Kampala — THE government is set to carry out a nationwide livestock census to establish livestock numbers by species, Daily Monitor has learnt.

The exercise that shall start from February 18 to 25.

The Minister for Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, Mr Hillary Onek on Saturday said the enumeration will cover all domestic animals and birds.

He said the data on livestock will also include particulars of the household head, production systems, enterprises and land ownership and farm infrastructure.

The exercise will also cover beehives in areas where bee keeping is practised on a larger scale because apiculture is another lucrative business taking on of recent.

The Assistant Commissioner Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr George Otim, said the census will be a big step in establishing a livestock database. He said the database will support policy and planning for future livestock strategies.

Mr Otim said the government had already identified the 63 national supervisors from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Uganda Bureau of Statistics to oversee the census activities in in the country.

He said the supervisors will work together with district veterinary officers, local leaders, sub-county supervisors and enumerators to ensure a successful exercise.

The project is aimed at achieving economic growth among farmers by improving production and marketing in the live stock industry. He revealed that the current statistics on livestock are outdated since a similar exercise was last carried out 10 years back.

Mr Moses Ssekimba, a poultry farmer in Ntinda, said he was pessimistic about the government's move.

However, Mr Onek arrayed the public's fears saying the information collected would be kept confidential.