IGCP Trains Park Edge Communities in Livestock Management to Enhance Productivity | International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP)International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP)

As part of its community-based initiatives to empower park edge communities, this week IGCP is training 45 households living adjacent to Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area on livestock management.

Late last year IGCP donated  45 heifers to 45 house holds bordering Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.  The heifers were donated as conservation incentives to the park edge community with the aim of improving livelihoods and household incomes, boosting food security, and reducing malnutrition among the target community.

“When we carried out a social assessment for the protected areas (SAPA), we realized that communities adjacent to the park grapple with poverty and malnutrition, and that the soils have lost fertility. The heifers address these issues, through provision of milk for nutrition and income, then cow dung for manure,” says Henry Mutabaazi, IGCP Uganda Country Coordinator.  

Improving community livelihoods and increasing household incomes reduces the communities’ reliance on park resources. This decreased pressure on the park contributes to the conservation of mountain gorillas in Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Area.

The acquired skills will help the beneficiaries to independently manage their livestock diet through high yielding forage establishment, feed preservation techniques and ration formulations for different developmental stages.

The attained skills will also help farmers enhance livestock productivity through comprehensive disease prevention, improve record keeping, profit/loss analysis and ensure the production of high quality safe milk by practicing hygiene routines, proper milking techniques and equipment maintenance.