Abattoir Set to Improve Beef Quality in Moroto, Uganda

 

Official opening of the 3rd Arbattoir in Moroto, Uganda

Moroto District in Karamoja, Uganda, is a semi-arid region where the community practice pastoralism. The community relies on cattle herding for their sustenance. However, the quality of the meat consumed on the market has been questionable since the district has had only one slaughterhouse. According to Dr. Denis Baraza Wabwire, the Moroto District Veterinary Officer, slaughters have always been carried out in the bushes by herders. They did this to evade tax paid when accessing the abattoir. Unfortunately, by doing this they were exposing consumers to health risks and causing a loss of revenue to the district.

 “Most of the meat being consumed in Karamoja is from animals largely slaughtered in a kraal or the bushes which gives meat inspectors a hard time to access for inspection. Under the Animals and Public Health Act, any meat intended for human consumption, must be inspected”, said Dr. Wawire.

This is now set to change following the construction of two abattoirs in the Rupa and Katikekile Sub-counties that were handed over to Moroto District leaders in September 2022. The two facilities estimated at UGX52 Million ($13,580) were constructed by CARE Denmark and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) under the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU), a Government of Uganda programme supported by the European Union and supervised by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

“Now we have three facilities in the district with the addition of these two and we are grateful. We thank all partners who contributed to this facility,” Dr. Wabwire explained.

Mr. George William Wopuwa, the Moroto RDC, who presided over the event, applauded the DINU programme staff for their support and urged the community to embrace the development.

 “Let us support this programme by bringing our cattle to be slaughtered at one of these facilities and this will reduce theft because the cows that come here have ownership. When you go to raid, you will be exposing your cattle too. Therefore, let’s keep and multiply what we have so that this place is useful. We thank partners for this work because the district cannot do this alone,” Mr. Wopuwa said.

Edton Babu Ndyabahika, CARE International in Uganda Programme Manager added, “We value this partnership. We would not have managed without the local administration’s support. For any income-generating activity, sustainability becomes a key issue and I believe this should not be hard to sustain because it generates income. We also note that the DINU participants were not affected by the hunger crisis, and this is testimony that if the mandate is extended, we can do more.” he said.

It is estimated that more than 300 cows will be slaughtered monthly at the two facilities with a projection of UGX3 million ($790) in revenue for the district. The abattoirs were among the several interventions Implemented by CRS and CARE under the DINU program to support smallholder farmers in the value-addition chain through a sustainable market infrastructure chain.

 

Background

Under the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU), a Government of Uganda programme supported by the EU and supervised by OPM, Care Denmark received a grant in 2020 to implement a project, “Inclusive Market-based Development for Smallholder Farmers in Northern Uganda.”

The project is implemented by a consortium consisting of five NGOs (Care Denmark as the lead, Catholic Relief Services, Gulu Agricultural Development Company, Dynamic Agro-Pastoralist Development Organization, and SORUDA). The 38-month project (2020-2023) focuses on increasing food security, improving maternal and child nutrition, and enhancing household income in the eleven districts of Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Katakwi, Kitgum, Kotido, Moroto, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit and Napak.