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Kotido District Officials Work to Revive Non-Functional Food Stores

According to Robert Kennedy Okuda, the Kotido District Production Officer, the lack of functionality in these food stores can be attributed to issues such as a lack of trust in the store management committees, disputes over ownership, and misuse of some stores.
15 Jan 2025 10:58
Robert Kennedy Okuda Kotido district production officer

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Officials from Kotido District’s production department are working on plans to restore the functionality and ownership of several food stores that are currently underutilized.

These stores, which were built by the government and other stakeholders, were intended for the storage of harvests but were not serving their intended purposes. Only a few, located in Kacheri Sub-County and Lobanya Camp in Kapeta Sub-County, are currently in use.

According to Robert Kennedy Okuda, the Kotido District Production Officer, the lack of functional food stores can be attributed to issues such as a lack of trust in the store management committees, disputes over ownership, and misuse of some stores.

In some cases, stores have been repurposed as offices by the parish and sub-county headquarters, while others have been vandalized, with parts of the structures, such as doors, sold off to scrap dealers.

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Okuda also explained that these challenges have led many farmers to find alternative storage methods, which have resulted in significant losses. Thieves have stolen farm produce, while wildfires have destroyed crops stored in makeshift facilities.

A recent example occurred in Longoor Dam Village, Maaru Sub-County, where a community-built store was ravaged by fire, causing the loss of over 5 million shillings worth of produce.

In response to these challenges, Okuda and his team are now benchmarking successful strategies from the Lobanya and Kacheri stores to improve operations at the remaining stores.

They aim to adopt these successful practices to better manage the stores and enhance food storage across the district.

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