Members of Parliament (MPs) from Westnile, Acholi Lango, and Karamoja sub-regions have asked the government to increase funding for the livestock trade, explaining that the sector contributes hugely to the region’s economy.
The MPs through a motion moved by Faith Nakut, the Woman MP for Napak District, urged the government to allocate more resources to livestock farming in Northern Uganda. This was during the second parliamentary sitting held in Gulu on Thursday.
John Baptist Lokii, the MP for Matheniko County, criticized the annual budgetary allocations by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, to the livestock sector, describing it as peanuts.
“How do you expect a subsector which has been given little money to produce much? It is only if the government allocates money to this subsector, that’s where the cattle-keeping communities will be able to produce what to export and contribute to the GDP,” Lokii said.
Mourine Osoru, the Women MP for Arua City stressed the need to train the livestock farmers on rearing the animals, especially the exotic ones, to avoid losses, since the animals are expensive.
She also asked the government to ensure adequate extension workers, to support the farmers in upgrading their ways of rearing their animals from traditional to modern.
Janet Okorimoe, the Woman MP for Abim District, advised the government to improve the breeds of animals to be distributed to farmers, to boost their income.
Okorimoe noted that although Karamoja has the highest number of livestock in Uganda, records from the Diary Development Authority show that the sub-region does not earn from milk because the animals are “so poor”.
She called for the government to invest in improving livestock breeds of animals to boost the productivity and income of the farmers.
Andrew Ojok, the MP for Omoro County, Omoro district, supported allocating more resources for livestock but advised that as more money is allocated, there should be a deliberate effort to address all challenges affecting the entire value chain of livestock farming.
The motion moved by MP Nakut seeks to: increase resource allocation to the northern region for livestock forming to accelerate socio-economic transformation; to strengthen market access by linking livestock formers in the Karamoja sub-region to international meat markets including the opportunities offered by the Africa Continental Free Trade Area and other international partnerships with the Middle East.
It also seeks to strengthen the scope and functionality of Nwoya animal breeding and fattening facility and open at least one more such facility in Karamoja sub-region, introduce livestock breeding, fattening, and management skilling courses in the existing industrial hubs in the four sub-regions of west Nile, Acholi, Lango, and Karamoja among others.
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