GULU – In a bid to improve milk production in Acholi Sub-region, the government through the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries [MAAIF] has constructed a milk collection centre in Gulu City.
The milk centre whose construction kicked off in 2020 has the capacity to receive 2,000 litres of milk per day.
The facility will be managed by the Dairy Development Authority [DDA] which manages the dairy industry in the country.
In an interview on Wednesday with this reporter, the Northern Uganda regional manager DDA, Dr. Herbert Mutumba commended the government for providing funds to build the milk facility.
Mutumba said the facility will help increase milk production in the region to above the current 20 million litres annually.
He explained that the new facility targets dairy cooperatives which will be licensed to run the facility much as government will inspect them for quality assurance.
“We have already advertised to these cooperative dairy farmers who will be in charge of collection of the milk where members can now sell to the market to increase their bargaining power,” Mutumba said.
He however appealed to the livestock farmers in the region to prioritise milk production, noting that milk production constitutes 50 percent of gross domestic product in the livestock sector.
The 2021/2022 annual performance report put the milk industry as one of the main drivers for structural transformation and development of the economy.
Milk collection centres increased to 547 with a total estimated capacity of 2.3 million IN 2021/ 2022 from 475 with a total of 2.21mln litres in 2020/2021
According to the report, milk in the year under review rose significantly to 3.22 billion litres with the rise in national production being attributed to significant production in the Northeast and Midwest primarily due to the adoption of improved high-yielding breeds and the increased accessibility of DDA staff and resources to dairy farmers through its regional offices.
Dairy exports in the year 2021/ 2022 bounced back to US$ 102.6 million compared to US$92.4mln the country fetched in the year 2020/2021.
https://thecooperator.news/fao-strengthens-support-to-ugandas-dairy-sector-on-world-milk-day/
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