PDM beneficiaries in Hoima City decry soaring feed prices

HOIMA,  June 17, 2025 –– Beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model [PDM] in Hoima City, particularly those engaged in piggery and poultry farming, are struggling with the escalating cost of animal feeds, with some reporting that they have had to scale down their operations.

The PDM is a government initiative launched in February 2022, aimed at transitioning 3.5 million households from subsistence farming to a money economy. Under the programme, each beneficiary receives a soft loan of Shs 1 million to invest in enterprises such as piggery, poultry, fruit growing, coffee, and dairy farming.

In recent months, the cost of animal feeds, especially for pigs and poultry, has risen sharply, making it increasingly difficult for small-scale farmers supported by the PDM to sustain their livestock.

Joyce Asiimwe, a PDM beneficiary from Kiduma Ward in Hoima West Division, shared her struggles. After investing her Shs 1 million loan in piggery, she started with three pigs, which have since grown to 10. However, the rising cost of feed has made it challenging to maintain them.

“Feeds for pigs in Hoima City have become unaffordable,” Asiimwe explained. “A kilogramme of maize or rice bran now costs Shs 1,500. With 10 pigs, I need at least 300 kg of feed every three weeks, which translates to Shs 450,000.”

She noted that the price of maize bran rose from Shs 800 in March to Shs 1,500, driven by a surge in the cost of maize and rice. To cope, Asiimwe has resorted to supplementing processed feeds with raw yams, sweet potatoes, cassava, and their leaves, as well as reeds.

She appealed to the government to support committed and productive PDM beneficiaries with additional feed subsidies or relief so that they can sustain their businesses.

Hoima City Deputy Mayor, Sylvia Nalumaga Byaryesima, acknowledged the challenge, attributing the scarcity of maize and related products on the market to the price hike.

“Farmers involved in piggery and poultry are facing severe challenges due to the daily rise in feed prices,” she said, adding that in addition to cost, many are also contending with counterfeit feeds on the market.

James Murungi, a local maize dealer, confirmed that the price of maize has increased from Shs 1,000 in February to Shs1,400 per kilogramme currently. This has consequently driven up the prices of maize flour and bran.

Launched as a key pillar of Uganda’s National Development Plan III [NDPIII], the PDM is designed as a last-mile service delivery strategy to improve household incomes and welfare. The programme utilises the parish as the lowest administrative and operational unit to bring services closer to the people and foster local economic development.

At its core, the PDM promotes a harmonised, coordinated, and results-based approach to transforming subsistence households into active participants in the money economy.

https://thecooperator.news/lango-fish-farmers-urge-govt-to-build-feed-processing-facility/

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