Participants at the 16th Dairy Africa Conference and exhibition have hinged on the need for member states to promote milk value addition to fetch high prices regionally and on Global markets. The call was made by various keynote speakers during day two of the Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association (ESADA) at Hotel Africana-Kampala on Monday.
Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, criticized the importation of Dairy products from Europe, yet the country’s sector remains with a lot of untapped potential. He called on Ugandan Dairy Farmers to add value to their milk products to out-compete milk products from abroad and to increase domestic revenue for Uganda.
Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Bright Rwamirama, told Journalists Government is committed to increasing milk value addition through making of powdered milk, Yoghurt and long lasting fresh milk for export to Algeria, Mauritius and China, where Ugandan Dairy exporters have been assured of a ready market.
He said his Ministry is concerned with the presence of fake veterinary medicines on the market and called upon livestock farmers to desist from buying veterinary medicines from open markets, if they are to realize high milk production.
“Livestock farmers should buy genuine veterinary medicines from dealers authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries because they are the regulators of animal medicines in Uganda,” he said.
Major General David Kasura Kyomukama, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture hinted that the Ugandans should develop the culture of drinking milk to improve their health because the country produces surplus milk for export and home consumption. He said currently, Uganda produces 120 million litres of fresh milk daily.
On value addition, Kyomukama said in addition to production of powdered milk and Yoghurt, Ugandan Dairy farmers should also make milk chocolate, bread and cakes among others if they are to fetch high prices on the regional and global markets.
Dr. Samson Akankiza Mpiira, the Ag. Dairy Development Authority Executive Director, told participants at the conference that currently Uganda has established milk sheds in Western, Central, Eastern and Northern regions of the country, with the Western region leading in milk production. He said 95 percent of milk produced in the country is exported to the East African Community (EAC), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) blocs.
“We want more of the processed milk than the unprocessed milk to fetch high prices regionally and on global markets,”he said.
During Panel discussions, participants observed that women Dairy farmers dominate their male counterparts, where 37 million women enterprises in Africa are into Dairy farming. They also observed that countries in West Africa are potential markets for Dairy products, where they cited Nigeria as still importing fresh milk from Europe.
Various Dairy exhibitors showcased their products on day two. They include value addition on milk processors, pasture seeds producers and Dairy farms equipment manufacturers among others.
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