KAMPALA, UGANDA — Uganda’s animal feed market is destined for a transformation after the country’s parliament passed a new law to regulate the production, storage, importation, exportation and marketing of animal feed in response to the increasing demand from the growing livestock numbers.
President Yoweri Museveni assented to the 2023 Animal Feeds Act in May 2024, ushering in a new era for Uganda’s livestock sub-sector. Although no commencement date has been scheduled for the new law, it is expected to become operational once the new regulations are published in the official government gazette.
Uganda has reported a surge in numbers of the main livestock categories of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chicken in the last few years as demand for animal protein and desire to have a reliable source of income increased.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries estimates the livestock sub-sector contributes up to 4% to the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP) and 16% of the agricultural sector’s overall contribution to the national GDP. The ministry indicates the livestock sub-sector grew by 8.8% in the financial year 2022-23, compared to 8.3% growth the previous year.
Furthermore, government statistics show the combined numbers of the top five livestock categories increased by more than 21% to 102 million in 2023, up from 84 million in 2019.
“The livestock sub-sector has performed better than the crop and fisheries sub-sectors in the last two years,” the ministry’s 2023 statistics report said.
The biggest growth has been in the pig and chicken sectors, which have seen 61% and 34% growth, respectively, since 2019. The number of pigs has increased from 4.4 million to 7.1 million, while the number of chickens has risen from 43.1 million to 58.1 million.
The growth also has translated into an increase in Uganda’s livestock exports from 7.35 million live animals in 2021 to 9.94 million live animals in 2022, translating to a 10.5% increase in earnings from $22.05 million in 2021 to $24.36 million in 2022.
A surge in the numbers and growth of export opportunities for Uganda’s livestock is a key driver in the increasing demand for animal feeds, an objective industry players said could easily be met if the country’s livestock feed market was streamlined through a robust regulatory framework that ensures both quantity and quality.
For instance, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the IGAD Centre For Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) said annual feed consumption demand for pigs under intensive production systems in Uganda is approximately 747,723 tonnes out of the 1,463,674 tonnes required by all animals with single-chamber stomachs or monogastrics, such as chicken and pigs.
The report said maize, which is one of the major staple foods in Uganda, accounted for 334,305 tonnes, equivalent to approximately 76% of the 439,509 tonnes of whole grain cereal consumed by monogastric animals.
This consumption accounts for approximately 185,725 tonnes of maize flour that had been available for the human food value chain with 26,744 tonnes of maize bran as a processing byproduct available for livestock feeding, the report said.
“Animal feed accounts for 70% of the production costs and therefore has a significant effect on production costs and profits,” said Bright Rwamirama, minister of state for Animal Industry, in a February 2024 speech.
“The level of nutrition influences the infection rates and disease resistance in animals and the low level of nutrition is therefore part of the reason for the low livestock and poultry performance in Uganda,” he said.
A Ugandan farmer feeds his cattle.
| Credit: ©FAOImportant new law
Uganda is now set to transform the performance of its livestock sub-sector after Museveni signed into law the new animal feed regulations that have established the Animal Feeds Committee (AFC) to be chaired by the Commissioner for Animal Production in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.
The committee, under the new law, is charged with the issuance of relevant permits to any person or entity seeking to engage in the production, storage and sale of animal feeds.
AFC also will be responsible for issuing permits for premises to be used for storage, sale and production of the feeds.
Furthermore, the committee will be required to issue export and import licenses within 10 days from the date of application while compelling feed exporters to obtain a sanitation certificate after approval by the committee.
Janet Okori-Moe, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, who is also the elected woman representative for Uganda’s Abim District, said the law would ensure quality feeds as it now requires animal feed manufacturers that own a laboratory “to retain the services of a chemist or animal nutritionist who shall be responsible for the analysis and testing of animal feeds and issue a certificate of analysis for each batch of animal feeds before it is released for sale.”
The new law also proposes stringent quality control procedures that required all animal feed producers to ensure their products adhere to the standards set by the Uganda Bureau of Standards, a state agency responsible for the formulation, promotion of the use of, and the enforcement of standards in protection of the environment, public health and safety.
Parliament also amended the bill before it was passed to include a requirement that a list of all approved quality control laboratories be published in the government Gazette and a newspaper with a nationwide circulation.
Uganda’s new animal feeds law is expected to support initiatives in addressing the challenge of growing demand for livestock products that has grown in tandem with livestock numbers.
The report by FAO & ICLAD estimates the potential of Uganda’s animal feed basket in 2022 at 121.173 million tonnes on a dry matter basis with the country’s northern farming systems zone that includes the districts such as Gulu, Kitgum, Lira, Pader, Amuru, Agago, Apac, Nwoya, Omoro, Otuke, and Lamwo accounting for the largest share of the feed at nearly 30%.
The report also estimates 78% of the feed potential to be made up of crop source roughages, 13% of crop source concentrates, and 9% by grazing biomass.
Despite this huge potential, the report said Uganda’s actual feed basket was estimated at 48.287 million tonnes, which is 40% of the possible national feed output potential.
The report said the northern farming systems zone accounts for at least 28% of the actual feed output in Uganda while the crop source roughages category accounts for up to 64%.
Concentrates and grazing biomass accounted for 20% and 17% of Uganda’s actual feed basket, respectively, according to the report.
The general potential feed use efficiency was highest for west Nile farmlands zone at 62%, followed by northern moist farmlands zone at 58%, and the western highlands zone at approximately 24%.
“The assessment shows that Uganda has substantial feed resources that can sustain the national herd and flock with a balance for export trade to other countries in deficit,” the report said.
For Uganda to achieve its immense feed output potential, “strategic technological and enabling environment interventions are required for sustainable feed management, distribution and utilization to stimulate agro-industrialization, self-sufficiency and trade.”
“Critical investment areas will include agro-processing, value addition and trade targeting zones with comparative advantage, efficient feeding technologies for the zones in feed deficits, establishing emergency animal feed bulking, processing and distribution centers, and regular animal feed security assessments,” the FAO report said.
Raw materials are key
Aimable Mbarushimana, chairman of the Uganda Animal Feeds Manufacturers Association (UGAFMA), said for the successful development of the country’s animal feed industry, “the private sector should make sure they supply quality feed elements.”
Uganda, he said in a previous report, needs to differentiate between animal feed and human feed to avert a competition between humans and animals for the same products such as maize and soybeans.
He called for the commoditization of animal feeds and the setting up of special business zones dedicated to the supply of raw materials and manufacturing of animal feeds.
“However, to start this we need to improve quality, quantity and pricing of silverfish, maize and soya,” he said.
At one of the animal feed industry forums in 2024, participants expressed concern about the increasing impact of exportation of raw materials for animal feed, especially maize and soybeans, blaming the trend for the high cost of livestock feed in the landlocked country.
“For us to grow our animal feed industry, we must ensure we secure the raw materials,” said Azaan Karmali of Mukwano Industries, a company known for its Mufigo Soybean and Shamba Sunflower Seed animal feed.
Karmali cited the example of Zambia and Malawi where “export permits are issued on season-by-season basis based on the size of the crop.”
“The animal feed industry in Uganda has been lagging behind in the region, yet most of the raw materials are sourced from the country,” George Adiga, UGAFMA’s secretary general, told participants.
But now, with the passing of the new animal feed law, Uganda also could be on its way to achieving its feed production targets and transforming the country’s feed trade, including improving the competitiveness of the livestock products in the East African region and beyond.
Shem Oirere is a Nairobi, Kenya-based freelance journalist who specializes in covering the African grain markets. He may be reached at soirere@gmail.com
