KAMPALA- The National Animal Genetic Resources and DataBank (NAGRC&DB) which is the livestock sub-sector Agency of the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries has set out to support livestock farming communities to participate or carry out breeding activities.
This is done through support for Nucleus breeding and Contract Mating Schemes.
The Sector’s mission is “To transform subsistence farming into commercial agriculture.”
According to Ministry of Agriculture, the purpose of community breeding programs is to involve livestock farming communities in breeding especially for the purposes of increasing production and productivity leading to improved livelihoods of poor livestock farmers in disease control zones.
“In the nucleus breeding scheme, farmers around a nucleus breeder exchange replacement stock with the nucleus breeder and it is either an open or closed nucleus breeding schemes dependent on whether the nucleus breeder also buys or gets replacement stock or not respectively,” adds the ministry.
In its desire, NAGRC&DB proposes to recruit nucleus breeders under a contract-mating scheme in Disease Control Zones (DCZ) of Uganda.
These breeders will be mobilized into farmers of specific breeds of desired performance traits for the regions in point.
They will then be mobilized into breed societies or associations, which will ultimately create a sustainable source of breeding stock of the desired genetics within the region.
These nucleus breeders shall supply pedigree genetics to the outline community to improve their genetics through Artificial Insemination (AI) services.
NAGRC&DB Countrywide Community Breeding Programme was launched by the First Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Moses Ali.
