Uganda’s milk production reaches 5.4 billion litres

UGANDA – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has cited Uganda’s dramatic increase in milk production over the past four decades as one of the country’s most significant economic transformation success stories, revealing that annual output has grown from approximately 200 million litres in 1986 to 5.4 billion litres.

Speaking during the 2026 State of the Nation Address at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, Museveni said the growth demonstrates the impact of shifting households from subsistence livelihoods to commercial production and active participation in the money economy.

The President pointed to the transformation of communities within Uganda’s cattle corridor as evidence that targeted mobilization, improved farming practices, and market-oriented production can significantly improve household incomes and drive national economic growth.

According to Museveni, efforts to encourage livestock farmers to adopt modern farming methods and improve their breeds have played a key role in the expansion of the dairy sector.

He traced the origins of the transformation agenda to early development debates and mobilization campaigns that sought to move Ugandans away from what he described as subsistence production and into a structured money economy.

He explained that for many years, government efforts have focused on encouraging households to engage in commercial agriculture, enterprise development, and other productive economic activities capable of generating sustainable incomes.

Recently, the country introduced a new cost-sharing policy requiring farmers to contribute financially to the vaccination of livestock against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD), in a move aimed at strengthening long-term disease control efforts in the dairy sector.

Under the new approach, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries will lead the national vaccination programme while farmers contribute part of the cost of vaccines for their animals.

Previously, the government funded the entire vaccination exercise. However, officials say the arrangement proved financially unsustainable and failed to eliminate the disease, which has continued to affect livestock production in several parts of the country.

Under the policy, farmers will be required to contribute an annual fee of US$4.25 (Shs16,000) for each cow and US$2.12 (Shs8,000) for each goat. The money will be remitted through designated banks and used to help government procure and stock vaccines and other veterinary drugs.

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