Animal sub sector is one of the Uganda’s important growth sectors contributing about 3% to the GDP. Over 71% of Ugandan’s households are engaged in livestock rearing.
Livestock Products
The sector is prioritizing the following livestock products over the medium term: beef, pork, mutton, goat, poultry, honey, silk and hides and skins. Beef production in 2014 stood at 308,000 MT and is projected to increase to 360,000 MT in 2020, valued at USD 1.636 billion. Pork production in 2014 stood at 119,987 MT and is projected to increase to 139,185 MT in 2020, valued at USD 421 million. mutton and goat production in 2014 stood at 34,289 MT and is projected to increase to 39,775 MT in 2020, valued at USD 421 million. Poultry production in 2014 stood at 54,868 MT and is projected to increase to 63,647 MT in 2020. Honey production in 2014 stood at 24,000 MT; while silk production in 2014 stood at a meager 3.2 MT. Hides and skins exports in 2014 stood at 32,588 MT earning Uganda USD 80 million. Source:MAAIF 2016/17
Dairy
Under the Dairy subsector; the milk production is projected to increase to 2,089,243,362 liters in 2015, from 1,934,484,595 liters in 2014, an increase of 8%. This will earned Uganda USD 30.979 million in 2015, compared to USD 28.684 million in 2014. Records from the Diary Development Authority (DDA) indicated that thirty three percent (33%) of the marketed milk is processed whereas sixty seven percent (67%) is marketed raw. The processing capacity increased from 1.062 million litres in 2013 to 1.304 million litres in 2014.
The sector targets to produce 3.35 billion liters of milk annually by 2020, and targets annual exports from milk and its products worth approximately USD 49.673 million by 2020.
The livestock sub-sector plays an important role in the livelihood of approximately 1.7 million households who keep cattle as a reliable source of income, household nutrition, food security and employment. However, majority of livestock farmers in Uganda keep animals for safekeeping their wealth. Households that keep livestock tend to be generally less poor than those who do not. The following are the country’s livestock census figures as reported by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in 2008.
| Species | Cattle | Goats | Sheep | Pigs | Chicken | Turkey | Ducks |
| No. 000 | 11,408 | 12,449 | 3,410 | 3,184 | 37,385 | 348 | 1,458 |
Economically, cattle are considered to be the most important livestock in Uganda, although other animals such as goats, sheep, pigs and poultry are equally important. Uganda’s cattle herd is made up 93.6% indigenous breeds while 5.6% is of dairy exotic/cross breeds. Approximately 99% of goats in Uganda are indigenous, dominated by the Mubende breed and about 1.3 percent are exotic. The Sheep flock is dominated 99.2 % by indigenous breeds and the exotic/cross breeds are only about 0.8%. Pastoralists and communal grazers hold about 95 percent of all the cattle and they produce about 85 percent of all the milk in the country, mainly for own consumption.
There is an increase in demand for livestock products both locally and in the region that has attracted many households to the livestock sub-sector. The current production levels in the livestock sector only satisfy 50% the local and regional market. Uganda’s livestock exports include hides; skins ,fur skins , apiculture , eggs, meat and live animals to Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan and Middle East countries and European Union.
Uganda’s livestock industry is full of investment opportunities ranging from scientific research to the physical establishment of cold storage facilities for livestock products for both internal consumption and export. Scientific research and breeding of livestock is being carried out at slow speed as dictated by financial and other constraints. Also running at a very slow pace is the development of livestock drugs and the manufacture of livestock feeds especially feed premixes, yet there is need to improve on both the quality and quantity of livestock in the country.
Competitive strength of the sector
- Ugandan beef industry is compliant with the Arabic Norms in Animal Slaughtering process
- Tropical weather climate favors livestock farming
- Adequate supply of trained and affordable human resources. For instance veterinary doctors
- Availability of market for livestock that is in Uganda, EAC, COMEA Region
- Ankole cattle have low cholesterol levels which is a good health attribute
- Good legal framework in the sector
- Uganda has about 1000 valley dams for livestock
- Current legal framework support private sector investment
The information on the animal subsector has been summarised as follows