For decades, the dry season has posed one of the greatest challenges to dairy farmers across Uganda’s cattle corridor.
As pasture dries up and water sources shrink, milk production declines, reducing household incomes and threatening the livelihoods of thousands of livestock-dependent families.
In Nakaseke district, however, a growing number of dairy farmers are turning to solar-powered irrigation and other renewable energy technologies to keep their farms productive even during prolonged dry spells.
The transformation was highlighted during a stakeholders’ meeting organised by Heifer International Uganda at St Paul’s Hotel in Luweero, where district leaders, dairy cooperatives, farmers and development partners reviewed the impact of solar energy on dairy farming and climate resilience.
The technologies are being rolled out through the Distributed Renewable Energy Ecosystem Model (DREEM), a project funded by the Mott Foundation and implemented by Heifer International Uganda in partnership with Enterprise Uganda, JEEP and other organisations.
The initiative promotes renewable energy across the dairy value chain, from pumping water and irrigating pasture to cooling milk and powering farm equipment. The approach is intended to address two persistent challenges facing dairy farmers: rising diesel costs and increasingly frequent droughts linked to climate change.
Speaking at the meeting, Ronald Wabwiire, Signature Programme Technical Lead at Heifer International Uganda, said the project brings together local governments, financial institutions and development partners to make solar technologies more accessible to dairy farmers.
One of its flagship interventions has been replacing diesel-powered generators at milk collection centres with solar-powered milk cooling systems. Keeping milk chilled immediately after collection preserves its quality, reduces spoilage and enables farmers to access higher-value markets.
“The impact has been significant. Farmers who previously spent between Shs 3 million and Shs 5 million every month on diesel have reduced those costs by more than 80 per cent after adopting solar energy,” Wabwiire said.
The project also supports the installation of solar-powered water pumps for livestock, irrigation systems for pasture, fodder chopping machines, milking equipment and household refrigeration units.
To make the technology more affordable, Heifer International Uganda has partnered with Stanbic bank under a blended financing model that combines grant funding with farmer contributions.
According to Wabwiire, the three-year project, which has one year remaining, has so far supported four dairy cooperatives in Nakaseke district-Kariagoro, Ligami, Nyakarongo and Kijumba.
He said milk collection at participating centres has increased by more than 70 per cent. Some cooperatives have expanded from collecting about 2,000 litres of milk per day to more than 3,000 litres, while membership has grown from roughly 70 farmers to over 200.
For farmers such as Bendicto Karuhanga of Kyabavuri village in Kinoni sub-county, the impact has been transformative. Using a solar-powered pump to draw water from a nearby dam, Karuhanga now irrigates pasture throughout the year, ensuring his cattle have adequate feed even during extended dry periods.
Before adopting the technology, each cow produced between two and three litres of milk daily. Today, average production has risen to between five and seven litres, with some cows yielding as much as 10 litres a day.
Overall, his farm’s daily milk output has increased from about 50 litres to between 150 and 200 litres. The increased production has boosted household income and created employment for 10 young people working on the farm.
Karuhanga also uses solar-powered refrigeration to cool milk before transporting it to the Nyakarongo Dairy Farmers Association, helping preserve quality and minimise post-harvest losses.
The benefits are equally evident at the cooperative level. Steven Sande, chairperson of Migani Dairy Cooperative in Nakaseke sub-county, said replacing a diesel generator with a solar-powered milk cooling system has transformed the cooperative’s operations.
Previously, the cooperative’s 5,000-litre milk cooler depended on an expensive diesel generator, limiting daily milk collection to between 2,000 and 2,500 litres.
“After installing the solar-powered system, we are now chilling between 4,500 and 5,000 litres of milk every day,” Sande said.
He added that frequent generator breakdowns often compromised milk quality, forcing buyers such as Jesa Farm Dairy to either reject deliveries or offer lower prices.
“When our generator developed problems, buyers such as Jesa Farm Dairy would either lower the price because of poor milk quality or reject the milk altogether. Instead of earning the market price of about Shs 1,200 per litre, we sometimes received only Shs 800, losing Shs 400 on every litre sold.”
Nakaseke district chairperson Kome Ignatius Kiwanuka described the project as a practical demonstration of how renewable energy can strengthen agriculture in one of Uganda’s driest regions.
He praised the adoption of solar technologies for powering water pumps, irrigating fodder, cooling milk and reducing dependence on costly fossil fuels.
Kiwanuka said the initiative offers a sustainable model for improving agricultural productivity while helping farmers adapt to the growing impacts of climate change, adding that expanding similar projects could significantly strengthen food security and rural incomes across Uganda’s cattle corridor.