NARO Promotes Mubende Goats Among Urban Youth in West Nile

What the report says

The National Agricultural Research Organisation is encouraging urban youth in West Nile to take up goat farming, with a focus on the Mubende breed, which researchers say can suit intensive production systems and a growing regional meat market. The message was delivered at the close of a four-year training programme for farmers in the goat value chain at the Abi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Arua City.

According to the report, NARO officials said the goal is to expand participation of young people in the goat value chain and strengthen income, food security and employment opportunities. Victoria Tibenda Namulawa, a senior principal research officer at NARO, said the organisation chose the Mubende goat because more youth involvement could increase the number of goats reared and sold, including into value-addition channels.

The article also cites Makerere University meat scientist Dr. Kanifa Kamatara, who said demand for goat meat in West Nile is supported by the area’s large Muslim population and its links to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She said the broader project is intended to improve climate resilience while raising incomes and assets for urban youth and livestock keepers.

Farouk Semwogerere of the Abi research institute said the Mubende breed is suitable for urban farmers because of its relatively short gestation period and meat output. He advised controlled housing and pasture development for more intensive production. A young farmer from Madi-Okollo was quoted as saying the enterprise can work even with limited land, underscoring why the model may appeal to urban youth.