By Sadique Bamwita
ENTEBBE
The National Animal Genetic Resources Center and Data Bank, on July 24,2025, announced a move to decentralize artificial insemination services to the district and sub-county level under the Uganda Climate smart agricultural Transformation project for Livestock value chain.
The announcement was made by Dr. Benda Kataali, the technical lead for animal seed for Uganda Climate smart agricultural Transformation project.
Dr. Kataali revealed that under this initiative, cattle farmers will be supported with a number of technologies for purposes of increasing productivity and enhancing them to access market for their livestock products as well as increasing resilience to shocks associated to climate change.
“We shall support both beef and cattle farmers. So the support will go to each of these categories based on what they are involved in,” Dr. Kataali noted.
For example Dairy farmers will be supported with climate smart technologies like breeding livestock for those already organized groups. They will access income jersey heifers at gri level while those group members that are not hosts of these technologies will have access to artificial insemination services for purposes of enhancing their breed and respond to climate change .
‘Under the Dairy farmers, we are looking at value chain in Jersey breed. So for those farmers who want to access these breeds through artificial insemination services , they can articulate their objectives and whichever breed they select based on their breed objectives can be availed to them using Artificial insemination through community based animal breeding services that can be championed by National Animal Genetic Resources Center and Data Bank (NAGRC&DB).
While addressing the press, Dr. Benda Kataali noted that the move to decentralize artificial insemination services to district level is aimed at increasing dairy and beef production in the country.
“Under the Climate smart agricultural technologies project, we are going to revamp the national bull stud and semen evaluation center in Entebbe to be able to produce semen of high quality and embryos that should be accessed by smallholder farmers who are our end target group. But in order for the farmers to access semen and other breeding stock semen will be produced in Entebbe and will come through the district satellite artificial insemination centers that are going to be established under this project,” Dr. Kataali explained.
He revealed that district satellite insemination centers will be supported by the sub county or sub centers.
“So, we are going to see a situation where cattle farmers no longer have Artificial insemination technicians travel to Entebbe to access liquid nitrogen and semen because all these services will be decentralized up to sub county level. So, what that has been picked from Entebbe will be put at the established sub county center. Artificial insemination requires a technician to be able to deliver services,” Dr. Kataali emphasized.
Dr. Benda Kataali revealed that NAGRC through the Uganda Climate smart agricultural Transformation project plans to train 258 Artificial insemination technicians who will be stationed at the grassroot level to deliver climate smart technologies in terms of breeding services.
He says these services are not entirely free but farmers will access them through E-voucher system which is more like a mobile money whereby a farmer group has money wallet.
‘So when one offers a service and the farmer is satisfied they give a service provider a token and for this matter , the farmers group would have paid a percentage of 20% and then the project contributes 80% but we hope by the end of the project it will go on increasing on the side of the farmer and reduce on the side of the project for sustainability .
‘ We hope by the end of this project , we shall be having artificial insemination services at the sub county and the farmers will have appreciated the benefits and they will be in position to pay for these services.’
On the other hand, Dr. Alice Banga, a livestock farmer expressed dismay on the unauthorized products on the market and called for stringent regulations.
