The Minister of State for Animal Industry, Bright Rwamirama, has launched the Dairy Sector Annual Performance Report for 2022 – 23 at Uganda Media Centre. The report highlights that the country registered a 37 percent increase in milk production from 2.81 billion liters to 3.85 billion liters.

This increase in milk production also saw Uganda’s export earnings rise to $264m in the same quoted period from $106m in 2021 – 2022.

President Yoweri Museveni, while recently speaking to a group of dairy farmers from Kazo and Kiruhura districts at Karo Primary School in Nshwere, Kiruhura District, appealed to dairy farmers to put more emphasis on producing casein and powdered milk in order to benefit from the lucrative international market. 

“Shifting focus from liquid milk to processed products for export is crucial. This is something that you must take seriously,” the President stated.

He highlighted the products’ potential for longevity and better prices in the global markets. “We need to meet the external market requirements. Liquid milk is heavy in nature and very costly for exportation but if you take time and process it into powdered milk, it becomes light and less expensive, this, I can assure you,” he urged.

Reflecting on past successes in the dairy industry, the President lauded the transformation achieved by farmers who embraced strategic changes, including zero grazing.

The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon. Frank Tumwebaze shared a positive development about the locally developed Anti-tick vaccine’s efficacy, saying it stands at an impressive 88%.

“I want to inform you the farmers that the final trials of the vaccine have been conclusively done and the vaccine stands at 88% efficacy. This is much higher than the only vaccine from Cuba which was commercialized at 50 %,” he said.