This archive report was first published on 17 July 2019.
Uganda's Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Vincent Ssempijja, has announced plans to register all cows in the country for traceability of their products and to enable them benefit from the international market.
According to Ssempijja, the international market demands that all countries producing foodstuff and crops for the European market produce traceability.
'They want to know where the products are coming from; they have been impounding and banning all consignments from Uganda if they find one box with issues,' Ssempijja said.
As part of the registration process, all cows must be registered and given birth certificates, Ssempijja added.
'For cattle farmers, it is going to be worse. You will be registered as a farmer, the cow will be registered, numbered and will have a birth certificate because the importers of our products demand meat for cows aged between 15 to 24 months,' Ssempijja explained.
He further stated that an audit team from the European Union is expected in Uganda in September this year to ensure that all farmers producing commodities destined for Europe are registered.
'Apart from traceability of the products, the team also wants to ensure that farmers benefit directly because many of them are cheated by middlemen. Government will not cater for those who defy the order when it comes to markets,' Ssempijja said, refuting allegations that the registration exercise is aimed at cheating farmers through imposing a tax on them.
