UGANDA—Mukono Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MUZARDI) has introduced a new indigenous chicken breed with potential to boost fortunes for Uganda’s poultry farmers.
The new breed, developed through meticulous crossbreeding efforts, promises to enhance yields and ensure the long-term viability of poultry farming.
While unimproved chickens typically yield fewer than 80 eggs annually, the new breed from MUZARDI can produce up to 200 eggs per year.
Moreover, the improved chicken are said to have accelerated egg-laying capabilities, commencing production as early as five months of age.
This project was launched by the government of Uganda, though the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO), in 2023 at Ntaawo cell in Mukono municipality central division.
Henry Mulindwa, the Principal Research Officer at MUZARDI, further noted that the breed is resilient to diseases, adaptable to homemade feed rations, and shows impressive weight gains by five months of age.
The project was sponsored by the Ugandan government and European Union through the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU).
It was launched in September 2023 by agriculture state minister Robert Bwino Kyakulaga at MUZARDI in Ntaawo cell in Mukono municipality central division.
According to Barbara Zawedde, the Research Director at MUZARDI, the project’s civil works cost UGX 697 million (US$ 180,606), most of it being spent on remodeling and equipping the local chicken hatchery research and production unit.
Its goal of to assisting rural households in transitioning to commercial poultry farming practices couldnt have arrived at a more opportune time.
According to Timothy Nsubuga, the general manager of Kenchic Uganda, Ugandan poultry production projected to increase significantly.
He projects the growth to reach 76,000 tonnes by 2026 from 70,500 tonnes in 2021 — an average yearly growth of 1.2 percent adding that the market presents a promising opportunity for expansion.
With an improved breeds that achieves impressive weight gain in under five months, farmers can tap into this opportunity to grow their incomes.
Nsubuga further noted that there’s a noticeable trend among poultry farmers in the country toward delivering the best-quality chickens to the market.
The new breed thus presents one of the cost-effective means to achieving this goal.
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