Poor cattle care affecting dairy production in Gulu
Dairy farming in Gulu city is still struggling to pick up due to limited knowledge among farmers despite the Government and development partners supplying farmers with cattle.
Joska Otto, 76, a retired nursing officer, is among those counting losses after the death of her two heifers last year.
"It is regrettable that my heifer died after producing triplets and the calves also died. Just after two months, I again lost another heifer after it gave birth. The cause of death was not known," Otto told New Vision.
Otto, a resident of Acoyo ward, east division, Gulu city, said without agricultural insurance in place, farmers will continue to suffer losses caused by diseases and tough climatic conditions.
Following the death of her two heifers, Otto cut down her pine trees for timber as she struggled to maintain the only mature heifer that she received under Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and the three calves.
"This is why insurance is good. I would have got back my animals. But I suffered a total loss. In developed countries, farmers are more respected than politicians because the agricultural sector is very important," she emphasised.
Sarafino Okello, 71, from the same division, has also not realised any benefi ts from the heifer he received in 2015.
By just looking at the three cattle Okello has, one can tell they are not given adequate care. They are tied on ropes to feed on the fresh grass within the slashed compound.
They look underfed with ribs visible from the backbone. Their shade has not been cleaned and the maize cob husks litter the place. Meanwhile, in Okello's neighbourhood is Paska Lalam Oketta, the area Local Council chairperson for Commercial Road sub-ward, who is happy with his heifers.
Unlike Otto and Okello, Lalam, 61, gets between 10 to16 litres of milk from one heifer per day.
Lalam, a former banker, told New Vision that from the heifers she received in 2015 under the OWC programme and through self-initiatives, she would have accumulated five heifers if she was more knowledgeable about cattle rearing. She said due to limited knowledge of cattle, it is hard for her to know when a cow is on heat so that artifi cial insemination can be done.
"The Government should help us to get modern technology for chopping grass for feeds and testing machines for the heat period," she noted.
GENERAL PROBLEM
Dr. Charles Obalim from Gulu district veterinary offi ce said the majority of the farmers keep between one to three milk cows in their backyards, but underfeed them. Obalim notes that this is compounded with failure to provide treatment for the sick animals, thus affecting milk production.
The veterinary offi cer attributed this to low income levels for the farmers, which makes them unable to buy animal drugs, which are usually expensive. Citing East Coast Fever, an endemic disease caused by ticks, a 40ml ampule, which is only meant to be administered on one sick animal, costs about sh120,000.
With the absence of spray dips, the farmers are compelled to use the knap snack spray method, which is not effective. Though milk production may also vary due to different stages of breastfeeding, Obalim said to achieve better yields, a cow must be given about 75kg of feeds and two jerrycans of water per day.
"You fi nd an employee carrying less than 20kg of grass on a bicycle and this is meant for about three cows, with just 20 litres of water. Such a cow cannot produce enough milk," Dr. Obalim observed.
Gulu district has 464 head of cattle. Since 2014, about 92 deaths have been reported.
Under OWC, 185 animals have been supplied since 2015, including six bulls. Other livestock and poultry distributed under OWC are 220 goats, 101 piglets, 9,000 chicks, 322 nitrogen liquid for preserving semen and 388 straw doses for inseminating the heifers.
Other suppliers include the Diocese of Northern Uganda, Heifer International, Send a Cow Uganda and other personal self-initiatives.
SELF-INITIATIVES TO DEVELOP
While some farmers are struggling to embrace dairy farming, others have teamed up to work with international farmers from the US for technical, semen donations and advisory support. Alex Icaya Ogwal, the proprietor of OG Dairy Farm in Cubu sub-ward, east division, hopes to benefi t more from the partnership.
The farm was started in 2016, From the farm, which has fi ve mature heifers and four calves, Ogwal gets about 40 litres of milk a day.
This leaves him with a profi t of sh1.5m every month after spending about sh500,000 on farm expenses. Currently, Ogwal is working with fi ve local farmers. He hopes to work with more from Gulu city, as well as Omoro, Amuru, Nwoya and Gulu districts.
Ogwal is now aiming to start producing 200 litres of milk in a day from 10 cows. "We are going to be supported to establish a milk store with modern machines so that we have one selling point," he noted.
UPHILL TASK
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, it has become hard for the semen dealers to supply farmers in the region due to high transport costs as a result of the lockdown.
Relatedly, the farmers observed that the cattle in the community are not purely for milk production, which explains why their milk production capacity is low. Dr. Obalim advised farmers intending to buy dairy cattle to do so in consultation with a veterinary doctor.
"The cows we have are not pure breeds for milk production. They could be crossed to about 50%. This is because the temperatures here are too high, yet pure milk cows require very low temperatures," Ogwal noted.
Lt. Col Obwot Olwa, the commander of OWC in Gulu city, commended the level of advocacy exhibited by the farmers, saying this will interest the Government to come to their rescue. Obwot told a team from the Uganda Media Council, which was in the region to monitor selected government projects, that farmers were failing to feed their cattle mostly during the dry season when the grass has dried.
- HEAD OF CATTLE IN GULU DISTRICT - 464
- CATTLE SUPPLIED BY OWC SINCE 2015 - 185
- CATTLE DEATHS REPORTED SINCE 2014 - 92
- GOATS DISTRIBUTED UNDER OWC - 220
- CHICKS DISTRIBUTED UNDER OWC - 9,000=