DDA | CURRENT AFFAIRS  

In order to effectively develop the dairy industry, DDA procured and distributed related inputs to well selected and technically assessed beneficiaries to demonstrate best recommended dairy farming practices for improved production and productivity. Following the procurement of 11 Single bucket Milking machines and 11 Chuff cutters, DDA organized a distribution activity to approved beneficiaries.
At the event, the The Hon . Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Frank Tumwebaze presided over  the act of handover where he presented the equipments to the farmers, symbolizing the government’s commitment to supporting agriculture and improving the lives of farmers in the community.

Clean milk production involves all the associated recommended procedures that lead to the production of clean and safe milk for human consumption, milk is considered safe when it contains no disease causing organisms i.e. the disease causing organisms present are kept below standard levels that can cause diseases to human beings. Hygienic milking procedures are a crucial part of Clean Milk Production, hand milking makes it difficult for farmers to observe these hygienic procedures as some workers milk with contaminated unhygienic hands which pre-dispose the animals to mastitis causing organisms which lower milk quality, on the other hand milking machines carry out complete and hygienic milking which reduces post-harvest handling losses and reduces chances of mastitis hence producing milk which meets the market demands and is safe for human consumption and value addition hence improving agro-industrialization. A milking machine can milk a large number of animals efficiently; it saves time by almost half and Increases the rate of milking.
The Chuff cutter helps to effectively chop pastures and other feed resources into small pieces for further processing or feeding of the animals. This promotes digestibility of even the overgrown pasture resources as they are cut into smaller pieces which increases the surface area for enzyme action hence improved digestibility, the chuff cutter also helps the farmers to cut silage materials into small pieces that are easier to ensile when making silage or easy to mix when directly feeding the animals. The selected beneficiaries practice intensive systems of animal grazing due to limited land resources or adoption of modern farming methods, this calls for labor intensive methods of fodder management such as Silage making to effectively feed the confined animals for improved milk yield, the chuff cutter therefore helps to meet this need during making silage and chopping other pastures to feed the animals hence the need for this equipment for the highly intensive farmers These beneficiaries are also farmers’ cooperatives which have received trainings and pasture planting resources from DDA and the Chuff cutter will therefore help them add value to the already planted pastures as well as implement what DDA taught them and thereby improving milk production and productivity.