Uganda—Developing Market-Oriented and Environmentally Sustainable Beef Meat Industry

The Developing Market-Oriented and Environmentally Sustainable Beef Meat Industry project contributes to a competitive, profitable, job-intensive, and environmentally sustainable agricultural sector in Uganda. DAI uses a value chain approach in targeted areas to boost the overall performance of the meat sector, including its production volume, quality, value addition, employment rate, and environmental sustainability.

The project brings together public and private players with smallholder farmers and beef-related agriculture firms to promote an environmentally sustainable, climate-resilient, low-emission, local, and regional meat industry. It creates producer groups—including women’s groups—that raise standards for beef production. Groups focus on animal disease control and prevention, climate-smart pasture and manure management, integrated water management, and supplementary feeding and efficient breeding methods (practices that can reduce greenhouse gas production).

The project also improves marketing and transportation to stimulate demand for safer meat processing and animal welfare practices. The program assesses options for improving local slaughter facilities and partnering with urban women’s groups to generate income from cooked beef products.

Sample Activities

• Review and update all policy, legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks—including standards, guidelines, and best practices—along the beef value chain, with a focus on including women and mitigating environmental impact.
• Help formulate producer groups that can work closely to raise standards of beef production that is environmentally sustainable.
• Improve marketing and transportation of beef.

Select Results

• Delivered six Regulatory Impact Assessments with suggestions for national regulations for animal feeds, veterinary practitioners, meat sector development, livestock identification and traceability, animal breeding, and animal disease control.
• Reviewed the Agricultural Sector Support Plan and helped develop a sectorial plan for the beef industry in Uganda.
• Conducted a benchmarking trip to Botswana with government and beef industry representatives to learn about sustainable business planning, vet services, vaccine production, and commercial farm operations provided by local meat commission and community livestock holdings.
• Provided technical assistance to evaluate bidders of the Sanga slaughterhouse in Uganda, a new facility compatible with sustainable farming standards.
• Developed and presented a Residual Monitoring Plan for beef, goat, and sheep meat at a stakeholder workshop with the Ugandan government.
• Provided technical support to develop environmentally sustainable criteria and specifications for the purchase of bulls in Kenya for breeding purposes.
• Participated in an EU beach clean-up event at the Masese Landing Site in Jinja, Uganda.