UGANDA:
SOCIO-ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
Site made in May, 2004
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LIVESTOCK

The country's natural environment provides good grazing for cattle, sheep, and goats. Livestock in Uganda is predominantly composed of indigenous breeds.

Smallholder farmers own about 70 percent of all cattle while the rest is reared on several hundred modern commercial ranches areas that are free from tsetse-fly infestation.

Through government funding and donations, the population of cows has been greatly increased in recent years.

Goat farming has also recently become a thriving business. Previously, goats were kept for subsistence consumption only. Goats are particularly good because they are resistant to most disease and pests. The population of pigs has also grown greatly as a result of the ever-growing demand for pork in urban areas.

the quality and sizes of the stocks have improved because of better breeds imported from other countries like Tanzania, Britain, Germany, Kenya and Holland. Disease resistant breeds have also been developed by the veterinary department. More quality meat and diary products are now available on the market.

Poultry
The poultry industry has also been commercialised because of the increasing demand for chicken meat and eggs. A lot of chicks are still imported from Europe because the local hatcheries cannot satisfy the demand for day-old chicks. Commercial production of chicken is supplemented by domestic production.

Bee keeping

There are more than 50 cooperatives involved in the apiary industry. They produce more than 1000 tones of honey and beeswax from over 4000 hives. This industry is growing rapidly due to the high demand for their product. Honey is also a high value product that fetches a good price per litre.

Feeds mills have been developed because of the growing population of beasts and birds that need to be fed. New jobs have been created and new technologies developed because of the developments in the livestock industry.

Problems facing the industry

· Prevalence of disease and pests
· Costly pesticides and antibiotics
· Poor breeds of animals
· Lack of facilities for processing products like milk and meat
· Inaccessible markets mainly due to poor road network.

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Last update: June, 2004