President Museveni orders the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure locust do not cross to Uganda
President Yoweri Museveni has directed the Ministry of Agriculture to devise proper measures to ensure that they prevent locust outbreak in Uganda.
Museveni who was meeting different government officials to discuss issues concerning the outbreak of locusts called on the Agriculture minister, Vicent Ssempijja to embark on strategies to see that the country is in a proper position and ready to prevent the locusts from crossing over to Uganda.
Meanwhile, the locust outbreak has also been reported to be on a big rise in many African countries with Kenya one of those most affected including Ethiopia and Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea among others.
The insects were reported to have crossed into Kenya through El Wak from the Southern side of Somalia around December last year.
Uganda who is close neighbours to Kenya last experienced a major locust invasion 70 years ago, with immense damage on crops, according to the agriculture ministry
According to experts, invasion of locusts can damage and destroy crops and vegetation as well as create famine. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations recently indicated that a very small swarm of locusts can eat as much food in one day as about 35,000 people.
Following the strong outbreak, the Prime Minister Hon Ruhakana Rugunda on Wednesday this week also said that the country is on high alert as locusts draw close to the common border with Kenya.
Rugunda implied that many ministries have been instructed to work together to collectively heighten the country’s preparedness to prevent and handle immediate invasion.
Besides, Rugunda said that the Ugandan government is in touch with Kenya to seek joint efforts to contain the locusts added that the agriculture ministry was also instructed to submit a budget to the finance ministry to clear the resources required to prevent the invasion.
The agriculture ministry had earlier indicated that it needed a contingency fund of 1.35 million U.S. dollars to be used for aircraft fuel, pesticides and other supplies.
However, following Monday’s meeting with officials from government, Museveni tasked the Ministry of Agriculture to liaise with the Ministry of Finance to see that Uganda makes its contribution to the Regional Desert Locust Control body.
Appropriately, Museveni also pledged to mobilize resources and bodies responsible for the control to ensure more support to the Ariel spraying of Locusts using aircraft.
By John Dalton Kigozi
