By: Boy Fidel Leon
A nation that can feed itself can determine its own future. On Thursday, Uganda made a powerful declaration of its food sovereignty with the commissioning of the De Heus Fish Feed Factory in Njeru.
Presided over by President Yoweri Museveni, the launch of the nation’s first fish feed plant marks a definitive end to the era of import dependency for a critical agricultural sector.
This transformative project, brought to Uganda by a Dutch company with a 300-year legacy in milling, is an engine for growth, built to fuel the ambitions of local fish farmers and fundamentally reshape the future of Ugandan aquaculture.
Commissioning the facility, President Museveni expressed gratitude to De Heus for stepping in to address one of the biggest bottlenecks in Uganda’s aquaculture industry: lack of affordable, quality fish feed.
When I was touring the country checking on our Parish Development Model, I was told the problem is fish feed. I didn’t know this was a problem because I thought we had planners in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development,” Museveni revealed.
He explained that he had previously tasked the UPDF’s National Enterprise Corporation to explore fish feed production, but the establishment of De Heus’ factory offered a more sustainable solution.
This is a better solution than the one I was trying through the army company, because these people are bringing in new capital from outside, which relieves us from finding budget money. Secondly, they have long experience of how to do it well,” the President noted.
Museveni also allocated land in Bukalasa for De Heus to expand into poultry feed production, emphasising the government’s support for private sector-led agro-industrialization.
The President reiterated his call for farmers to shift away from rice cultivation in wetlands to more sustainable fish farming.
Rice growing in the swamps was a big mistake because it affects the rain system of Uganda. It is very dangerous,” he cautioned.
He announced plans to invest USD 80 million in fishponds across the country, particularly in wetland peripheries, to empower youth and boost fish production.
We shall have very powerful fish-rearing efforts in the whole country because there are so many swamps. They can absorb many of those youths,” he added.
The event also highlighted the growing trade and investment ties between Uganda and the Netherlands, currently the largest foreign direct investor in Uganda.
H.E. Frederieke Quispel, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Uganda, commended the partnership:
The collaboration between Uganda and the Netherlands is at its best. Our economies are built on agriculture, and I think this factory would not be here without the close cooperation between our two nations,” she said.
Uganda’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, H.E. Mirjam Blaak Sow, praised the Dutch government for supporting investments like De Heus, while Hon. Hellen Adoa, Minister of State for Fisheries, lauded Museveni for his leadership in creating an enabling environment for agribusiness.
The biggest challenge we have been having in the Agriculture Ministry is the issue of fish feed. The fish in Uganda had no feed except imported ones, but now we manufacture it here,” Adoa remarked.
Co de Heus, CEO of De Heus Animal Nutrition, described the factory as part of their global strategy to invest in regions with growing demand for aquaculture.
Our investments have always focused on growing demand and the need for capital and know-how. Supplying fish farmers with quality feed and supporting them with services that make them better farmers has also contributed to our success,” he explained.
Bon Tjeenk Willink, Managing Director of De Heus Uganda, revealed that nearly USD 25 million has been invested in the facility, making it the largest fish feed factory in East Africa.
At full capacity, this facility can produce up to 100,000 tonnes of fish feed each year, supporting 7,000–10,000 jobs. Fish here is not just any other product, it’s a large part of culture and many Ugandans love it,” he said.