By.Damba Rogers
Livestock
farmers under their body, Livestock development forum have issued milk
processors an ultimatum of 12 days to come on the round and discuss the issues
of gate farm milk prices.
In a meeting chaired by the chairperson, Ben Twine today in Kampala, livestock farmers from milk producing districts in the country decried the continued slowing down of milk prices with a liter in some areas now going for UGX.400 whereas other areas it goes for UGX.1000 and yet the processors are selling a liter at UGX.2600 and above.
The farmers
now says this is unacceptable hence the need to dialogue and agree on the
suitable farm gate price of milk.
Twine says,
they seek a meeting with processors not later than 31st August 2019
and failure to have the meeting, they will withhold the milk.
However, some
of the livestock farmers we spoke to are proposing a liter to go for UGX.1500
at farm gate price.
Ugandan
livestock farmers are among the least paid in the region with the highest being
Kenya who bag UGX.1700 per liter at farm gate price.
However, the farmers note that government has attracted milk processors and provided a conducive environment ranging from tax holiday, good infrastructure, and access to credit among others. This is geared towards turning Uganda’s precious raw milk into a product that is competing favorably against reputable brands on the national and international market.
“Without these enterprising processors, the 2,200,000,000 liters of raw milk would form a tributary of the mighty river Nile and head to the Mediterranean sea.” Says Ben Twine.
The above
interventions have attracted more investment into the diary sector, especially
for milk processing. Currently the major milk processing companies registered
in Uganda include the following:
Brookside
diary limited, Jesa farm diary, Pearl diary farm limited, Amos diariwes Uganda
limited, GBK diary product among others.
Annoyingly,
unfairly and inconsiderately remained significantly below the cost of
production (UGX.1000 in the open ranging system and UGX.1500 in the zero
grazing system) Currently prices are as low as UGX.300/UGX.500 a liter in the
majority of the milk producing regions. This is the lowest in East African
region by far.
The meeting
called for by milk farmers seeks to have 11 milk processors from across the
country.
END