WAKISO – Gudie Leisure Farm is set to host its fourth cottage industry business event -the Piggery Cottage Industry Symposium.
Happening on May 06, 2024, at Gudie Leisure Farm in Najjeera II Kira Municipality, Wakiso district, a private sector-led initiative is aimed at enlightening would-be and existing investors about the opportunities in the value chain as well as emerging developments and their implications.
Addressing the press on Thursday, Prof. Gudula Naiga Basaza, Founder and Managing Director of Gudie Leisure Farm revealed that the much-anticipated symposium is intended at;
Exposing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSES) in the industry to the existing and emerging business development opportunities in the marketplace;
Equipping MSEs in the industry with the technical and business skills required to build strong and successful businesses;
Establishing platforms through which the industry’s MSEs can build strong collaborations with stakeholders who can support their growth and sustainability,
And putting a spotlight on the Youth Agripreneur Champions in Uganda who are leading the socio-economic transformation of their communities through their piggery cottage industry initiatives.
“The Piggery Cottage Industry Symposium is the fourth in our series of knowledge sharing events, organized to enlighten local and international investors on existing and emerging business opportunities in the value chain and how they can be successfully exploited!”
“We have been actively promoting this value chain because of the abundant economic benefits that Ugandans, especially the youth, can obtain from it The 2021 Nationa Lives: Census report stated that 2.2 million households rea pigs whose total population, according to this report, was in the same period, approximately 7.1 million.”
Prof. Gudula added, “This value chain is therefore very core to our livelihoods as Ugandans and an important source of employment and income. We also need to prepare ourselves to maximize the potential socio-economic benefits the business of piggery and especially value-added pig by-products offer us at the regional and international level. Consider the growing population in Uganda, the East African Common Market, COMESA and Africa: these present an excellent market opportunity for organized value chain actors who have built their capacity to meet key market performance standards to realize high returns all the way down to our local farming communities!”
She reported that Gudie Leisure Farm has been able to build a network of about 70,000 Youth Agripreneur Champions (YACS) from across 33 districts who are ready to participate in the value chain, several of whom have been trained at the Company’s Incubation Center and are already investing in it.
With the symposium, the Farm intends to open the eyes of young people as well to the money they can mine from different nodes of the piggery value chain.
“This is a platform for our audiences to connect with key actors in the industry, learn about some of the technologies that have been developed by key stakeholders such as National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) one of the organizations Gudie Leisure Farm partnered with to increase access by local communities, especially young agripreneurs, to high quality breeds and feeds, existing market opportunities and the best practices every actor must adopt in order to realize success,”
Ms Florence Nampeera District agent for Kyotera said – “Piggery is one of the value chains that is easier for young people to get involved in.”
“It is one of those value chains in agriculture that brings in profits quickly which is one of its major attractions for youth. However, while benefiting from piggery whether one is in the feeds production business or is rearing pigs or doing value-addition – is not verydifficult, there are several challenges we encounter such as poor quality breeds, the high costs of quality feeds, the poor quality of feeds sold on the market, limited access to finance and market information, diseases and the lack of insurance products that work well for agripreneurs, especially those rearing these animals. This symposium presents an opportunity for young people to learn from practitioners about how they are navigating these challenges and also learn from different experts about the solutions they offer to the problems above that entrepreneur experience.”
