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– Ugandan government announced plans to issue birth certificates for cows
– This is part of a measure intended to meet the international requirement that all countries producing food and crops for European markets make it traceable
– Farmers will be registered and their products will receive barcodes to help solve the problem.
The Ugandan government has announced its intention to register all farmers and their cows for the traceability of their products and allow them to take advantage of the international market.
The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Vincent Ssempijja, at the official opening of the National Exhibition of Agriculture at the Jinja Nile Spring, has stated that the international market required all food and crop producing countries for the European market to produce traceability.
"They want to know where the products come from; they have seized and banned all shipments from Uganda if they discover a box containing problems, " he said.
The minister added: "Farmers will be registered and their products will receive barcodes. Thus, if they detect a problem with a box, they look for the source and solve the problem. We can not enter a lucrative market without the registration of farmers. "
Vincent Ssempijja added that all cows must be registered and have a birth certificate.
"For livestock farmers, the situation will 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 require meat for cows aged 15 to 24 months. So we will sell according to their age " he added.
According to Mr Ssempijja, an EU audit team is expected to visit Uganda next September to ensure that all farmers producing products for Europe are registered.
"In addition to product traceability, the team also wants to ensure that farmers benefit directly because many of them are deceived by middlemen. The government will not deal with those who defy order when it comes to markets ", Mr Ssempijja said he refuted allegations that the registration exercise was intended to mislead farmers by imposing a tax that was abolished on 1 July.
In his message by Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, President Museveni said that Ugandans must be more competitive to penetrate the international market effectively and sustainably.
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"People want to know what they want to eat, where it comes from, how good it is and why they spend their money. The registration of farmers is a major requirement. we can not do without it and if we do not know it, we lose in the face of competition on the international market ", President Museveni said.
FAO's representative for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Antonio Querido, said Uganda needed livestock traceability for a better deal on agricultural products on the international market.
STATISTICS
Agriculture is one of the important sectors of the Ugandan economy in terms of employment, food security and wealth creation. It contributes 25% of the national GDP and employs more than 70% of the population.
Its export earnings rose 9.6% to $ 3.93 billion between July 2018 and March 2019, compared with $ 3.59 billion a year earlier.
President Museveni attributed this increase to an increase in export volumes of coffee, tea, corn, beans and further investment in agriculture.
At the same time, a team of four brilliant students from the University of Ghana is striving to win a prestigious $ 1 million "The Halt Prize" award from former US President Clinton to invest in their agri-food project.
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Source: Yen.com.gh
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