A 7-man team of young trainees from the Directorate-General for the Development Cooperation of the European Union (DEVCO), on a visit to Uganda for a one-week study tour that took them to parts of Central Uganda.
Being one of the beneficiaries of European Union funding through the project; Farmer Led Beef Livestock Investment and Sustainability (FALBIIS), Uganda Meat Producers Cooperative Union Ltd (UMPCU), took the team to some project areas. The team, in Uganda for the 1st time was treated to a walk through the farm of a UMPCU farmer from Wabinyonyi Meat Producers Cooperative Society in Nakasongola district.
In the cattle shed, the healthy beef animals chewed on their hay with contentment that gave a sense of comfort. The animals are part of those paid for by the farmer under the Livestock Extension Assurance Fund (LEAF), within the FALBIIS project that are dewormed and vaccinated, and treated by a UMPCU Veterinarian after proper animal health diagnosis.
The group also visited a pasture garden of Chloris gayana and Centrosema, where they were able to take in the aroma of the grass that the animals feed on. They can be seen standing on one of Chloris gayana, part of which had just been harvested.
The E.U team led by Ms. Nadia O’Shaugnessy expressed appreciation for the warm welcome and said the tour had enlightened them about the beef production process.
UMPCU’s Board Chairman Eng Robert Ssenozi said the support from the European Union is doing a lot to help the farmers in meeting the key result areas of the FALBIIS project.
