The African Dairy Conference and exhibition organized by the Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association (ESADA) kicked off in Kampala on Monday and will conclude on 15 September 2023.
While addressing a press conference at Hotel Africana- Kampala, Dr.Samson Akankiza Mpiira, Dairy Development Authority Ag. Executive director, said the primary objectives of the conference is to highlight opportunities for dairy sector investment in Africa, provide a platform for the African and global dairy community to discuss and recommend solutions to policy, regulatory and industry bottlenecks that impede trade in dairy products and introduce African diary practitioners and suppliers to new technologies and ideas for better efficiency and quality among others.
“The 16Th African Dairy Conference and exhibition aims to focus on the multiple challenges facing the African dairy industry with the aim of improving and maintaining the industry,” he said.
He highlighted the benefits of Uganda hosting the conference to include; creation of trade opportunities for Ugandan dairy products regionally and globally, technology and knowledge sharing among many other benefits.
“This Conference will increase Uganda dairy sector’s intra-regional trade in addition to enabling Uganda dairy sector investors to network with other dairy industry stakeholders to nurture new business partnerships,” he added.
Peter Ngaruiya, the ESADA executive director, said the conference is very important in the Eastern Africa bloc where over 80 percent of milk is produced by smallholder farmers and plays an important role in the lives of its inhabitants.
“From the small scale farmers to the large milk processors, there are millions of businesses and households involved. In general, the dairy sector is one of the critical sectors in the region with high potential for improving food security and welfare of its people,”he said.
Khadija Nakakande, the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) Public Relations Officer, pointed out that the Government injected UGX 7 Billion to support dairy farmers across the country to increase milk production and value addition.
“NAADS has been able to supply dairy farmers with milk coolers and sensitize the majority to grow pasture that increases milk production when fed to the Cows,”she said.
She added that NAADS has allocated Friesian Cows to a number of farmers free of charge, with the aim of increasing milk production.
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