelihoods of farmers countrywide,” he stated.
 
Stirring up the market
According to Beine, one kilogramme of silage is now sold for Shs500, whereas a 17 kilogramme bale of Chloris gayana hay is priced at Shs10,000. What is more, one kilogramme of assorted compounded animal feeds for poultry, piggery, and dairy is available for Shs1,500.

However, the low price has come under criticism from some experts in the animal feeds industry, who argue that the NAGRC&DB move is bound to stir up the animal feeds market.

“Making animal feed is an expensive venture that requires a lot of resources. What [NAGRC&DB] is doing is disrupting the market by providing feeds at low prices, which will drive many small-scale feed producers out of the market,” said a producer who preferred anonymity.

However, Beine reasons that their major aim is not to provide affordable animal feed directly to farmers.

“I know some industry players may not be comfortable with our breakthrough, but at the end of the day, we are targeting to pull farmers from a subsistence to a commercial lifestyle. We advise our potential clients to endeavour to come with their own laminated silage packaging material,” he says.

“We also have plans to educate animal feeds on the best farming methods to improve their yields so that they can have an edge in productivity.”

The question remains whether NAGRC&DBs intervention is the long-awaited masterstroke to turn around the livelihoods of animal farmers.

But according to Beine, it is just the start of bigger things to come. “The fact that farmers, both large and small-scale, now have access to affordable animal feed means we are now breaking down the income barrier, and in the process, we aim to empower farmers to invest more in their livestock, leading to increased milk and meat production and, ultimately, more substantial contributions to the nation’s economy,” he says.

“We are not in this for competition but to provide farmers with the best quality and affordable products. It is in our interest that NAGRC&DB intervenes to uplift the livelihoods of farmers and transform them from a subsistence to a commercial lifestyle.”
 
A stitch in time
In recent times, farmers have been grappling with the problem of a shortage of animal feed in all agro-enterprises of cattle, goat, sheep, piggery, poultry, and aquaculture, with the available few producers overpricing their animal feed consumption into the profit margin of farmers, leading to the collapse of many agro-businesses.

It is against this backdrop that cabinet approved NAGRC&DB, as a government body charged with spearheading the commercialisation of animal breeding activities in Uganda, to be the strategic partner towards addressing the food and animal feed challenge.

This was premised on the agency’s capacity, supported by its vast land totalling up to 144,640 acres (226 square miles) distributed across all its 15 ranches and farms in different regions of Uganda.

In fact, the Agriculture ministry went ahead to support some of the NAGRC&DB farms and ranches with basic infrastructure to capacitate the agency towards sustainable animal feed production.

Some of the infrastructure includes an animal feed-processing factory at Kasolwe stock farm, which has the capacity to produce five tonnes per hour.

At Kasolwe, government has also installed grain storage facilities with a capacity to process and store up to 3,000 megatons and 288 megatons of both maize and soy bean, respectively, in addition to a warehouse for appropriate storage of animal feed.

As one way of scaling up and ensuring a sustainable supply of enough quantities of highly nutritious, safe, and affordable animal feeds in the country, the report further reveals that NAGRC&DB has acquired equipment and machinery to utilise during fully mechanized bush clearing in both primary and secondary tillage, pest and weed control, as well as harvest and post-harvest handling.

Concerns

In recent times, farmers have been grappling with the problem of a shortage of animal feed in all agro-enterprises of cattle, goat, sheep, piggery, poultry, and aquaculture, with the available few producers overpricing their animal feed consumption into the profit margin of farmers, leading to the collapse of many agro-businesses.