Ssemigga says that the caterpillars have so far ravaged the gardens of 30 farmers in Kiteme, Mpologoma, Buwenge, Malungu, Kasolo, and Buto villages among others.
A kilogram of vanilla was valued at 550,000 Shillings in the pre-COVID-19 period. However, this value gradually decreased to 210,000 Shillings in 2021 and worsened in 2022 when the price of vanilla plummeted even further to a mere 50,000 Shillings per kilogram 10 months ago. Presently, vanilla is being sold for between 3,000 and 4,000 Shillings per kilogram.
In a letter dated 4th July, Divine Kyogabirwe the Kazo district Chief Administrative officer said that the Taskforce reviewed the foot and mouth disease status in the district and agreed to reopen the markets.
This development eliminates the need for officers to travel to the
National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Data Bank (NAGRC & DB) in
Entebbe, as the AI centers now have the necessary facilities for storage.
The area has also been battling anthrax and Black Quarter Disease since last year. The Ministry of Agriculture has now delivered 10,000 doses of Foot and Mouth Disease vaccines and 1,350 doses of bronchitis, for the vaccination against Black Quarter Disease and anthrax.
The Mbarara city Agricultural Officer, Vicent Mugabi, said that the growing of grapes in the city is new and as the department, they are not knowledgeable about the crop.
Asuman Kigongo, the Secretary of Production and also District Councilor Speaking during a district council on Wednesday, several councilors accused the Taskforce of failing to report accurately on the disease yet the District Veterinary Officer, Dr. Yake Basalirwa says that they have not registered any new cases of foot and mouth disease in the last three months.
Godfrey Lutalo, the LC 3 Chairperson of Nakitoma sub county says that the three women were injured by falling bricks when a heavy storm hit Bujaabe Pentecostal church where they were praying forcing the wall to collapse at around 4 pm on Tuesday evening.
Trials will be carried out at five sites that include the prison farms of Kiburara in Ibanda and Isimba in Masindi, Maruzi Livestock Research station in Apac District, Nabuin Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Nabilatuk district and Mbarara Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Mbarara City.
The Ministry with support from the World Bank through the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfer Program (UgIFT) disbursed over 1.7 Billion Shillings to Luwero district and 1.03 billion Shillings to Nakaseke under the Micro-scale Irrigation Program.
The project areas have been divided into zones with the six districts in disease control zone one (DCZ1) namely Nakaseke, Nakasongola, Luwero, Kiryandongo, Masindi, and Gomba while eight districts constituting disease control zone two (DCZ2) are Lyantonde, Mbarara, Sembabule, Kiruhura, Kyankwanzi, Rakai, Kyotera, and Isingiro.
Early this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Fisheries dispatched a total of 20,000 doses of vaccines to the Nakaseke district to enable pastoralists to vaccinate their heads of cattle against Foot and Mouth Disease.
Dr. James Ukwir, Nwoya District Production officer and also District Veterinary officer says rainwater helped to wash away eggs and the larvae, while Bernard Maktunu, an Agricultural Officer in Got Apowyo Sub-county told URN that birds from Murchison Falls National Park have also played a great role in clearing the armyworms by eating them up.
Denes Sekabira, the Katikamu North Member of Parliament, says recently the Prime Minister recently told Parliament that the government had bought 23,000liters of pesticides and distributed them to districts to fight the African armyworm outbreak.
Fredson Kakooza Wilson, the LC 3 Chairperson of Nabiswera sub-county, says that he personally lost all pasture on his 50 acres of land whereas his neighbour lost pastures on 200 acres of land. Kakooza says that pastoralists can’t afford pesticides to spray the worms, which have spread across large farms in the sub-county.
Mathew Bakabulindi, a farmer at Kanyogogga village in Luwero sub-county, says that he expressed interest and was assessed before he was asked to contribute Shillings 5 million out of the total value of the Shillings 23 million for the solar irrigation equipment.
For a decade now ticks have caused losses to farmers who also have accused the National Drug Authority of failure to provide a solution for their animals that have continued to die because of tick resistance against alleged fake acaricides.
Dr Joseph Amanya, the Sheema District Veterinary Officer says that more than 60 pigs in Kitagata sub-county have signs of African swine fever while others had died.
