Charles Kizito, a farmer at Kyampologoma village in Kamira town council, says that the African Armyworms destroyed his one acre of maize within a day causing him a financial loss of about Shillings 400,000.
Lucy Akella, the Chairperson of Diaspora Acholi in Uganda says they are targeting to comfort extremely vulnerable families who are enduring the negative impacts of pro-longed COVID-19 lockdown measures.
The findings which were arrived at through monitoring via phone call by Uganda Bureau of Statistics and United Nations agencies in 13 urban areas, refugee hosting districts and the Karamoja region were received by Eng. Hillary Onek the Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees who said this gives pointers on what areas deserve attention of government resources.
Mariam Nabutaka, the Lwampanga Sub county LC V councillor, says the rats have destroyed several acres of crops including groundnuts, maize, cassava, sweet potatoes and watermelon among others.
Alex Mutyaba, a farmer at Kapundo village, says he spotted the insects on one of the trees but they migrated the next day and only a few of them remained flying around the village. Mutyaba said they got worried that insects posed a danger to food crops.
Loyeng Longoli, another elder aged about 80 years is living with his two grandchildren. The elder has resorted to wild fruits and tree leaves collected by his grandchildren for survival.
The Famine Early Warning Network report for July however said food security among poor households will improve due to the availability of some harvests and declining market prices. It concludes that due to the combined impact of below-average rainfall and Fall Armyworm, national production is expected to be 15 to 30 percent below average.
Sarah Nakamya, the Nakasongola District Agriculture Officer, says 70 percent of the families in the district are battling a food crisis due to crop failure in the past two seasons.
David Mutegeki, the chairperson Kabarole district farmers association says the farmers have failed to sustain the adaptation practices due to lack of funding.
Over the years, granaries were key features in rural households. They were used as a post-harvest method used to promote food security especially during cases of drought in rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. However many homesteads today have neglected the storage facilities.
Alphonse Ongom, the LC 1 chairperson Bukaleeba village says the affected families have been tortured and traumatized because of government’s failure to compensate them.
