President Yoweri Museveni has asked the Ministry of Finance to streamline taxes in the dairy sector in a move to level the ground for dairy farmers in Uganda to favorably compete with dairy farmers from other countries.
The president made the remarks last evening in a meeting with Kiruhura dairy farmers at his country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhura district.
“I don’t support taxing 18per cent per litre but we can agree to tax the income earned on the milk,” he said.
Museveni also warned farmers against land fragmentation and encouraged them to use rotational farming or paddock system so that their cattle can have pasture to feed on throughout the year.
“You must learn to grow grass like Hyperleria loofer, Dradelia, Prolyce Giana, Temla and grow sorghum and maize as cattle food to improve the quality and quantity of our milk,” he said.
He said that milk production has been able to increase because people stopped nomadic farming, a practice that was spreading diseases among the animals. He proposed that farmers form an association that will systematically deal with all issues affecting dairy farmers in Uganda.
He observed that in 1986 Uganda used to produce only 200 million litres of milk but production has since increased to two billion litres per annum.
“You should form an association of knowledgeable dairy farmers who can compare Uganda’s dairy Industry with that of other countries in the world”.
The dairy farmers requested the Museveni to construct an animal feeds factory, provide their cooperative societies with tractors and machines that cut silage to ease their work and to speed up irrigation farming which will improve milk production.
The meeting was attended by the Minister for Agriculture Tress Bucyanayandi, State Minister for animal husbandry, Bright Rwamirama and the Commissioner General Uganda Revenue Authority Doris Akol.
