‘We will register the owner of the cow, and every calf will be given a birth certificate at birth” Minister Ssempijja.“
Things are quickly changing in Uganda. Farmers will soon be required to acquire birth certificates for cows as a measure to track their lineage and ensure that their products are of quality to meet International market standards.
According to the Minister for Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja, it will soon be a requirement for every farmer in Uganda to register and provide government with details relating to crops and animals, in order to facilitate government’s intervention into quality of products especially those that target foreign markets.
“We will register the owner of the cow, and the village where the farm is located. Every cow will be allocated a serial number, and every calf will be given a birth certificate at birth. This is so because meat consumers want to know the age of the cow.” said Minister Ssempijja.
The minister reaffirmed that demand for meat in the market today depends on the age of the cow since consumers prefer meat from cows aged bellow 24 months. This according to Ssempijja means that meat from cows above 24 months will soon be disallowed in the market.
Ssempijja made these remarks yesterday during the National Agricultural Show, organized by Uganda National Farmers Federation at Jinja Show Grounds, in the eastern town of Jinja.
Ssempija says registration will no be limited to farmers engaged in cattle rearing, but also those engaged in fish farming and other crops including maize and coffee will be required to do so.
The new initiative comes a few months after government introduced The Coffee Bill in parliament which among other things requires coffee farmers to register and acquire licences from government.
The bill whose objective is to improve productivity and standard, proposes the registration of farmers capturing details of the size of land, the number of coffee trees and particulars of the farmers, coffee buyers and sellers among others.
The bill also proposes that land, where the coffee is to be grown shall be evaluated by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority to determine its suitability for coffee growing.