By Prossy Nandudu
The Government is set to construct three animal genetics research and breeding centres in Karamoja sub-region.
The development is aimed at conducting research on the local breeds and their genetics to understand their productivity in terms of dairy and beef production.
The state minister for animal husbandry, Bright Rwamirama, said the productivity of livestock in the sub-region remains low, with most cows giving less than 5lts of milk a day and less than 200kg of beef per year.
He said this may not transform the communities financially.
Through the centres, new genetics will be introduced like those of the Jersey cattle breed, which produces 25lts of milk a day, but also have higher contents of butter and then the Boran that gives a farmer between 200kg and 500kg of beef in a year.
For the Boran, according to livestock experts, it has to be able to withstand periodic shortage of water, walk longer distances in search of water and pasture, and survive on less nutritive feeds.
A boast to food production
Rwamirama said although the adoption of improved breeds is still low and the dairy potential is also low in the sub-region, the cows in Karamoja will be improved for export of beef.
“The cows in Karamoja are notgood milkers, but can provide very good beef and we are talking to the leadership to have feedlots where beef or livestock ready for export can be assembled or packaged from,” he said.
However, leaders from Moroto advised the minister that instead of opening new water sources, attention should be put on the 11 sites that were identified by the colonialists as water sources for Karimojong pastoralists.
Rwamirama made the remarks while concluding his supervision of the mass vaccination programme for livestock in Karamoja sub-region at Napak district headquarters.
The exercise was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), supported by the EU through a project named Strengthening Shock-Responsive Systems in Karamoja under Resilience Action (Pro-ACT).
Targeted diseases for vaccination include foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD), contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (CCPP) for sheep and goat pox (SGP), as well as the lumpy skin diseases.
Willington Bessong, the head of FAO’s Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) programme, said the initiative will support Government to manage and control livestock diseases as it gears up to getting all farmers to produce for export.
“You will get to a point where all Ugandans will aspire to export the food they produce. These products must conform to standards. This is why management of transboundary diseases is very critical,” Bessong said.
Charles Topoth from the Karamoja Council of Elders said the breeding centres will impact the Karamoja people positively, if researchers work with elders to utilise local knowledge.
PHOTO CAPTION: Rwamirama (with a cap) gets ready to vaccinate a cow in Napak district recently. Photo by Prossy Nandudu
