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Dairy farmers from the western region of Uganda, especially in Mbarara have given up on milk production. They have now resorted to beef production arguing that Uganda’s milk market is very unstable and unpredictable.
This comes after Kenya recently refusing to allow Uganda’s milk to enter the market.
Western Uganda is a region that is famously known for cattle rearing over the years. Since time immemorial, the production of milk from that said has continued to rise. But since last year when Kenya blocked Uganda’s milk, things changed and many cannot even afford to pay the bills.
What the dairy farmers say;
Jane Tayebira, a farmer from Rubindi town council in Mbarara said she used to produce 300 liters of milk daily. She would then sell her milk to one of the milk processing factories. The situation, however, changed when the factory said it no longer has the market for her milk.
‘’I cannot take care of my cows yet it’s where I earn, the government has to solve the trade war between Kenya and Uganda,’’ she said.
The chairperson of Rukaku Dairy Cooperative said they used to collect 5000 liters of milk per day. This figure dropped to 1000 liters when Pearl Dairy Farm said they had no market for Rukaku’s milk anymore. This also came after Kenya stopped importing Uganda’s milk
The general manager of Pearl Dairy Farm, Bijoy Varghese said they were operating at 15% and had laid off some workers. He said the company couldn’t further purchase milk from farmers due to the lack of market.
The minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives Amelia Kyambadde said Uganda will engage Kenya to see whether they can lift the ban on milk imports.
Uganda exported milk products to Kenya worth $62.9 million in 2018 but earnings have since dropped to $30 million.
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