KIBOGA, November 7, 2024 — The Minister of State for Animal Industry, Bright Rwamirama days ago launched a mini dairy processing plant in Kiboga district as part of government’s efforts to promote value addition in the country’s dairy sector. Dwaniro Dairy and Livestock Cooperative Society Limited operates the plant that also processes milk into yogurt and cheese.
The launch of the dairy facility was attended by members of the cooperative, local leaders, and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector at the Dwaniro Dairy and Livestock Cooperative Society premises located in Bukomero Sub-county.
Minister Rwamirama revealed that Dwaniro Dairy and Livestock Cooperative Society Limited is among the eight farmer cooperatives that will be supported by government due to their exemplary practices.
“I want to congratulate Dwaniro Cooperative. We give this support to deserving cooperatives. What remains now is for you to sustainably run this factory and make sure you expand. Government has given you a starting point,” the minister said. “Modern farming is not about how many cattle you have, rather the rate of productivity. Focus should be on rearing better cattle breeds especially those that are resilient to our local weather.”
On his part, Johnson Kwesigabo, Board Chairman of the beneficiary cooperative, described the launch of the milk processing plant as a milestone for the cooperative.
“We shall be able to process 4,000 litres of milk daily. And it is a very important step for us as farmers, that things can happen, that we can add value, go on the market and have our products accepted,” said Kwesigabo.
“Uganda Development Bank [UDB] has been the main financier for the cooperative. Individually, the farmers are too small to take advantage of the funding facilities in UDB. What we do, we borrow as a cooperative and we can lend this money in small amounts to the farmers,” he said.
He said the cooperative’s farmers have used the loans acquired to buy high quality animals, build valley dams and improve pastures, saying the cooperative has been able to services three rounds of credit facilities – shs400 million, Shs 800mln and shs1.5 billion, provided by UDB.
Apart from providing loans, UDB also supports cooperatives by providing them with business advisory services. However, out of the Shs 610bln that UDB disbursed to various projects last year, 30.6 percent went into projects agro-industrialisation.
And enterprises supported by UDB contributed approximately Shs 236bln in direct domestic taxes in 2023 with manufacturing making up 47 percent of this, agro-processing 27.9 percent and primary agriculture 15 percent.
At least 51,841 jobs were created and maintained from the UDB-funded projects. Of these jobs, a significant 39 percent was under primary agriculture, 32 percent in agro-processing and 16 percent in manufacturing.
Dwaniro Dairy and Livestock Cooperative Society started in 2009 with only 15 members collecting 2,000 litres of milk daily but has since expanded to bulking over 35,000 litres of milk daily. Though the current membership stands at 400, the cooperative serves over 800 farmers in Bukomero.
The bulk, about 80 percent, of the milk produced by the farmers in the community is procured by Jesa Farm, a leading dairy processing company.
The minister urged the cooperative to identify representatives who will be trained by the Ministry of Agriculture in artificial insemination as part of initiatives to support farmers increase their livestock productivity, saying that ministry will provide the trainees with the necessary equipment.
The event was also attended by Dr. Samuel Mugasi, the Executive Director National Agricultural Advisory Services [NAADS], Samson Mpiira, the Executive Director Dairy Development Authority [DDA], Hajj Ddumba Moses, the Kiboga Resident District Commissioner among other guests.
https://thecooperator.news/embrace-dairy-farming-town-council-boss-urges-residents/
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