This document summarizes the work of the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in Uganda on livestock research, technology, and innovation related to the dairy value chain. NaLIRRI conducts research in livestock health, nutrition, breeding, and apiculture. Its research focuses on improving animal productivity through technologies like disease-resistant forage varieties, vaccination programs, and cross-breeding indigenous cattle. NaLIRRI also disseminates its research findings to farmers and coordinates with other agencies in the Ministry of Agriculture on priorities like improving dairy cattle genetics and productivity.

1. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ORGANISATION
The status of Livestock Research,
Technology and Innovation as
applies to the Dairy Value Chain in
Uganda – “the NaLIRRI example”
Loyce Okedi (Ph.D.)
Director,
NATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESOURCES RESEARCH
INSTITUTE (NaLIRRI), TORORO, UGANDA

2. NATIONAL LIVESTOCK RESOURCES
RESEARCH INSTITUTE, TORORO
Formerly
EA Trypanosomiasis Research Org.

3. Livestock production data UBOS (2009)
Agriculture is the main stay of the Uganda’s economy
employing 65.6 per cent (UBOS 2009) of the labour force
and contributing 21 percent to the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP).
Agricultural production in Uganda is dominated by
smallholder farmers engaged in crop farming, livestock
keeping, forestry, horticulture and fishing.
Livestock production - the livestock sector in Uganda
contributes about 17% of the national Agriculture Gross
Domestic Product in the form of milk and meat.
Cattle population
at 11.4 million with ~ 10.6% improved cattle.

4. Livestock production data (cont’d)
Livestock, and especially cattle, have historically played
multiple roles both in economic life and in socio-cultural
traditions of smallholder farmers in Uganda.
Livestock and livestock products play a key role in:
raising incomes of households
providing a source of protein to many families,
communities.
According to analysis of poverty trends
households that include livestock in their enterprise
mix tend to be generally less poor in Uganda.
UBOS 2007

5. From PMA to DSIP
Dairy is one of the ten commodities identified
under DSIP of MAAIF
Several programs now on ground to:
increase volumes of milk, add value;
infra- structure set up to increase employment
opportunities 4 income generat’n by SH in the VC
Genetics, Nutrition and Animal health issues now
being teased out …..
Dairy industry – 50% of the livestock sector
2 bn Liters of milk
(MoS at First Dairy National event last week)
•1st Dairy 17 Sep – UIA/SNV

6. BUT ALAS
(Low quality of inputs into the Dairy sector – low
quality feeds, few alternative feeding options and
strategies > low quality products
We need lab facilities to verify issues of
adulteration of milk, contamination with cheical
additives, microbes – Brucella, Tb, etc
Research still needed for
Establishing value chain actors – with beef industry
the significant stakeholders are traders and middle
men(trade)-present FMD epidemic
--------------Acaricide resistance issues (polyclonals)

7. Emerging issues
How do the
non-affected
districts
Handle their
trade affairs
Beef cattle
•FMD FAO map 2014

8. NARO institutes
NaLIRRI
NaCRRI
NaFIRRI
NaFORRI
NARL
NaSARRI
NaCORI
NabuZARDI
NgeZARDI
AbiZARDI
MuZARDI
KaZARDI
MbaZARDI
BuZARDI
BugiZARDI
•NARO institutes

9. MAAIF agencies involved in Dairy
NARO
PARIs
ZARDIS
DDA
Regulation of
processing,
value
addition and
marketing
NaGRC
Genetic
resources;
NADIC
Disease
diagnostics
•Ministry of AAIF

10. UNDER THE POLICY GUIDANCE OF NARO:
Generate and transfer improved and appropriate
Livestock technologies and knowledge for sustainable
development
> PRODUCTS, STRATEGIES, PROTOCOLS,
TOOLS, TECHNIQUES-TECHNOLOGIES and
CONTRIBUTE TO KNOWLEDGE/SCIENCE
as to contribute to:
improve the welfare of Ugandans; increasing
productivity and use of the natural resource base
to undertake, promote and coordinate research in
mandated areas: HEALTH, BREEDING, NUTRITION
AND APICULTURE
•National Agric. Research

11. Based At: Tororo (main hub) and
Nakyessasa (Dairy Centre of
Excellence coming up)
H •Livestock Health
N •Livestock Nutrition
B •Livestock Breeding
A •Apiculture
•NaLIRRI

12. Livestock diseases are key constraints to livestock
development and impede livestock productivity and
many are endemic ranging from notifiable, trans-boundary,
vector-borne diseases.
1. We conduct risk assessment of notifiable livestock
diseases - epidemics of CBPP, FMD, Avian Influenza,
Trypanosomiasis + tsetse genome 2014 with partners,
WHO.
2. Prevention, control and population genomics of ECF
& milk-borne zoonoses; Improving Muguga cocktail
vaccine for Uganda situation
3.Technologies and consortia developed comply with
MAAIF-generated priorities
namely Dairy and Beef cattle.
•Livestock Health

13. Some Challenges to Livestock in Africa
Diseases and pests burden
Several (Rinderpest, Contagious bovine
pleuropneumonia, African swine fever, foot-and-mouth
disease, brucellosis)
and severe with far reaching impacts on
productivity
Poor support systems. A large proportion of the few
trained vets are not engaged in the livestock
sectors and decentralisation means not all
districts covered
Livestock productions systems in Africa
Ruminant production mostly in the hot arid lands
Inadequate knowledge & expertise of producers,
traders compounded with poor outreach
•Livestock Health

14. Advances in animal health -
Eradication of Rinderpest from Africa
Rinderpest a viral disease of
ruminants - at one point killed
90% of all cattle in Africa
(c1880 and continued to
threaten herds with mortalities
threatening trade and
livelihoods.
The Eradication of
rinderpest resulted from
A scene from 1880 outbreak of
Science, Vaccine
Rinderpest
development and Delivery,
Lessons learned at NaLIRRI
Disease surveillance,
from the program can and
should be applied to other
Policy, Inter governmental
diseases
cooperation.
•Livestock Health

15. Rhipicephalus evertsi
tick
Amblyomma
tick
NaLIRRI Scientists carrying out acaricide
resistance testing on ticks
•Livestock Health

16. •Ticks and Acaricides

17. Livestock Nutrition
availing suitable improved
pasture legume & grass seed to farming
communities for semi-arid region
to improve animal nutrition
training in production and conservation
of pastures even for dry season feeding
dissemination of the pasture production
and management technologies
•Livestock Nutrition

18. Livestock nutrition (cont’d)
KALIP - Improving food security and diversification of
livelihood opportunities for communities in Karamoja, and
enhancing resilience to climate change thru local forages in
Central Uganda
targeting communal grazing grounds for Karamoja – pastures
FAO - Rehabilitation of degraded grazing lands, through
termite control, soil fertility management practices
•Livestock Nutrition
 ASARECA phase II
Harnessing crop-livestock integration to enhance food
security and livelihood resilience to effects of climate
change in ECA
demonstrations of manure use in crop production
bio-slurry and biogas

19. EAAPP
Based on the Dairy Centre of Excellence call
Exploiting Napier stunt resistance to increase
feed availability in small holder farms
Screen/promote promising tolerant varieties
Pasture multiplication across Agro-ecological
zones – Masaka, Mbarara, Gulu, Ngeta, Abi
Nutritional improvement of low value
crop residues waste, agro industrial by-products
to formulate nutritionally valuable
supplementary feeds for dairy cattle and
calves; Fungi to increase hay digestibility
•Livestock Nutrition
Atuhairwe Kabirizi

20. Napier grass tolerant to
Napier stunt disease
(Kakamega 1)
Forage sorghum
(SESO 3)

21. Brachiaria
brizantha
Brachiaria brizantha splits - innovation for
transporting long distances to arid regions
•Brachiaria splits

22. Forage seed production fields at NaLIRRI
Chloris
gayana
(Rhodes
grass)
Land rich in phosphates,
we supplement mainly targeting nitrogen

23. Water harvesting & conservation practices
Innovative roof and surface runoff water harvesting has been up-scaled
in farming communities and the Use of cover plants
especially Pistia sp in cleaning surface runoff water for use in
animal production (cleaning and drinking water).
harvesting cleaning
technology with lettuce Pistia
•Water availability options

24. NaLIRRI Livestock breeding contribution
to Dairy
For a positive outcome & secure livestock
production, science, policy and innovation,,,,,,
NaLIRRI has participated in nation wide and
regionally under EAAPP
identification of traits of economic and social
importance in livestock breeds.
desired traits with indigenous breeds for increased
milk production, high growth rate, even long horns..
targeted synchronized breeding with Artificial
Insemination using exotic breed semen with Zebu
local cows with NAGRC/MAAIF
•Livestock Breeding

25. Livestock Breeding:-
①Documenting the genetic value of livestock
through research for its communities, including
the conservation of biodiversity
②Conducting appropriate and demand driven
animal breeding programs as to develop
improved breeds/ cross-breeds
③Improving productivity of livestock to avail more
milk, meat, draught power and income
④Improving the nutrition of cattle and goats for
the semiarid zone –as poor nutrition could be due
to unimproved and narrow feed resource base
•Livestock Breeding

26. Poor body condition due to
poor feeding and diseases
•Housing, health, breed, feed

27. 27
Goat housing
Goat feed
Goat breeds
•Housing, health, breed, feed

28. Improving indigenous cattle for dairy production
through targeted production and cross breeding
Under EAAPP
Improve milk (& meat) productivity capacity of local cattle
populations
Zebu cattle x
jersey
for dairy production i Katakwi district
•Livestock Breeding

29. Farmers, students etc., obtaining
information from NaLIRRI stall
during the World Food Day
celebrations at Serere in 2013
•Dissemination, visibility

30. COMPETITIVE GRANT(S) IN 2014,
JUST BEGAN RELEVANT TO DAIRY
①Improvement and conservation of indigenous
goat breeds of Uganda(genetic diversity and
community based genetic improvement)
BREEDING
②Control of ticks and TBDs for increased cattle
production and productivity HEALTH
③Exploiting bentonite and activated charcoal in
suppressing Aflatoxicosis induced decline in
Animal productivity and Aflatoxin carry-over in
Animal products NUTRITION
•CGS grants relevant to Dairy

31. AFLATOXIN affected
GROUNDNUTS
AFLATOXIN FREE GROUNDNUTS
An Emerging issue
food or feed or oncogens • Health/nutrition cross cutting

32. Contributors:
Baguma Yona and EAAPP Uganda
NARO – National Agricultural Research Organisation
Kabirizzi Jolly; Mugerwa Swidiq; Mulindwa Henry, Oluka
James; Kirunda Halid
NALIRRI – National Livestock Resources Research
Institute
Thank you for listening
•God bless