ENTEBBE, Uganda, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Nine Chinese hybrid goats, also known as Jianzhou big-eared goats, have arrived in Uganda as the East African country seeks to boost its goat meat production and livestock industry.
The goats -- three males and six females -- landed at Entebbe International Airport on Monday night after a journey of more than 10 hours from Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province.
As a crossbreed between the British Nubian goat and the Jianyang local goat breed, this is the first time the Jianzhou big-eared goats have been exported outside China.
The animals were imported under the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-China-Uganda South-South Cooperation Project, a tripartite initiative aimed at transferring agricultural technologies and best practices from China to Uganda.
The project focuses on crop production, aquaculture, and livestock improvement. Under its livestock component, the Jianzhou big-eared goat has been identified as a key breed to help transform Uganda's goat farming sector, according to Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF).
Rose Ademun, commissioner for animal health at MAAIF, said the Jianzhou big-eared goat is "a superior meat breed known for its rapid growth, high carcass yield, and adaptability to various agro-climatic conditions."
Ademun made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua on Tuesday at the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre & Data Bank (NAGRC&DB), where the imported goats are housed and will undergo a research and multiplication phase.
Beyond increasing meat output, the imported goats will also be used to crossbreed with local ones to improve productivity, ultimately raising farmers' incomes, Ademun added, while thanking China for sharing the breed.
Julius Twinamasiko, head of the Ugandan side of the South-South Cooperation project, told Xinhua that Ugandan farmers and extension workers would acquire valuable skills in modern goat husbandry through the program.
"They are going to increase production; they are going to help us as a country to increase meat production. This will translate to increased foreign exchange for the country," Twinamasiko said.
"In the next few years, we will have multiplied these goats. They will be farmed across the country," he added.
Since 2012, under the tripartite cooperation framework, China has dispatched agricultural experts to work directly with Ugandan farmers, sharing skills and technology. In the crop sector, they have introduced high-yielding varieties such as foxtail millet and hybrid rice, alongside expertise in aquaculture and livestock farming.
