Short description

This project aims at producing and supplying dairy products to infants to to reduce nutritional disorders. The dairy management uses a Zero grazing system.

The problem we aim to solve

Above 70% of the population in the region is characterised of small scale mixed farming producing vegetables, tubers, cereals, legumes and little milk on average 1.5l per day. Thus crop products are enough to supply the nutrients of plant origin. Due to limited milk production, supply and inaccessibility by some individuals, there is protein deficiency in infants thus kwashiorkor.

Our solution

The proposed project will lead to increased milk supply and accessibility in the region which will be done through intensive management ensuring good health and nutrition of improved diary breeds of cattle for high productivity. With intensive system(Zero grazing) a large number of cattle will be reared and the rest of the land will be used for growing animal feeds(fodders and pasture plants),setting up a processing plant, parasites management and animal handling structures(crush, dip tank and milking parlour among others. Animals will be majorly fed on conserved feeds in form of silage, hay and haylage as basal feeds. The farm will also utilize crop residues such as maize stovers,sugarcane tops, banana pseudo stems and their peelings from the surrounding famers and there will be supplementation with concentrates, diary meal as well as brewers’ wastes from local beer which will sustain milk production throughout the lactation period. Milk being a cheap source of with a high content of animal protein, if provided in adequate amounts in infants’ bodies, it will solve the protein deficiency problem known as kwashiorkor commonly affecting infants in Rwenzori region in Western Uganda.