Founded in 1992 as a family owned business, Ugachick Poultry Breeders Limited has grown to become an enterprise with five business divisions including a feed mill, parent farm, hatchery, broiler farm, and processing plant.

The Chief Executive Officer, Ugachick Poultry Breeders Limited, Mr. Aga Sekalala Jr attributes the growth of Ugachick Poultry Breeders to their strong desire and commitment to keep on improving.

This commitment to improve led Ugachick Poultry Breeders to undergo an enduring journey of implementing an integrated management system for quality and food safety.

In 2009, Ugachick Poultry Breeders envisaged that food safety would be mandatory and also a regulatory requirement in Uganda’s food industry. Therefore the poultry dealer took the decision to go for the highest food safety standards and started to walk the journey of implementing the standards immediately because they knew it was going to be a long journey.

This decision has paid off in a way that the company has established a system that guides the production activities within the organization. This system is described by Mr. Aga Sekalala Jr. as a wheel with a set of conditions that Ugachick Poultry Breeders’ products pass through before they are cleared for the market.

Compliance with the system has enabled Ugachick Poultry Breeders to achieve product consistency within its production chain. “Our products are consistent at weight, size, and even taste which are key considerations customers base to determine their purchasing decisions.” Said Mr. Aga Sekelala Jr.

Ugachick’s ability to maintain consistency in its production chain is regarded a major milestone by the company for several reasons.

Product consistency has earned the company a niche in producing highly demanded products especially chicken produced to make stews.

Mr. Aga Sekalala Jr. said customers have trusted the company in providing consistent products on the market every day. This has catapult the demand for Ugachick Poultry Breeders’ products regardless of pricing.

To maintain consistency, Ugachick Poultry Breeders Ltd continuously undergoes training in food safety and quality management. The purpose of training is to maintain the system responsible

for consistent production and ensuring that it works. Mr. Aga sekalale Jr. said the system requires Ugachick to continuously innovate and improve. It does not allow the company to stay stagnant. The continued trainings have supported the system to stand on its own independent of the individuals who work within it.

“When there’s a working system, if an employee leaves it is easy to replace them and the person who comes adopts easily. I don’t lose sleep thinking if this person leaves the system will collapse, it is not dependent on one person.” Mr. Aga Sekalala Jr. said.

According to Mr. Aga Sekalala Jr, implementing standards such as food safety is not only a choice but certainly a cost but if one wants to stay in business long term, standards are the cornerstone.

Ugachick Poultry Breeders Limited is an ISO certified company that has implemented a management system for quality and food safety compliant to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 22000:2018. It has also undertaken several trainings including Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) training.