EADD Uganda newsletter

1. EAST AFRICAN DAIRY DEVELOPMENT
(EADD)PROJECT -UGANDA LAUNCHED
Issue 1
September 2008
Foreword from Country Program Manager
t his is the first issue of The East African
Dairy Development Project (EADD) - Uganda news-
letter. This newsletter will serve as an opportunity
for updating our partners on the progress towards
implementing of the project and for staff to share out
their key competences. EADD is a 4 year (2008 -
2012) poverty reduction project that will move small
holder women and men farmers out of poverty by
improving their profit participation in the dairy
value chain. The project’s adopted hub model of
farmer owned chilling plants (CP) will ensure tack-
ling many challenges which the small holder
Mr. William Matovu farmers have been facing along the dairy value
HEIFER PROJECT INTERNATIONAL UGANDA
Country Program Manager EADDP – Uganda
chain. The project is funded by Bill and
EADD-UGANDA NEWSLETTER
Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and imple-
mented by Heifer Project International (HPI) as the lead agency. Other implementing
partners are Technoserve (TNS), African Breeders Services - Total Cattle Management
(ABS –TCM), International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF) and Interna-
tional Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
For the past 6 months we have been focusing on the key project start up activities one of
which was to constitute the EADD team, setting up the office and selecting the sites for
the project location and analyzing our stakeholders, all aimed at addressing the project
vision of doubling the dairy income of 45,000 small holder farmers in 13 districts of cen-
tral Uganda by 2012. Site selection was the key activity in the first 3 months and the
Uganda team was able to identify 10 sites for the CPs and 5 sites for the traditional hub
model (TM). The team has embarked on the farmer mobilization agenda especially to
ensure that 2 CPs and 1 TM are set up this year.
The project will be implemented by a team of about 35 staff experienced in the dairy
sector and in the field of rural development. Please join me in congratulating the whole
team for having accepted to be part of this noble cause. We look forward to contribute
towards achieving the vision of the EADD project.
Country Project Manager EADD-Uganda
Inside this issue: Upcoming events
Launching the EADD–Uganda Pg 2 • Another batch of selected farmers
EADD Uganda progress activities Pg 3-6
from EADD sites to visit Kenya hubs
in October 2008
Employee news Pg 7-15
Picture gallery Pg 16 • First chilling plant set to be installed
in December 2008

2. Launching of the EADD– Uganda
The East African Dairy Development Project continue to support the poverty reduction programs to
(EADDP) was officially launched at Hotel Af- improve the livelihood of the rural poor and sustainably
ricana in Kampala on 24th July 2008. EADDP care for the earth for the future generations.
was launched by the Honorable Minister of
State for Animal Industry, Mr. Fred Mukisa, In his welcome statement, the Country Director HPI
who expressed great honor to perform the task Uganda, Mr. Patrick Nalere stated that the vision of
of officially launching of the project. EADD was to transform the lives of 179,000 house-
The aim of the launch was to introduce the holds (about 1 million people) in the region by doubling
project to the stakeholders, intended benefici- their household dairy income by 2012 through inte-
aries, funding organizations and to the general grated interventions in dairy production, market access
public and to provide a forum for informative and knowledge application.
exchange especially on how to work together During the launch, the Country Project Manager
to make the project achieve the set milestones. (CPM), Mr. William Matovu, gave an overview of the
This was to ensure that the overall vision, ob- EADD. He informed participants that the aim of EADD
jectives and activities of the project are under- is to move smallholder farmers out of poverty by im-
stood and know how different stakeholders proving their participation in the dairy value chain and
would contribute to the successful implemen- making profit. He also highlighted that the project
tation of the project. would engage in 3 major activities
“Some of the challenges we are facing today as
The Minister observed farmers include lack of proper milk marketing chan- of ; Generating information for
that the annual milk nels, poor milk quality, lack of cooling and process- decision making on the dairy
yield of 900, 000 tones, ing facilities and lack of artificial insemination ser- value chain, Expanding dairy mar-
is against a requirement vices. We are optimistic that EADDP has come at the kets and increasing market access
right time to help us reduce some of these chal-
of 4.8 million tones thus lenges” Hajj Mohamed Mubiru for smallholder farmers and Sus-
any strategic interven- tainably increasing dairy produc-
tion in the dairy sector is a positive step to- tivity and efficiency.
wards the development of the sector.
He clearly outlined the project beneficiaries in Uganda
He also noted that the volume of milk col-
as being 45,000 poor smallholder dairy families that
lected, processed and packaged has increased
earn less than $ 2 per adult and have 1-5 cows
significantly and there is no doubt that the
Dairy sector is developing and is one of the In his presentation at the launch, the Country Director
ways of boosting the incomes of the rural of Technoserve Mr. Erastus Kibugu, gave a brief of
poor. TNS activities. He also made a comprehensive illustra-
He noted that Heifer Project international tion of the Business hub approach to the dairy business
Uganda (HPI-U) has embraced practical ap- service delivery, which, he said has four key steps; milk
proaches to using livestock as an entry point to production, chilling, processing & packing and trans-
poverty reduction amongst the rural poor as portation and retail.
articulated in the Plan for Modernization of
Agriculture (PMA). It is with this vision that At the launch, Hajj Mohamed Mubiru from Luweero
Heifer Project International received a four- HPI project, gave a testimony of how his group of Lu-
year $42.8 million grant (of which 10.6 mil- weero Church of Uganda has benefited from Heifer in-
lion is for Uganda) from the Bill & Melinda terventions.
Gates Foundation (BMGF) to fund a project to Participants were drawn from the line ministries and
help poor rural farmers in E.A. double their district departments, partner organizations, service pro-
incomes by increasing their production of high viders, potential beneficiaries, and other key stake-
quality raw milk to sell to dairies. holders.
On behalf of government, the Minister called
on all development agencies and partners to
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3. About EADD
HPI received a 4 year grant from the BMGF to help The project will accomplish these aims through coordi-
poor rural farmers in East Africa double their In- nated, farmer-focused interventions that integrate to de-
comes by increasing their production of high quality velop small holder profit-participation in the dairy value
raw milk to sell to dairies chain. The project will provide extensive training in or-
ganization development and dynamics, animal agriculture,
EADD seeks to improve on-farm production and business practices, plus other related subjects. Women
Market access. will be particularly targeted for inclusion in both the bene-
On-farm production will be improved by: increasing fits and leadership.
the volume of milk produced,
improving milk quality and re- In Uganda, EADD will help 45,000
ducing loss through spoilage, families lift themselves out of poverty
and providing access to produc- by developing 10 milk collection hubs
tion inputs through business de- with CPs where farmers will bring raw
livery services. milk for bulking and chilling before
Milk production will be in- pick-up by commercial dairies. Addi-
creased through artificial insemi- tionally, 5 traditional hubs TMs will
nation (AI) to improve local be established where activities will
breeds of dairy cows and seek to achieve multiple goals includ-
through improved animal nutri- ing to: provide a range of business
tion. services to farmers and traditional
The project will also enhance the traders; leverage the farmers’ position
dairy farmers’ understanding of fundamental busi- with traditional traders through collective bargaining; and
ness practices and ability to access finances. improve the demand for quality milk.
Market access will be improved by: developing local
hubs of business delivery services and CPs that fa- The project is being implemented in the districts of Sem-
cilitate market access, linking producers to formal babule, Masaka, Mpigi, Wakiso, Mityana, Kiboga, Na-
markets through processors, and increasing produc- kaseke, Luweero, Nakasongora, Masindi, Mukono,
ers’ benefit from traditional markets. Kayunga and Jinja.
EADD acquires office space
At the beginning of July 2008,
EADD staff were able to move into
their office premises located on
plot 14 Lourdel road in Nakasero,
Kampala, just a few blocks away
from HPI-Uganda office.
This was after a few months of
renovation of the premises, for-
merly used for residential purposes.
The office premises comprises of
one big housing unit and two
smaller ones. The office houses all
the EADDP stall from all the im-
plementing partners in Uganda i.e.
HPI-U, TNS, ABS TCM and
ICRAF.
EADDP –Uganda staff standing in front of the EADDP Office when they hosted Prof. Sahr Lebby , the Vice President Africa
Area Program, HPI (standing 8th from Left)
ISSUE 1 Page 3

4. Induction Workshop conducted for EADD staff
An orientation workshop was conducted for all EADDP tech- from TNS Kenya.
nical staff from 2nd – 4th July 2008 at Hotel Equatoria in
The workshop was also attended by HPI-Uganda CD, Mr. Patrick
Kampala. The aim of the workshop was to provide orientation
for the staff and be able to collectively appreciate the tasks Nalere and the CD of TNS Uganda, Mr. Erastus Kibugu.
ahead. The specific Objectives were to:
• Create a clear understanding of who (staff, consortium
organizations, stakeholders) is involved
• Build a team that will be able to effectively execute the
task with a professional and social understanding.
• Discuss the major contents of the project in particular
the vision, mission, objectives, expected outcomes, mile-
stones, values governing the project and the hub model.
• Define EADDP ‘partnership’ to ensure the success of
the project (challenges, opportunities, threats, strengths,
working mechanism, reporting, performance reviews, roles
and responsibilities, staff development)
• Draft and harmonize quarter 3 and 4 work plans and
agree on the farmer mobilization strategy.
In addition to the EADDP-Uganda staff, the workshop was
also attended by the regional coordinator of EADDP, Mr.
Moses Nyabila from Nairobi and Mr. Brian McBrearity EADD –Uganda staff performing a role play during the staff induction workshop
ABS TCM conducts AI Training
ABS TCM organized a refresher training course in Artifi- kungiri, Apach, Masindi and Sironko.
cial Insemination (AI) at Mukono Zonal Agricultural Re-
The course was conducted through lectures, audio-visual
search Development Institute (ZARDI) from 17th –19th
DVDs and VHS, participatory and intense practical sessions
June 2008.
carried out at Buyana Stock Farm (Makerere university Farm)
The purpose of the training was to introduce and update the and at Mukono ZARDI who provided animals for use for AI ,
animal health service providers to modern animal breeding milk quality and Genetics Management Systems practice.
and milk quality assurance technologies.
The objectives were to: refresh inseminators on
the practical procedures in AI; impart knowledge
and skills in mastitis prevention, control and prac-
tical use of udder care products; build capacity of
service providers in quality milk, quality services
and products; build capacity of service providers
in business skills and record keeping in animal
industry services’ provision
The course was facilitated by Dr. Nathaniel Ma-
koni (Director ABS TCM), Dr. Benon Kanyima
( Faculty of Veterinary medicine Makerere uni-
versity) and Mr. Dedas M. Ikamba ( ABS TCM
Kenya).
The training was officially opened by Dr. Marga-
ret Makuru, the Deputy Country Director HPI-
Uganda
The course was attended by 36 participants drawn
from the EADDP target districts. Other 8 partici-
pants sponsored by HPI-U were drawn from the
districts of Gulu, Pallisa, Iganga, Mbale, Ru- Participants taking part in a practical session of AI during the training
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5. EADD Site selection
For each of EADD-Uganda target districts specific, activi- marketing statistics, dairy farming households, farmer groups
ties have been going on for the selection of potential sites and community based organisations was obtained from differ-
for both the TMs and CPs. ent sources and used to identify potential sites for the CP and
For the past 3 months, EADDP staff have been involved in TM hubs.
the site selection process. Several key informants/ dairy Data Collection
value chain participants were interviewed providing useful
information about the dairy situation in the different project The data captured included location, existing farmer groups,
districts. The information was used to map the distribution milk yields, prices, existing markets, entrepreneurship, market
of dairy farming, marketing, business development services dynamics, CP feasibility, AI, dairy feeding system, physical
(BDS), existing milk cool- infrastructure (particularly
ing plants and to select the roads), utilities (water, elec-
areas (sub-counties) with tricity, telephone), breeds of
the greatest potential for cattle and the dairy farming
successful establishment system. In addition, data was
of CP TM and hubs. The captured on volumes of milk
selected areas were visited marketed by the farmer
and the data collection groups, major milk traders in
tool/checklist developed the area, BDS Providers, key
by ILRI was administered. dairy value chain participants
and their capacities.
Among the key infor-
mants interviewed were Data Analysis and Prelimi-
the District Veterinary nary site selection
Officers, local Veterinary/ Basing on the information/
Livestock extension work- data collected from different
ers, farmer group leaders, sites, qualitative and quantita-
bulk milk traders and tive assessments of the suit-
transporters, business de- ability of each site for a CP or
velopment service (BDS) TM was done, and sites were
providers, milk cooling later ranked in order of prior-
plant operators, lead farm- ity.
ers and political leaders. Some EADDP-Uganda staff having a discussion with some milk traders in Kiboga
Also interviewed were The priority sites for CPs are
persons implementing projects that support smallholder Masindi, Kiboga and
farmers, NGO workers and staff of dairy processing compa- Katuugo. The priority sites for TMs are Luweero and Bubuusi.
nies. Secondary data on cattle numbers, milk production and
Farmer Sensitization and Mobilization
Uganda has a target of establishing 2 CPs and 1 TM in yr1. associations (DFBA) and CP site specific data/ information is
Activities of farmer mobiliza- being collected for CP feasibility
tions have started and are con- assessments and business plans.
tinuing in the selected EADD EADD is also working with part-
sites, with the initial concen- ners to mobilize farmers to form
tration on the priority sites of DFBAs and raise equity through
Kiboga, Masindi and Luweero. sell of shares
Sensitization activities include Outputs during mobilization ac-
field visits and meetings be- tivities include: Profiles of
tween EADD and district lead- DFBAs and CP sites, Lists and
ers, district technical staff, numbers of small holder farmers
farmer leaders, farmers and and other project participants,
other key stakeholders in the Model farmers/TOTs identified
diary value chain. The mes- per hub, BDS providers and their
sages focus on EADD, and profiles identified per hub and
explanation of the hub mod- market information.
els, both CP and TM. In addi- Some EADDP-Uganda staff sensitizing some district leaders in Masindi
tion, district farmer business
ISSUE 1 Page 5

6. HPI farmer groups sensitized about EADD
EADD organized a one day sensitization
meeting for HPI farmer groups at Kolping
House, Kampala, on 15th August 2008. The
main objective of the meeting was to sensi-
tize Heifer Project HPI Farmer Group Hold-
ers, Chairpersons, Extension Staff and other
stakeholders about EADD. After the meeting,
an action plan and way forward was devel-
oped.
HPI project holders discussing their roles and challenges in EADDP during their sensitization workshop
Selected farmers visit Kenya dairy hubs
Three farmers ( Hajj Mohammed Mubiru from Luweero, Hajj Bruhan Kigoye “I learnt a new technique of planting pastures in 2 rows
and M/s Asha Juto from Masindi) from selected EADDP sites participated in the
which I really thought was simple, easy and yields more.
Eastern and Southern Africa Dairy Association conference and exhibition in Nai-
robi from 2nd –6th August 08. While there, they also got the opportunity to visit I am going to do it on my farm and teach others how to
some successful hubs of Muki, Nyala, Githunguri, Maffad and Lari where they do it” says Ms Asha Juto after visiting some dairy farm-
acquired new ideas that they will help to pass on to other farmers. ers in Kenya
EADD-Uganda hosts some important visitors
EADDP Uganda has hosted some very important visitors during this period. Among them:
Sahr Lebby (Vice President Africa Area Program, HPI)
Simon Winters (Vice president TNS Africa Division)
Moses Nyabila ( Regional Director EADDP)
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7. Photo Gallery
Participants during a farmer sensitization meeting in Luweero A calf produced by AI Sahr Lebby talking to some farmers during his visit to EADD
Presentation during the HPI farmer groups sensitization workshop Conducting AI training Some EADD-Uganda staff during the staff induction workshop
Some milk in plastic containers at a collection centre in Milk transportation by informal milk traders Milk containers at a milk cooler in Kayunga
Nakasongola
Moses Nyabila speaking during a sensitization meeting Members of Kiboga West cooperative in a meeting Taking milk measurement at JESA Dairy Farm
in Kiboga with EADD staff
East Africa Dairy Development Project
Plot 14 Lourdel Road, Nakasero
P. O. Box 28491
Kampala
Uganda
Tel: 0414 233 481
Fax: 0414 251 455