© 2010 JOY Goat Development Programme

Moroto

possible project

History

Our first contact with Moroto was when the Lutheran World Federation bought some goats from JOY Youth Training Centre on behalf of the Karamoja Agropastoral Development Programme (KADP). The goats were well received by the local community, but KADP have now closed their agricultural programme, so we are exploring the possibility of linking up with another local NGO such as the Women’s Environmental Conservation Project (WECOP).

Opportunities

• Karamoja is one of the areas in Uganda where goats milk is traditionally consumed.

• The KADP project has alread demonstrated that even low-grade dairy crosses outperform local goats in both growth and milk production.

• The concept of a buck station already exists around Moroto town.

• Other possible partners have expressed an interest

Challenges

• Although calm at the moment the area is prone to inter-clan conflict and livestock rustling.

• The area is far from the Programme centre in Masaka, and therefore time-consuming to visit

• The harsh conditions and high disease challenge may mean that a lower grade of goat is needed that the usual 50% crosses - making integration with the main programme more difficult.

• The good-looking crosses attract the attention of the young men who take the cattle (and some goats) long distances to graze. Special permission must be got to allow the women (who traditionally do not own livestock) to include the dairy crosses among the goats left at the homesteads for household milk.