EAST AFRICA: First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Kadaga, who is also in charge of the East African Community, has given the go-ahead for a new feed processing plant and hatchery at a stock farm in Kamuli.
Frank Tumwebaze, the agriculture minister, and Bright Rwamirama, the state minister for animal industry, were with Kadaga when she went to the meeting.
Also in attendance were Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the state minister for Agriculture, and Dr Peter Beine, the executive director of the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank (NAGRC & DB).
People in the Busoga subregion will be able to feed their livestock more safely and affordably thanks to the new facilities.
Kasolwe is one of the government farms run by NAGRC and DB. It is a place for people in the region to meet.
People in charge of NAGRC and Deutsche Bank did a good job giving farmers the best farming methods, from giving the best breeds of livestock to giving farmers training and selling their produce.
“I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Beine and his team for upgrading Kasolwe into a modern ranch and advise the people of Busoga to use it to improve farming,” she said.
On his part, Tumwebaze said the mill will supply animal feed to farmers in the region at subsidised prices.
He said the mill would produce feeds for both the internal demand of NAGRC and DB, our breeding institution, and sell them to farmers at subsidised prices. With continued budget support from the government, it’s our plan as the ministry to systematically revamp and equip all our regional and zonal research and breeding institutes.
There are a lot of things that must happen before you can have more production and productivity, like high-quality seed and breeding stock.
Kasolwe already hosts a cattle dip and spay race, a hay barn, four valley dams and six valley tanks, and according to Dr Beine, the new feed mill and hatchery will transform farming practises in the sub-region from just sustaining livelihoods into commercial farming.
The new feed mill has the capacity to produce five tonnes of livestock feed per hour, three tonnes of mash feed and two tonnes of pelleted feed. An extruder that can make high-quality fish feed is being built to help the aquaculture business.
Meanwhile, the hatchery has the capacity to produce 60,000 day-old chicks per week. Currently, the poultry complex houses four parent stock rearing units with a capacity to maintain a minimum of 4,800 parent stock. There is a plan right now to double this holding space so that the hatchery can use all of its space.
Thousands of day-old chicks of Kuroiler and Rainbow roosters have been sent to more than 800 homes in the Busoga community.