The Ugandan government has announced it will host the 16th African Dairy Conference and Exhibition from 11-15th September 2023 at Hotel Africana, in Capital Kampala.
The African Dairy Conference and Exhibition is the largest African dairy event organized by the Eastern and Southern African Dairy association (ESADA).
Addressing journalists on Tuesday at Uganda Media center in Kampala, Lt Col. (Rtd). Dr. Rwamirama Bright Kanyontore , Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries/Animal Industry said the conference provides a platform for key dairy industry stakeholders to showcase their products to consumers and other decision makers, create new markets and orient the consumers to their new innovative products.
Since the launch of the African Dairy Conference and Exhibition, ESADA has held seven events in different countries and this will be the first time to be hosted in Uganda.
‘’This conference is very meaningful in the Eastern Africa block where over 80% of the milk is produced by smallholders and therefore plays a very important role in the lives of its inhabitants. From the small scale farmers to the large milk processors, there are millions of businesses and households involved.In general, the dairy sector is one of the critical sectors in the region with high potential for improving food security and welfare of its people’’,said Dr. Rwamirama.
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With the key goal of knowledge sharing and technology transfer, AfDa has had a successful 15 years, with the recently concluded 15th AfDa reaffirming the event’s status as the greatest dairy event in Africa.
Well supported by the dairy stakeholders, the African Dairy Conference and Exhibition is a very opportune platform to deliver sustainable development in the sector for the benefit of all and it’s attended by more than 400 delegates and over 100 exhibitors from over 40 countries on average.
According to Dr. Rwamirama ,the event is set out to ;Highlight opportunities for dairy sector investment in Africa with a focus on the host country; better position and drum-up support for the dairy industry, highlight its importance from farm to table and promote consumption of dairy products; Provide a platform for the African and global dairy community to discuss and recommend solutions to policy, regulatory and industry bottlenecks that impede trade in dairy products and ; Afford African dairy processors, service providers and industry suppliers a unique opportunity to showcase their products for bench-marking and trade.
Other objectives of the event include ; Introducing African dairy practitioners and suppliers to new technologies and ideas for better efficiency and quality and ; Highlighting investment opportunities, tourism and other trade opportunities in various sectors in the Host country.
‘’The event underpins technological advancement and improvement in practices in the dairy sector as imperative in unlocking the potential of the dairy industry in the continent’’, he noted further.
The 16th African Dairy Conference and Exhibition, aims to focus on the multiple challenges facing the African dairy industry with the aim of maintaining and improving the industry.
The conference will outline the targeted measures to improve and ensure maintenance of internationally acceptable health and hygiene standards in both the primary and secondary dairy industries while fostering the efficiency, expansion and profitability of our dairy sector in the international market-place.
The event will also showcase the role governments play through the national strategies while looking at policies, investments and programmes contributing to the dairy sector.
Hosting of the AfDa to Ugandan Dairy Sector will; i. Trade opportunities; Demand for milk is estimated to grow at about 3.5% every year. This creates a huge opportunity for trade and investment not only locally but also regionally and internationally.
- Promote the Dairy Industry; the 16th AfDa is a huge opportunity to promote the dairy industry across the value chain. The event will seek to promote the production of milk at the farm. Key deficiencies will be highlighted along the value chain and remedies for enhancing competitiveness. The event also doubles as a dairy products consumption campaign.
iii. Technology Transfer; In the past it has been a challenge for the African dairy Industry to access new technologies which can help reduce the cost of milk production and increase profit margins for all.
- Knowledge Sharing; Africa must be willing to learn from leading dairy countries of the world, examine what these countries are producing and other initiatives they are making in this important sector. This conference will boast of a shining list of world renown dairy industry leaders who will be traveling from across the globe to share their thoughts and experience in the dairy industry. We can learn from them how to make the dairy business more profitable and rewarding for all value chain actors.
- Increased Intra-regional Trade; We are also pleased that members of the dairy industries from EAC & COMESA countries will be in attendance to explore areas for trade and growth while taking the time to examine our differences and work on facilitating trade amongst our nations.
- Networking opportunity; the conference and exhibition is going to bring together dairy industry stakeholders from farmers, distributors, processors, food ingredient suppliers, packaging and equipment manufacturers, financial institutions and more. It is a very opportune platform to network and nurture new business partnerships.
vii. Capacity building; There will be speakers addressing the concerns and issues of improving milk production at farm level, streamlining processing, effective product marketing and distribution besides other highly beneficial presentations from the leading dairy practitioners.
Uganda’s Dairy Sector has a lot of potential for growth, which will be showcased during the conference. These investment opportunities include the following: High potential to increase milk production through better storage, a stronger value chain and improved breeds
Animal genetics: improving dairy breeds through cross-breeding through artificial breeding technologies.
Quality animal feed, commercialization of forage production, conservation and marketing, Quality veterinary services, Milk handling and processing equipment, Cold chain transportation trucks, Agri-financing, Large share of raw milk present opportunities for value addition, Improved pastures/fodder crops and forage conservation.
