The government of South Korea has pledged continued support to Uganda in its endeavour to achieve social and economic transformation.

“I am happy that Uganda is politically stable, economically growing, mentally and spiritually very strong. Korea is ready, willing and able to continue being a good and sustainable partner to Uganda in its struggle to achieve its social and economic transformation,” the Korean Ambassador to Uganda, Park Sung-soo, said.

“We were very poor and underdeveloped but now, we are one of the most advanced and developed countries in the world. Korea is a unique country that turned from being an aid-receiving country to an aid-giving country. We have good intentions to share this experience with Uganda, with concrete actions.”

The ambassador was speaking during the handover of a modern dairy demonstration farm constructed under the Korea Uganda Dairy Project (KUDaP) at Nakyesasa, one of the incubation centres managed by Makerere University College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources, and Bio-Security (CoVAB).

According to the principal of the college, Prof. Norbert Frank Mwiine, the project will serve as a centre of research and a training hub in dairy development for both students and commercial farmers.

Sung-soo said the project will raise further mutual understanding and trust and expand co-operation and collaboration in other fields.

Dr Anna Rose Ademun, the commissioner animal health in the agriculture ministry, said the dairy demonstration farm will play an important role in improving the livelihood of over 1.7 million people in Uganda who depend on milk for nutrition, food security and employment.

“This project is an indication of institutional commitment to address the needs of people. During this project phase, the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB), received 20,000 doses of semen of high-grade bulls from Korea for distribution to farmers,” she said.

Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe said as Makerere University strives to become a research-led institution, the dairy demonstration facility will help in improving the productivity of dairy farmers by supporting dairy technology and infrastructure in Uganda.

He said the university was ready to change the way it teaches agriculture by adopting modern scientific methods like what is demonstrated at the Nakyesasa farm.

“This demonstration farm will exhibit the desirable practices that will lead to increased milk productivity by the farmers and also build the capacity of the veterinary medicine students through internship and training,” he said.

The project manager, Prof. Lee Hak-kyo, said the Korean government has been funding many projects in Uganda, including those aiming at transforming the Ugandan agricultural sector. “This project has improved dairy breeding technologies, especially through supply of elite Korea Holstein semen, embryos, liquid nitrogen tanks, sonograms as well as dispatching Korean experts to train Ugandan Makerere University students and artificial insemination technicians,” he said.