Entebbe, Uganda – President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni today held discussions with Her Excellency Frederieke Quispel, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Uganda, at State House Entebbe, focusing on agriculture, animal feed production, fish farming, and broader economic cooperation between the two countries.

A major area of discussion centered on increasing the supply of agricultural raw materials required by Dutch investments in Uganda’s growing animal feed industry, including the De Heus Fish Feed Factory in Jinja. President Museveni emphasised the need to boost production of maize, cassava, and soya to meet rising industrial demand.  “We shall now produce more maize and cassava,” the President said, revealing plans to convene a national conference of maize growers aimed at identifying strategies to increase production and support local industries.

The President also proposed removing tax duties on locally produced animal feeds to encourage investment and strengthen Uganda’s agricultural value chains. On environmental conservation, he highlighted fish farming as a sustainable alternative livelihood that could help reduce encroachment on wetlands.

Ambassador Quispel described her posting in Uganda as the most rewarding assignment of her diplomatic career and conveyed congratulations and best wishes from the King of the Netherlands to President Museveni. She noted that approximately 60 Dutch companies currently operate in Uganda, making the Netherlands one of the country’s largest foreign investors. However, she observed that animal feed manufacturers continue to face shortages of locally sourced raw materials and are sometimes forced to import products such as soya, maize, and cassava. The Ambassador expressed optimism about future cooperation, noting that Dutch investors are ready to support farmer cooperatives and agricultural initiatives aimed at increasing production and strengthening Uganda’s agro-industrial sector.