MUHANGI DAIRY FARM LIMITED
Founder: Mr. Muhangi Richard
Start Date: Incorporated in 2016
Location: Rwempogo, Kamushoko-Bubaare, Mbarara district, Western Uganda.
Website: https://www.muhangidairyfarm.com/
Business Focus: Dairy farming, embryo breeding, yoghurt and cheese processing, artificial insemination, silage processing.
Muhangi Dairy Farm Limited deals in dairy farming, embryo breeding, yoghurt and cheese processing, artificial insemination and silage processing. The farm sits on 30 acres and has a capacity of 100 heads of cattle.
The farm has been in operation for over 50 years, run by the “Muhangi family” as a traditional free-range farm with over 300 cows. In 2015, it was transformed into a zero grazing farm to rear high quality cows for milk production.
“I attended a study tour at Dairy Academy School in the Netherlands and Canada where I acquired skills in livestock and dairy improvement hands. When I returned home, I changed the farm from free range to zero grazing,” Muhangi said.
Under the brand name ‘Rima yoghurt,’ Muhangi Dairy Farm Limited processes yoghurt from the milk produced on the farm in three different sizes (500g, 250g and 150g) and two favours – vanilla and strawberry. The farm supplies to different supermarkets and retail shops in the Western region.
The farm established a yoghurt process factory in December 2020 and since then, the team has been adding value to raw milk production by working with Kabwohe and Kashaka Dairy Farmers’ Cooperatives, who sell milk to them. Muhangi Dairy Farm also produces corn and hay silage which is fed to the cows and some of it sold to the farmers in Kashaka and Kabwohe cooperatives.
“We make over 100,000 tons of silage from maize and grass which we use to feed the cows on the farm and also sell to farmers in the dairy cooperatives. We cut maize stems and then ferment them at a higher PH to retain nutrients such as sugars and proteins which are good for the cows,” Muhangi says.
Since its inception, Muhangi Dairy Farm Limited has encouraged youth and women entrepreneurship through hands on dairy practice training, encouraging them to invest in dairy farming and engaging in business as suppliers and employees; this, creating employment and impactful entrepreneurial skills. Through the promotion of zero grazing, Muhangi Dairy Farm has addressed the problem of climate change, land utilization and profitable dairy farming.
The enterprise intends to purchase more machinery to set up a production chain for cheese, butter, ice-cream, pasteurized milk and ghee.
In the next five years, Muhangi envisions a farm that has deliberate programs in place to encourage more youths and women to participate in dairy activities such that they are empowered economically. He also envisions an enterprise with 15 sales outlets and expand Rima factory’s production line to processing ghee, butter, cheese, pasteurized milk and ice-cream.
