President Yoweri Museveni officially commissioned Uganda’s first-ever fish feed factory, the De Heus production facility in Njeru, Buikwe District, marking a significant milestone for the country’s burgeoning aquaculture sector and local food security.
The state-of-the-art plant, a venture by Dutch agribusiness giant Royal De Heus, is set to revolutionize fish farming by eliminating reliance on imported feeds.
Addressing attendees at the commissioning ceremony, President Museveni expressed profound gratitude to De Heus for helping Uganda resolve the critical challenge of manufacturing fish feeds domestically.
He highlighted that during his recent countrywide tours on the Parish Development Model (PDM), the issue of expensive and scarce fish feeds was repeatedly brought to his attention by farmers.
“It was brought to my attention that fish farmers had a challenge of feeds, which prompted me to direct UPDF’s National Enterprise Corporation to find ways of manufacturing them,” President Museveni stated. “However, with De Heus’ factory in place, Uganda has been relieved of that burden.”
The President further assured investors of the ready availability of cheap raw materials, crucial for sustainable feed production. He also revealed plans to allocate land in Bukalasa to De Heus for the production of poultry feeds, signaling a broader partnership in animal nutrition.
Museveni reiterated his long-standing plan to encourage farmers cultivating rice in swamps to transition to more profitable fish farming at the periphery of wetlands.
“Rice growing in the swamps was a big mistake because it affects the rain system of Uganda. It is very dangerous,” he urged, advising that rice growers unwilling to shift to fish farming could consider upland cultivation with irrigation.
He also emphasized Africa’s potential as a ready market for manufactured products and services, noting, “I’m happy that the Netherlands have realized the importance of investment in Africa.”
De Heus Uganda is a subsidiary of Royal De Heus, a Dutch family-owned business with over 300 years in milling and recognized as one of the top ten animal nutrition companies globally. Its brand, Koudijs, has been active in Uganda since 2018, leading in various livestock categories with trusted quality products.
Minister of State for Fisheries, Hellen Adoa, underscored the factory’s importance, stating, “The biggest challenge we have been having in the Agriculture Ministry is the issue of fish feed. It has been a big challenge. The fish in Uganda has not been having any feed except we had to import but now we manufacture it here.”
The commissioning ceremony also highlighted robust bilateral ties, with H.E. Frederieke Quispel, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Uganda, commending the strong working relationship that enabled De Heus’s successful investment.
Her Ugandan counterpart in the Netherlands, H.E. Mirjam Blaak Sow, similarly lauded the partnership for fostering flourishing investments.
Co de Heus, CEO of De Heus Animal Nutrition, elaborated on their strategy for successful international ventures, emphasizing a professional support organization in the Netherlands dedicated to making foreign business units as professional as the mother company.
“The support involves many disciplines from formulation, product management, quality control, production, animal husbandry training programs, raw material procurement to ICT and finance support,” he explained.
He attributed the company’s global success, which includes selling approximately 13 million tonnes of feed this year, to their focus on “growing demand and the need for capital and know-how,” alongside supplying quality feed and providing farmer support services.
Bon Tjeenk Willink, Managing Director of De Heus Uganda, expressed gratitude to President Museveni for the support that facilitated this milestone. He noted that De Heus has been involved in Uganda’s fish sector since 2018, recognizing the cultural significance and love for fish among Ugandans.
“Uganda has been relying on imported fish feeds but with the new factory in place, that is history now,” Tjeenk Willink declared. He revealed that De Heus has invested nearly USD 25 million over the last two years, culminating in “the largest fish feed factory in East Africa.”
At full capacity, the facility can produce up to 100,000 tonnes of fish feed annually, supporting an estimated 7,000 to 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.
