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Revival of ranches renews hope to farmers
One of the four intensive dairy production units recently constructed at the NAGRC&DB ranches across the country. Photo / Shabibah Nakirigya
What you need to know:
- President Museveni allocated the breeders two square miles of the 27-square mile ranch for conservation of the famed cattle. Since then, the number of cattle has tripled, thanks to the spirited effort of National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank (NAGRC & DB) to utilise the ranch.
In June, Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze tasked Dr Beine, the executive director of the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank (NAGRC & DB) with a policy performance target to meet the Agro-Industrialisation Program Implementation Action of the National Development Plan (NDP) III.
These targets include turning the ranches into knowledge transfer centres to farmers and general private sector actors, reducing the animal import bill to zero as well as developing a licensing and regulatory framework for animal breeders.
Six months down the road, Seeds of Gold analyses how NAGRC has made tremendous successes that it hopes to build on in 2022.
Nshaara success
Before the start of 2021, the ranch based in Nyabushozi District was home to about 1,000 heads of the famed Ankole long-horned cattle.
In March, Bright Rwamirama, the minister of state for Animal Industry, tasked breeders of the indigenous cattle to preserve the cherished breed in the best way possible.
President Museveni allocated the breeders two square miles of the 27-square mile ranch for conservation of the famed cattle.
Since then, the number of cattle has tripled, thanks to the spirited effort of NAGRC to utilise the ranch.
In June, when Frank Tumwebaze, the minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), hosted Kenyan deputy president William Ruto at Nshaara, the latter was so amazed by the quality that he noted he will explore farming opportunities in the cattle breed.
Since Nshaara is in the midst of Lake Kakyera and Lake Mburo National Game Park, Ruto also took the opportunity to witness the stunning co-existence of agro-tourism and wildlife.
Dr Beine told Seeds of Gold that Nshaara is shining because the long-horned cattle is conserved to stay in tip-top shape as well as its cross-breeding with exotic breeds for increased milk and meat productivity.
Kasolwe turnaround
Meanwhile, Kasolwe stock farm in Kamuli has become the embodiment of poultry success.
Before its revival last year, poultry farmers, especially in Busoga, had to endure several losses due to low quality chicken and lack of training in the best practices.
At the moment, Kasolwe is perhaps the most equipped ranch and has inspired many farmers to venture into poultry.
When Seeds of Gold visited Kasolwe, there were poultry structures with capacity to keep 50,000 chickens and plans are underway to expand the capacity to reach 100,000 birds.
A total of three parent stock poultry rearing units are housing dual purpose birds that are bred and distributed to communities in the sub-region to enhance efforts towards poverty alleviation, improved health and improved livelihoods. In addition, there is a 100,000-egg capacity hatchery and brooder.
Kasolwe sits on more than 2,000 hectares and was set up in 1965 to be a model farm to provide farmers in the region with the best farming methods, right from providing the top breeds, trainings in farming as well as marketing their produce.
Hundreds of farmers, some of whom travel from as far as Bugiri and Namutumba, are given free chicken to kick-start their poultry ventures.
These success stories are part of the road to transforming subsistence farmers into commercial farmers as a main objective of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) in conjunction with NAGRC&DB.
Kasolwe also serves as a centre of learning and excellence in livestock farming to boost knowledge sharing for increasing productivity in Busoga. In fact, many of the local farmers in the region have been able to boost their production quality and quantity. Dr Beine credits this to leap to Kasolwe’s new practical approach of empowering farmers.
He also told Seeds of Gold that he expects the farm to produce more than one million chicks by the end of 2022. “We hope to have at least 2,000 households benefiting from this project as a way of empowering them to live a sustainable life. Also in line for 2022 is a special youth programme for training, skilling and equipping youths with everything they need.
Aswa revival
Last year, NAGRC introduced an apiary enterprise at Aswa ranch in conjunction with Makerere University and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro).
With apiculture being one of the environmentally friendly poverty eradication programmes, aspiring apiary farmers from all over the country were trained at Aswa ranch in aspects of bee keeping.
The apiary enterprise at Aswa ranch has been equipped with about 1,000 Kenya Top Bars (KTB) and Longstroth beehives already well colonised. The environment favours mainly Apis mellifera adansonii bee species which is the common African bee.
The most common bee forage is naturally growing shea tree together with the artificially planted calliandra calothyrsus.
In addition to skilling farmers, several products are also harvested such as shea honey that is sold to clinics for medicinal applications whereas Propolis and bee venom are also produced for treatment of various diseases.
There are also other products such as wax for making candles, mixed with maize flour to make ice-cream cones.
Dr Beine further explained that Aswa ranch was revived to conserve zebu cattle and some 1,300 cattle are being bred there.
What all this means is that the ranches created thousands opportunities for Ugandan farmers to gain valuable employment while improving their skills and craft in livestock farming.
And as we look ahead, it is hard to disagree with Dr Beine that if managed well, the various government ranches could become the money basket of the country at large.
Key fact
Bright Rwamirama, the minister of state for Animal Industry, tasked breeders of the indigenous cattle to preserve the cherished breed in the best way possible.
