Livestock, Liberalization and Democracy: Constraints and Opportunities for Rural Livestock Producers in a Reforming Uganda

This paper explores the policy environment surrounding livestock policy improvements in Uganda, with a view to identify opportunities for pro-poor interventions and reforms. The paper reviews challenges facing livestock producers and analyzes the broad political economic context in which livestock sector dynamics are situated. A review of the livestock sector highlights the constraints facing poor rural livestock producers based on: missing or inadequate infrastructure; the small size of the domestic market and limited capacity to service international markets; the complex political environment; violent conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army, the government, and civilians; predation by cattle rustlers and restrictions on political participation. Although neoliberal reform rhetoric pervades policy discourse, many civil servants are sceptical about this approach. The concluding section outlines several interventions that could improve the livelihoods of poor rural livestock producers in Uganda. Working within the dominant neoliberal reform context, the proposed interventions seek to reduce barriers to producer benefit and improve the functioning of livestock markets. In particular, information provision, investment in infrastructure, and development of measurable indicators of how reforms affect poor Ugandans could have substantial impact.