Animal feed manufacturers move to enforce standards in sector

Animal feed manufacturers under their umbrella body, Uganda Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (UGAFMA) have started a move that will see them clean their business of quacks by enforcing standards to be followed by all dealers.

On Wednesday, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade officials met with members of UGAFMA to discuss enforcing standards in their business.

“As players in this sector, you have been crying because of  feed concentrates imported from abroad that you say have seen you lose market for local feeds. However, this problem was brought by yourselves when you disregarded ethics and standards in mixing feeds,”Dr. Samuel Lule the head of the desk of animal feeds in the Ministry of Agriculture said.

He said the chain of animal feeds involves manufacturers, those who mix, dealers, transporters and farmers but said along the chain, standards have been disregarded.

“There are many stakeholders in the chain which shows this business employs many people are different stages but because of lack of standards followed, farmers realized they were making losses from the feeds given to their animals and chicken. This is the reason they went for alternatives in form of feed concentrates that local animal feed manufacturers are decrying for pushing them out of business. It is high time we corrected the mistakes.”

According to David Waliggo, the UGAFMA Secretary General, they have started a process that will see them regulate the sector of animal and chicken feeds.

“We are going to regulate the sector to help improve the quality and quantity produced. We have got an understanding to be formed into a committee with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Trade, agricultural police, UNBS to ensure accurate supervision of this sector in a bid to weed out sub-standard products,”Waliggo said.

UGAFMA chairman,  Aimable Mbarushimana said in a bid to realign the sector, they are going to ensure Uganda National Bureau of Standards will carry out inspections at stores of all dealers to ensure conformity to standards.

“We want to ensure that the ingredients in the animal and chicken feeds are up to the required standard. We know it will not be an easy war but we shall win. We have to streamline this business to ensure all in the supply chain benefit,” Mbarushimana said.

“This is the only way to help bring sanity to the sector by regulating it.”

Waliggo said the dealers will be organized in form of saccos from which they will be trained in conforming to standards but also provided with credit facilities inform of loans.

All dealers in the animal and chicken feeds sector will also be registered by their umbrella body to help in proper monitoring.

“We want to ensure we fit in both the local and export markets by manufacturing, mixing, processing and delivering quality feeds to customers. This can only be done if we are organized, registered but above all enforce standards in this sector .”