Uganda To Begin Issuance Of Birth Certificates To Cows, Registration Of Farmers

Uganda’s Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Mr. Vincent Ssempijja, has announced the decision of the government to issue birth certificates to cows and registering of farmers.

Daily Monitor reports that Ssempijja, while speaking at the official opening of the National Agricultural Show at the Source of the Nile grounds in Jinja on Tuesday, said the move was necessary, to ensure the traceability of their products and to enable them to benefit from the international market.

“They (international market) want to know where the products are coming from; they have been impounding and banning all consignments from Uganda if they find one box with issues,” Ssempijja said.

The minister added, “Farmers will be registered and their products given barcodes so that if they find a problem with one box, they look for the source and sort out the problem. We cannot enter the lucrative market unless farmers register.’’

‘‘For cattle farmers, it is going to be worse. You will be registered as a farmer, the cow will be registered, numbered and will have a birth certificate because the importers of our products demand meat for cows aged between 15 to 24 months. So we are going to sell depending on their age,” he added.