Uganda’s national parliament has passed a new Animal Feeds Bill, 2023 that provides for the creation of a national committee to regulate the production, storage, importation, exportation, and marketing of animal feeds.
This new law is important because Uganda’s animal feeds products , beef and milk among others will require to meet international set standards in order to be exported to international markets .
The Animal Feeds Committee will be chaired by the Commissioner for Animal Production in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. The committee is mandated to issue all the relevant permits and licenses in the industry.
The law provides that a person seeking to engage in the production, storage, and sale of animal feeds will apply for a licence which shall be considered within three months.
Similarly ,anyone seeking a permit for premises to be used for the storage, sale, and production of the feeds shall have to be approved by the committee.
“The secretary to the committee shall, in collaboration with local governments, ensure that animal feeds are produced, stored or sold in safe and fit premises as prescribed in the second schedule,” the new law provides in part.
The new law requires the agriculture minister to publish widely the list of the approved animal feed control laboratories, feeds producers all geared at ensuring the production and sale of quality animal feeds.
The Bill requires the producer of animal feeds who owns a laboratory to retain the services of a chemist or animal nutritionist who shall be responsible for the analysis and testing of animal feeds and issue a certificate of analysis for each batch of animal feeds before it is released for sale,” she said.
The new law guards against contamination of animal feeds by prohibiting the use of contaminants and providing safety measures for the transportation of the feeds.
The Minister will have discretionary powers to issue guidelines regarding transportation of feeds and animals .
