West Acholi Cooperative Union embarks on cattle rearing to tap lucrative beef market

GULU CITY, May 13, 2026 — West Acholi Cooperative Union [WACU] has embarked on cattle rearing on part of its 7,000 acres of land in Nwoya district as it seeks tap into the lucrative beef market.

Geoffrey Oryem, a board member at WACU, said the union is currently utilising only 2,000 acres of the land located in Leb Ngech, Lungulu Sub-county, to rear more than 200 cattle, while a larger portion of the land remains encroached upon by squatters.

Oryem, who also serves as WACU’s Chairperson for Production, told theCooperator in an interview: “We intend to reopen the boundaries of the land, identify the squatters and see how to facilitate them because some of them have been there for a long time. We have not been using that land.”

He explained that previous attempts to reopen the boundaries had proved difficult because some squatters allegedly threatened union officials.

“You get people resisting, with some coming armed and trying to intimidate us, so we may have to involve security personnel when reopening the boundaries,” said Oryem.

He added that the union has so far reclaimed 899 acres of land from one individual.

The union’s land was encroached upon during the decommissioning of Internally Displaced Persons’ [IDP] camps by government in 2006, following the end of the more than 20-year Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency in Northern Uganda.

The encroachers were expected to eventually return to their original villages, but many instead settled permanently and are now claiming ownership of the land.

“Instead of using it as a transit site, people settled there and started claiming the land. Because they have lived there for over 10 years, they are now claiming it belongs to them. They are even cultivating on it,” Oryem said.

He noted that the cooperative previously kept cattle on the land, but the animals were looted during political unrest and changes in government.

“We have never received compensation for the animals that were looted, and this made restocking difficult. However, we have now acquired some cattle which are currently on the land,” he added.

WACU General Manager Bob Albert Ogen said the land had historically functioned as a ranch before the region experienced successive wars.

“The union had more than 1,000 head of cattle in the 1970s and early 1980s on the 7,000 acres of land. We were one of the richest institutions in this region. The cattle were looted during the war, and now we are battling squatters,” said Ogen.

Why cattle restocking?

Ogen said the union diversified into cattle rearing because climate change has made reliance on crop production increasingly difficult.

“Crop husbandry has become very challenging because of climate change. Sometimes you do everything correctly only for prolonged sunshine to destroy the crops. We have been losing a lot of money in crop farming. We are diversifying into cattle rearing to reduce the risks,” he said.

He added that the land has abundant pasture and reliable water sources, making it ideal for livestock farming.

“We started restocking in 2024 with 78 cattle and now have more than 200 head of cattle. We are keeping pure Ankole breeds. Our intention is to breed the cattle and eventually make them accessible to all our members. We want our members to begin integrating livestock with crop farming in the near future,” he explained.

The majority of farmers in Northern Uganda currently depend on crop farming after losing their cattle during the various insurgencies that affected the region.

This, however, could change once government implements its cattle restocking programme, under which each household is expected to receive five head of cattle.

Established in 1960/1961 and based in Gulu, West Acholi Cooperative Union is best known as a cornerstone of agricultural development in Northern Uganda, specialising in cotton processing, marketing and the promotion of collective farming. The organisation serves thousands of smallholder farmers across Gulu, Amuru, Pader, Nwoya, and Omoro districts.

https://thecooperator.news/wacu-revives-78-cooperatives-to-revitalise-cotton-production-in-acholi/

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our  country- wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news