Wamala Growers Cooperative Union Eyes Egypt-Uganda Food Security market

KIBOGA, Uganda: Wamala Growers Cooperative Union is set to enter into a partnership with the Egypt Uganda Food Security to supply fattened cows.

The General Manager Wamala Growers Cooperative Union Limited Mr. Herbert Kizza told TheCooperator News that at the moment they have 400 ready to sell fattened cattle from their Kiboga ranch.

“It is always our practice as a union to purchase calves and heifers that we fatten and later sell. We now have 400 cattle ready for sale,” he said.

Kizza said they had written to the Egypt Uganda Food Security Company, the Egyptian firm that exports beef to purchase their cattle. Kizza said they are yet to get a response from the Egyptians.

The latest survey indicates that the price for live weight meat goes for between shs3,000- 3,500 for cows and between shs4,000- 4,500 for bulls, while the price for carcass ranges between shs6500- 7000 per kilogram.

With the 400 cattle each weighing a minimum of about 300-500 kgs, Wamala Growers Cooperative Union expects to raise close to shs500 million from sales.

Another source of market for unions such as Wamala, that have cows is from the Uganda Meat Producers Cooperative Union (UMPCU)

Last year UMPCU received funding to the tune of 1.5 million Euros (shs7.5b). from the European Union.

E.U Partnered with Uganda Meat Producers Cooperative Union To Develop The Meat Industry. UMPCU is to implement the “Farmer Led Beef Industry Investment and Sustainability” project (FALBIIS). The five-year project is implemented by UMPCU farmers which also makes a contribution of EUR 300,000.

The FALBIIS project is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), to support the development of the beef sector towards the realization of its full potential. MAAIF, under its project “Developing a Market-Oriented and Environmentally Sustainable Beef Meat Industry in Uganda” (MOBIP), will work closely with FALBIIS to help address many of the barriers which are currently limiting the opportunity for more profitable, and sustainable, beef production.  The main constraints faced by beef producers are; poor access to markets and financial services, unpredictable rainfall/water shortages, animal diseases, poor breed types, and poor pasture/feed supplies. The European Union is the largest funder of MOBIP with a contribution of EUR 15 Million.

While launching the project, Ms Joy Kabatsi, the Minister of State for Agriculture (MAAIF), challenged the farmers to utilize the project well in order to get tangible results.

The EU Delegation Head of Section, Sustainable Development, Mr. Aloys LORKEERS stated that a close collaboration between public and private sectors, including cooperatives like UMPCU, is one of the most effective and sustainable ways to increase the performance of the livestock sector, which is a sector that is so important to many farming families and a great contributor to local economic development.

FALBIIS will be implemented through the 33 primary cooperative society members of UMPCU which are located in the Disease Control Zones (DCZ) 1 & 2. The districts with UMPCU members in DCZ1 are; Kiboga, Kyankwanzi, Luwero, Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Kiryandongo and Masindi, and in DCZ2 are; Lwengo, Masaka, Mbarara, Mubende, Ntungamo, Sembabule, Gomba, Kiruhura, Bukomansimbi, and Isingiro. Within FALBIIS extra effort will be made to ensure that vulnerable, and marginalized groups, such as women and youth are included and benefit directly from the project interventions.