The National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB) has distributed a consignment of superior livestock and inputs to farmers in Busoga in a landmark event aimed at revitalizing the agricultural landscape of the sub-region.
The December 11 ceremony, presided over by Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, the first deputy prime minister and minister for East African Affairs, was held at the Kasolwe stock farm in Kamuli district.
The distributed items include 50,000 Kuroiler chickens, 180 grandparent pure-bred pigs, 185 Kasolwe goats, 500 fertility-boosting mineral salt bags, 20 complete Artificial Insemination (AI) kits with assorted semen and 20 pure-bred Jersey bulls.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy to provide farmers with high-quality genetic stock and essential technologies. Dr Peter Beine, the executive director of NAGRC&DB, emphasized the transformative vision behind the distribution.
“This high-value livestock distribution is not merely a handout; it is a strategic seed for economic change,” Dr Beine stated.
“By placing superior genetics like the Kasolwe goat and high-yield poultry directly into the hands of Busoga’s farmers, we are catalyzing a shift from subsistence to profitable, market-oriented agriculture. This program is designed to build resilient livelihoods and transform the entire region’s productivity.”
Over the past few years, Kasolwe stock farm, a government facility managed by NAGRC, has been transformed into a hub for high-value agro-enterprises. Its operations now encompass intensive dairy cattle breeding, pig and poultry multiplication, hatcheries, and farmed fish production.
The farm gained recent acclaim for developing the highly sought-after “Kasolwe brown goat,” a super breed celebrated for its twinning ability, rapid growth and resilience in harsh environments.
Kasolwe also hosts a commercial animal feed plant, launched by Kadaga in 2022, with a capacity to produce five tonnes an hour. The plant produces a range of compounded feeds for dairy, fish, goats, and poultry, sourcing its raw materials locally, a practice that has significantly boosted the livelihoods of farmers in the surrounding Busoga communities.
At the event, Kadaga commended NAGRC for offering viable alternatives to the region’s long-standing dependence on sugarcane cultivation.
“NAGRC is revitalizing livestock farming in Busoga by availing superior breeding stock for chicken, dairy cattle, pigs, goats, and fish,” she stated.
The distribution is directly benefitting more than 139 farmer groups organized under the NGO Uganda First. Following a guided tour of the farm, Waiswa Kawali, the Uganda First spokesperson praised the government’s intervention.
“My team and I have seen every enterprise here and we are proud this farm exists. The poultry, piggery, dairy and goat enterprises have the best genetics we have seen in Uganda,” Kawali said.
He urged local youths to visit the facility, access its superior breeding stock, and leverage the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty. Farmers and leaders present consistently hailed NAGRC and Kadaga for their sustained support.
Many cited the farm’s long-standing reliability as a source of super Napier grass seeds and its outstanding AI services in the sub-region. Meanwhile, Thomas Kaaku Isabirye, NAGRC’s community breeding coordinator for Busoga, said the agency had inseminated over 10,000 cattle in the past two years, emphasizing its national role in producing and distributing high-quality semen and preservatives.
Concluding the event, Kadaga pledged to lobby the government for funds to complete the Kasolwe farmer training hostel and skilling centre complex, the final infrastructural components needed to establish Kasolwe as a full-fledged centre of agricultural excellence.