The Northern Ireland-headquartered (Belfast) company Devenish Nutrition has invested over £1m developing its business in the Hoima region of Uganda, Africa.

The project, which is supported by the Africa agri-development fund, Department of Agriculture, foreign affairs and trade, aims to improve the livelihoods of local farmers by helping them to become sustainable commercial farmers.

Devenish currently employs 25 people locally on the model pig farm and has trained over 300 farmers on the basis of animal nutrition and livestock management.

Country manager Adam Sweetman stated: “This is a unique project for us, it allows us to make a difference in the local community."

Project aims

"The main aim of the project is to help farmers produce pigs of improved genetics and introduce specialised animal feeding.

"Over 60 new breeding stock have been introduced to enhance the genetics pool.

"This will improve the performance of the animals, which in turn will benefit the livelihoods of the local community by either better sale prices, nutrition or healthier animals.”

One of the local farmers working with Devenish Yolamu Nsumba noted: “It has enhanced the profitability of our farm. Pig weights have doubled due to improved genetics, better-quality feed and management.”

Maize supplier Emmanuel Kyalimpa.

Local maize supplier Emmanuel Kyalimpa added that: “Working with Devenish has allowed me to earn more money and support my whole family, which I couldn’t do before.”

Devenish’s chief executive Richard Kennedy said: “We’re immensely proud of the impact that we’ve had in Uganda in such a short time frame, helping farmers to improve their outputs in a sustainable manner while also having a positive impact on the wider community.”

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