Antonio Querido, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Country Representative in Uganda appealed to concerted efforts involving farmers, traders, regulators, and the government to ensure that consumers access safe food.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 40 percent of households did not consume sufficient quantity of food with the proper nutrient content, while rural households experienced twice more prevalence of food poverty that the urban ones.
While addressing the leaders, Museveni commended the Karamojong for accepting to surrender their guns and embrace peace that is now attracting more development and social-economic transformation.
Masitula Nangwali, a prominent maize farmer from Namisindwa District, laments the inability to sell her produce across the border despite harvesting 20,000 tonnes of maize each season. She notes that while maize prices in Uganda range from UGX 500 to UGX 1,000 per kilogram, prices in Kenya are significantly higher, between UGX 2,500 and UGX 3,000.
The observations were made during the ongoing Third National Nutrition Forum, a high level gathering that has brought together various stakeholders from government ministries, departments involved in the food and nutrition value chain, development partners, and other key actors. The forum convened by the office of the prime minister with support from UNICEF serves as a platform for collaborative discussions and strategic planning aimed at addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by malnutrition in Uganda.
Gaster Kiyingi, the Executive Director of Tree Talk Plus, expressed concern over the prolonged delay in finalizing and implementing the forest policy, stressing its significance in mitigating biodiversity loss and fostering economic development.
The members argued that although the primary objective of the platform was to address drought in arid and semi-arid lands, it was evident that the other climatic excesses that they sought to expand the focus to were also a perennial problem that disrupted life whenever tragedies occurred.
Kiptoo, while presiding over a prayers at St. Peters Anglican church of Uganda- Kapchorwa on Sunday September 17th, noted that, most of the family conflicts and misunderstandings among to the Sebei community is attributed to lack of Basic necessities especially Food.
Organized by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) and held at Speke Resort, Munyonyo in Kampala, the conference brought together governments, researchers, and civil society organizations committed to achieving food self-sufficiency in Africa.
According to Fred Muhumuza, an Economist projects to boost food availability have come over the years but recommendations are never adopted as implementers resort to doing awareness campaigns and designing brochures and T-shirts.
Gabula said that Busoga kingdom has a bottom-top approach system, of rallying communities to involve themselves in economic transformation initiatives, from the village clan heads all through to the royal chiefs’ cabinets.
According to the guidelines, the Government contributes between 25% and 75% of the total cost of the irrigation equipment whereas the farmers contribute 25%-75% depending on the type of scheme they need to install.
The European Union –EU delegation to Uganda has launched a 16.69 billion Shillings Pro-Resilience Action project (Pro-ACT) aimed at helping Karamoja region to respond to food shocks.
Titus Jogo, the Refugee Desk Officer for Adjumani district says the plan was beneficiary refugees to either sell or keep the maize to supplement what they receive from the World Food Program.
Museveni, in his address to the nation on Sunday, alluded that ground spraying by soldiers using hand sprayers and motorized pumps was more effective than the aerial spray. He noted that the aircraft was small and unable to work at night when the insects have settled.
Katakwi with a total population of more than 189,000 people has already registered a number of people unable to afford a single meal a day due to the COVID-19 lock down.
The disease affects the colour of the banana fingers and bunches from green to brown or black, according to one of the affected farmers Nestori Aturinda. He says that the disease eventually results in premature ripening and shrinking of the banana’s, yet even when cooked, they remain hard and inedible.
The Ministry of Agriculture has since passed out information warning the entire populace to stock enough food. However, the warning might have come in late as many people are likely to have already sold off a number of crops harvested in the recent farming season. Uganda last experienced a major locust invasion in 1961, with immense damage on crops which resulted in acute hunger.
