The minister of state for northern Uganda rehabilitation Grace Kwiyucwiny has recommended the rehabilitation of Aswa ranch.
Minister Kwiyucwiny said last week during a visit to Gulu that rehabilitating Aswa Range will go a long to ease the challenges faced in the government restocking program.
The Minister said that if animals are bred at the ranch, it will be easy to supply them to farmers.
Kwiyucwiny cited the Uganda Prisons’ farms across the country which are supplying maize and beans seed to government.
The minister promised to table the matter before cabinet.
Aswa Ranch which sits on 5,000 hectares of land was left in ruins after it was looted by soldiers during the reign of Idi Amin Dada in the 1970s.
The ranch was run by the defunct government parastatal, Uganda Livestock Industries.
In 2012, President Yoweri Museveni pledged that government would restock Aswa ranch and Waligo center and use them as a multiplication center for cattle.
Already, a mini hydroelectric power station is being constructed near the ranch.
The ranch strategically sits near the famous Aruu Falls in Angagura Sub County.
Government started restocking the defunct Aswa ranch in Pader district in an attempt to revive it.
The ranch was economically vibrant in the 1960s for milk, meat and other livestock products
However, Geoffrey Oringa Lagor, Pader District LCV Chairman says he is not convinced that government will re-stock the ranch.
Lagor says he suspects that there are few individuals who are using the name of the government in order to use the government land.
Early this year, leaders from Acholi asked government to halt restocking program until the issue of land ownership is addressed.
