UGANDA – Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has extended an invitation to Lesotho to explore investment opportunities in Uganda’s dairy sector during a meeting with Prime Minister Sam Matekane at State House, Entebbe.
According to the leaders, there has been the importance of strengthening the long-standing ties between their nations.
“We are very glad to have you here in Uganda. While we share a strong brotherhood, we have not fully leveraged our relationship to foster greater cooperation,” President Museveni stated.
Highlighting Uganda’s agricultural potential, President Museveni noted that the country is self-sufficient in food production.
“We produce a lot of food here. We don’t import any, except for those Europeanized people who import bread and rice. Personally, I don’t eat bread and rice, but we have an abundance of indigenous foods like bananas and millet,” he said.
He also mentioned that Uganda produces 5.3 billion liters of milk annually, with Ugandans consuming only 800 million liters, leaving a significant surplus.
President Museveni invited Lesotho to invest in Uganda’s dairy sector, pointing out that Uganda has already started exporting milk to Algeria and parts of the Middle East.
“We have a wealth of experience and knowledge in agriculture and we would like you to come on board and invest,” he added.
Prime Minister Matekane expressed deep gratitude for the warm welcome extended by Uganda, conveying greetings from His Majesty King Letsie III.
He highlighted the strong historical ties between Lesotho and Uganda, particularly in education and health, and commended Uganda’s leadership within the African Union and its efforts in ensuring regional security.
Matekane also praised Uganda’s economic progress and expressed Lesotho’s interest in deepening cooperation in food and livestock production, skills development, and capacity building.
Meanwhile, underterred by trade barriers from its largest client, Kenya, Uganda is forging ahead with is efforts to elevate its dairy industry onto the global stage.
The dairy sector experienced a remarkable boom between 2000 and 2019, with milk production skyrocketing from ascent as a dairy powerhouse was largely export driven with one country, Kenya accounting for over 80% of exports.
This dependency became a fatal flaw, which Uganda only recognized in 2019 when Kenya began imposing restrictions to safeguard its own dairy fortunes.
It is estimated that the 2019 blockade of Ugandan milk resulted in the loss of 40, 000 jobs and incomes for 3.8 million households.
Subscribe to our food and agriculture industry email newsletters that provide busy executives like you with the latest news insights and trends from Africa and the World. SUBSCRIBE HERE
