“We have the capacity to slaughter 150 cattle daily but we are yet to hit that target,” said Jiang You Cai, the Zhong Wu investor, during a media tour of the company recently.
“Our facility has a refrigerated vehicle assembly plant, veterinary and agriculture drugs production plant, pasture development as well as a vaccine production facility but we are putting most of the energy into the feedlot for at least 1,000 head of cattle to serve the abattoir.”
Jiang You Cai’s focus on the feedlot is intended to meet the demand for slaughter animals. A feedlot is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming for livestock, notably beef cattle, but also swine, goats and sheep.
These contain thousands of animals in an array of pens. So, Jiang You Cai wants private farmers’ capacity built to operate feedlot farming.
“A feedlot increases the amount of meat each animal produces as quickly as possible; if animals are kept in confined quarters rather than being allowed to range freely over grassland, they will put on weight more quickly,” he noted during the tour.
Meanwhile, Dr Peter Beine, the acting executive director of the National Animal Genetic Resources Center and Databank (NAGRC&DB), said government is open to provide mentorship and support to farms.
“When farmers bring their cattle into a feedlot, it allows them to take advantage of good feed prices or target favorable markets,” he said. “Feedlots are the most economical way to raise a large number of cattle for beef production because they require less land. It is also easy to control trade-sensitive diseases in animals raised in feedlots and easy to certify beef for international beef markets in Africa and beyond.”
Already, NAGRC&DB has a state-of-the-art feedlot demonstration centre in Lusenke, Kayunga and is working with Zhong Wu Beef and many progressive farmers across the country to set up several feedlots in various districts.
“We are championing establishment of feedlots at regional level beginning with Busoga and North Buganda regions this financial year,” added Beine. “I have also observed that it is because of the mushrooming number of meat-processing plants that most farmers are shifting from dairy production to beef production.”
