The Minister of East African Affairs, Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga was the Chief Guest at a function in Kamuli where NAGRC&DB distributed 50,000 Kuroiler chicken, 180 grandparent pure bred pigs, 185 Kasolwe goats, 500 fertility boosting mineral salt bags, 20 AI complete kits with assorted semen and 20 pure bred Jersey bulls.
Kasolwe stock farm, situated in Kamuli district is a government farm under NAGRC management that has since been revitalized with several high-value agro-enterprises that include intensive dairy cattle breeding and multiplication, pig breeding and multiplication, poultry breeding and multiplication, poultry hatchery, farmed fish production, fish hatchery and several others.
Recently, Kasolwe stock farm was in the news for its groundbreaking work in developing a new super goat breed known as the Kasolwe brown goat that is now highly sought after by goat farmers across East Africa. The Kasolwe brown goat, famed for its twinning abilities, fast growth rates and its ability to thrive in harsh environments is now one of the most coveted indigenous breeds across East Africa.
Kasolwe farm boasts a commercial animal feed production plant of 5MT/hr that produces an array of compounded animal feeds including dairy meals, fish feeds, goat pellets, poultry feeds and pet feeds among others. This animal feed production plant launched by Kadaga back in 2022, sources its raw materials from within the host community in Busoga, a move that has transformed the livelihoods of local farmers in the area.
Speaking at the function, Kadaga hailed NAGRC for revitalizing livestock farming in Busoga by availing superior breeding stock of chicken, dairy cattle, pigs, goats and fish as an alternative to the sugarcane growing that has been predominant in the region since colonial times. At the function, over 139 farmer groups, organized under an NGO called Uganda First, benefitted from the livestock and items that were distributed by NAGRC.
Following a guided tour of NAGRC’s Kasolwe stock farm, Mr. Waiswa Kawali, the spokesperson for Uganda First, expressed his appreciation of Government programs under NAGRC noting that the agro-enterprises at the farm hold the key for transformation of the entire Busoga region and beyond. “My team and I have seen with our own eyes every enterprise on this farm and we are proud that this farm is here. The poultry, piggery, dairy and goat enterprises have the best genetics we have seen in Uganda. I call upon my fellow youths to visit the farm, see for themselves and use the opportunity to access the very best breeding stock of their interest. With this farm, there is no reason why anyone should remain in poverty” – said a jovial Waiswa.
Speaker after Speaker hailed NAGRC and Kadaga for always supporting farmers with critical technologies and inputs. “ We all know that Kasolwe has been our most reliable source of super Napier seed over the years, “remarked one of the group leaders from Balawoli in Kamuli district. Kasolwe was also notably and repeatedly hailed for its outstanding Artificial Insemination services in Busoga sub-region. Mr. Kaaku, NAGRC’s community breeding co-ordinator for Busoga sub-region reported that the agency had inseminated over 10,000 cattle in the last two years. “NAGRC produces and avails high-quality semen and the preservative, liquid nitrogen to livestock farmers countrywide” – Kaaku added.
Kadaga vowed to continue lobbying government to fund the completion of the Kasolwe farmer training hostel and skilling centre complex, the only remaining physical infrastructural projects to complete the Kasolwe Centre of Excellence.
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