Geita livestock keepers gain skills from Uganda study tour

GEITA: GEITA Region administration has organised a special study tour for 28 livestock keepers to Uganda, designed to expose them to modern livestock keeping practices with the goal of boosting productive animal husbandry back home.

Assistant Regional Administrative Secretary for Economy and Production, Dr Alfred Msenya, told journalists that the tour has taken five days.

He explained that the delegation also included livestock experts from the region, all authorised by the President’s Office for Regional Administration and Local Government.

“The purpose of this visit was to shift mindsets from traditional livestock keeping to a more commercial and productive approach. This will help increase outputs of key livestock products such as meat, milk and hides,” Dr Msenya said.

He described the tour as an invaluable experience, giving participants the chance to witness practices and see animals they had never encountered before, including cattle weighing over 700 kilogrammes.

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“Armed with this new knowledge, they have not returned empty-handed. They will implement what they have seen, helping to transform the region’s livestock economy,” he added.

One participant, livestock keeper Mr Emmanuel Kalekezi, expressed his appreciation for the insights gained on modern dairy and beef cattle farming techniques suitable for small landholdings.

Meanwhile, Tanzanian Ambassador to Uganda, General Paul Simuli, observed that despite Tanzania boasting one of the largest cattle populations in East Africa, it still lags behind neighbouring countries in livestock-generated income.

General Simuli encouraged the Geita livestock keepers to put the lessons learned into practice, emphasising that proper animal husbandry can spark economic transformation at individual, community and national levels.