The draft national livestock census report 2008, which is to be released in two weeks, says at least 41 per cent of the 3.2 million pigs that the country has are predominately reared in the districts of Kampala, Mukono and Masaka.

The report also shows that the country has 1,590 horses and donkeys, with at least 960 of these animals in the Karamoja sub-region alone. Of the 32,870 camels, at least 32,030 are also found in Karamoja region.

According to the report, the national cattle herd was estimated to be 11.4 million cattle of which 2.5 million (22.3 percent) is in the western region, 2.5 is in eastern region while another 2.3 million is in the Karamoja sub-region.

Although the western region has a high number of cattle, the report shows that the total number of cattle, sheep, and goats in Karamoja outnumber the total figure in the rest of the country. “About 4.5 million households rear at least one kind of livestock or poultry in Uganda,“ the report states.

The report makes interesting recommendations on how the government can harness this Karamoja resource. The Karamoja Sub-region remains the least developed region of the country marred by constant conflict, cattle raiding and prolonged drought.