In the past five years, the government has undertaken ambitious projects to develop the marketing and exportation of beef through partnerships with donors such as the European Union.
These projects have been vital, especially at a time when the economy is recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The beef sector, like others, suffered a slump following the pandemic in 2020.
Uganda earned about $2.23 million from meat exports and edible meat offal in that year, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. Meat prices also rose to between Shs14,000 and Shs20,000 per kg, up from Shs10,000, reducing local consumption.
The prospects for the sector are promising, especially as beef is among the 7 products government has earmarked for export expansion. However, as government stimulates demand for processed beef products, promotes local meat consumption to improve marketing, transportation and value addition, the limited quantity and quality of cattle currently remain a hindrance.
As a result, the existing meat processing facilities work at less than their operational capacities, which increases the fixed costs of operation thereby decreasing the processors competitiveness in the domestic and export markets.
The shortage of cattle could also be a result of lengthy period of raising and feeding animals to attain the market and slaughter age.
For instance last year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries commissioned Zhong Wu Beef Importers and Exporters Group in Mbarara to grow the export value of beef to China as the main market, and also spread to European Union, Middle East and regional markets.
The company secured 600 acres of land from the government through the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank.
“Zhong Wu Beef Importers and Exporters Group seeks to establish an agricultural industrial park to maximally utilize the land and increase in investment value. The proposed enterprises include a refrigerated vehicle assembly plant, veterinary and agriculture drugs production plant, feedlots for 1,000 heads of cattle to serve the abattoir, pasture development as well as a vaccine production facility,” the ministry said in a statement then.
But the abattoir started operations with a shortage of cattle. “We have the capacity to slaughter 150 cattle daily, but we are yet to hit that target,” Jiang You Cai, of Zhong Wu, the investor said then.
In another instance, when government commissioned the Egypt-Uganda Food Security, a modern slaughterhouse commissioned in August 2015, the abattoir only made its first beef export to Egypt in 2018, shipping 50 tonnes of the commodity.
This explains why government should ensure that cattle beef producers adopt intensive animal husbandry practices and supplementary feeding technologies to guarantee proper feeding and nutrition for faster growth.
The beef sector in Uganda is relatively limited in terms of the cattle population. According to experts, the country has about 14.2 million cattle, 16 million goats, 4.5 million sheep and 47.6 million poultry.
Most of the livestock, especially cattle is reared from south-western to north eastern Uganda. This corridor covers the Ntungamo, Mbarara, Mpigi, Kiboga,Sembabule, Nakasongola, Luweero, Apac, Lira, Soroti, Kumi, Mbale, Moroto, and Kotido districts, according to Infotrade.
About 50 percent of the households depend on livestock for their livelihoods, while an estimated 90% of the national cattle herd is kept under pastoral and mixed small holder farming systems. Commercial beef ranching is limited, accounting for less than 10% of the national herd.
The Ministry of Agriculture is committed to increase the commercialization of the sector through the National Development Plan II, which focuses on Uganda’s ability to produce some of the best beef in Africa. Studies show that the country’s cattle beef is now ranked 5th best in the world because of its yellow fat that does not contain cholesterol mainly because the cows are naturally grazed.
The government was able to attract funding from the European Union under the National Indicative Plan, where the latter agreed to co-fund the beef sector for five years, contributing 15 million Euros.
This will be done under the project; “Developing a Market Oriented and Environmentally Sustainable Beef Meat Industry in Uganda”. The project is implemented by Ministry of Agriculture, and part of the deal is a grant to Uganda Meat Producers Cooperative Union and for a service contract to engage the technical assistance team.
The sector also has to overcome the constraint of supply shortage of quality animals, which requires, among other things, understanding the livestock producers’ marketing behavior. This is because many smallholders do not directly participate in the livestock market.
Even for those who do, the size of transaction is very small. This is because most small holders keep livestock to complement the subsistence nature of their livelihood rather than for commercial purposes.
Those in the commercial sector have faced frequent animal disease outbreaks such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease. As a result, some parts of the country have been under a cattle quarantine for extended periods in districts such as Nwoya, Gulu, Sembabule and Masaka, among others, demoralizing farmers.
In 2017, local authorities in the cattle corridor districts of Sembabule, Lyantonde, Gomba and Nakasongola suffered a financial loss of Shs672 million in revenue following the restriction on the slaughter, sale and transportation of cattle in the districts.
However, Mr Odrek Rwabwogo, a businessman and senior presidential adviser, is optimistic. He recently said Uganda’s partnership with European Union, Britain or other potential importers is to ensure that import quality standards are met.
President Museveni also said in January that Uganda wants to reduce its borrowing and boost exports in sectors such as meat.
Analysts advise the government to give priority to climate smart, environmentally sustainable, locally developed practices, including small-holder agriculture and attention to rural livelihoods and formation of producer groups, including women’s groups to tackle such challenges.
Regarding regulation of the beef sector, government needs a regulatory body to oversee and enforce the much needed policies and improved practices.
Experts note that the country’s legislation, which pertains to food safety, agricultural health, and compliance with international sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade matters is in a state of transition.
They argue that most legislation concerning animal health, meat and food hygiene, and other relevant legislation associated with animal health, food safety and trade, are outdated. Therefore, government should review and update the legislative and policy frameworks. That way, the existing and future exporters are guaranteed smooth operations.
