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Busoga to swap sugarcane growing for animal husbandry

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Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga launched a USD$43M (about sh160b) project which is tailored to addressing the underlying causes of poverty in Busoga.

 

BUSOGA – Hemmed in by Lakes Victoria and Kyoga, home to the source of the Nile, criss-crossed by many small rivers and swamps draining into the aforesaid lakes and blessed with fertile soils, one would expect Busoga sub region to be one of the richest in Uganda.

Instead, this region, home to over 3.5m people, has, according to Uganda National Bureau of Statics (UBOS), one of the highest proportions of people living below the poverty line only second to Karamoja and Bukedi.

Yesterday, Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga launched a USD$43M (about sh160b) project which is tailored to addressing the underlying causes of poverty in Busoga which is as  surprising as its embarrassing for a region that has never been ravaged by war.

Dubbed the ‘revolutionizing livestock farming in the greater Busoga”, the five-year project is tailored to implementing an  ambitious paradigm shift among the Basoga from focusing on subsisting farming and sugarcane growing to high quality animal husbandry.

The launch was graced by the minister of finance, Matia Kasaija, the one of agriculture, Vicent Bamulangaki Ssempija , China’s ambassador to Uganda, H.E Zheng Zhuqiang, political leaders from Busoga and the top brass of National Animal Genetic Resource Center and Data Bank (NAGRIC&DB) led by its Executive Director, Dr. Charles Lagu.

“Poverty is resident in Busoga where 42% of the people live below the poverty line. This project will go a long way in addressing the underlying causes,” Kadaga said.

The project which has been developed under the auspices of ministry of agriculture will entail using Kasolwe Stock Ranch as a center of Excellency for learning, innovation and genetic improvement of animal breeds.

The project will be implemented by government ministries, agencies and departments most especially NAGRIC &DB.

According to Lagu, the scope of the project will include construction and operationalization of key infrastructure on Kasolwe ranch, revitalization of key water sources, provision of artificial insemination services and capacity building programs for staff and farmers.

Other components of the project will include establishment of a livestock input storage facilities, planting of superior pastures and trees,  provision of extension services, building hay bans and silage  for dry weather feeding of quality animals and fish cages construction.

With a revitalized Kasolwe, farmers in Busoga will have their local Zebu cattle implanted with embryos of high quality cattle both for milk and beef production as the campaign to haul majority of the people in the region gathers pace.

Studies by Government, Kasaija revealed, have proved that people engaged in animal husbandry have been able to get out of poverty faster than those solely relying on subsistence farming.

His Excellency Zheng Zhuqiang revealed that China is willing to provide market for beef, fish and poultry products from Uganda so long as they are of the requisite standards.

Poverty in Busoga

The issue of poverty in Busoga has for years remained a puzzle with some honchos in government blaming it on people in the region turning their land to sugarcane out growers.

The latest UBOS report indicates that Busoga is at the bottom of the pile in terms of poverty indicators.  Busoga has 45% of its people engaged in subsistence farming as compared to the national average of 42%.

The problem with the aforesaid revelation is that UBOS data indicates that between 2013 and 2016, poverty among the faming population increased from 23 to 36%.

Since 2009/10, UBOS indicates, poverty has fallen in all regions except the eastern region of which the 11 districts of Busoga are part.

-New Vision

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FARM NEWS

Report links 1,600 deaths to pesticide poisoning

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A total of 1,599 deaths between 2017 and 2022 were linked to organophosphate (pesticide) poisoning, researchers from Uganda National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH) and the Health ministry found.This information is in one of the reports presented yesterday during the 9th National Field Epidemiology Conference in Kampala.

The study led by Mr Robert Zavuga was based on the data from the District Health Information System (of the Health ministry), which is received from health facilities across the country.“A total of 37,883 (average of 6,314 per year) organophosphate (OP) [health facility] admissions and 1,599 (average of 267 per year) deaths were reported,” the report reads.

OP admission was defined by researchers as a hospital stay due to suspected OP poisoning. In contrast, OP poisoning death was defined as inpatient death with OP poisoning listed as the cause of death.The researchers linked the poisoning to the widespread use of OP pesticides by farmers in the country amid limited knowledge of how to use the pesticides safely.

“Uganda has an agricultural-based economy with widespread use of organophosphate-based pesticides. This elevates the risk for OP poisoning in the population,” the report reads further.According to the report, the overall average incidence was 15 organophosphate admissions per 100,000 persons.

On areas, sex and age that are most affected, the report indicates, “residents of Ankole Sub-region were more affected while those in Lango Sub-region were least affected.”“Males had a higher incidence of organophosphate poisoning than females. Children under 5 years had a higher incidence than persons above 5 years (20 vs 14/100,000),” the report said.

Overall, 1,599 (average of 267 per year) deaths were reported between 2017 and 2022. Residents in Kampala had the highest overall case fatality rate (CFR) while those in Teso had the lowest (CFR: 8.5 percent vs 2.2 percent),” the report reads.

According to the report released yesterday, “there was more than 3-fold decline in incidence of OP poisoning admissions per 100,000 population from 2017-2022,” however, the researchers noted, “there was no significant change in the case fatality rate of organophosphate poisoning.”

“The incidence of organophosphate poisoning admissions declined throughout the study period. Since 2014, Uganda has implemented periodic public awareness campaigns about safe use of pesticides for small-holder farmers and pesticide dealers,” the report says.

“These campaigns have included sensitisation about responsible handling to reduce risk of poisoning and environmental pollution.

Additional campaigns targeting government pesticide regulators, non-governmental organisations, and media have also been implemented to address the dangers of organophosphate poisoning,” it adds.

The report says Uganda has also implemented the Agricultural Chemical Control Act to use less toxic pesticides, which may be contributing to the reduction in organophosphate poisonings.“To continue this decline, it is important to monitor and strengthen these interventions,” the researchers from UNIPH and Health ministry recommended.

Source: Daily Monitor Via msn.com

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DEFENDING LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

Statement: The Energy Sector Strategy 2024–2028 Must Mark the End of the EBRD’s Support to Fossil Fuels

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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is due to publish a new Energy Sector Strategy before the end of 2023. A total of 130 civil society organizations from over 40 countries have released a statement calling on the EBRD to end finance for all fossil fuels, including gas.

From 2018 to 2021, the EBRD invested EUR 2.9 billion in the fossil energy sector, with the majority of this support going to gas. This makes it the third biggest funder of fossil fuels among all multilateral development banks, behind the World Bank Group and the Islamic Development Bank.

The EBRD has already excluded coal and upstream oil and gas fields from its financing. The draft Energy Sector Strategy further excludes oil transportation and oil-fired electricity generation. However, the draft strategy would continue to allow some investment in new fossil gas pipelines and other transportation infrastructure, as well as gas power generation and heating.

In the statement, the civil society organizations point out that any new support to gas risks locking in outdated energy infrastructure in places that need investments in clean energy the most. At the same time, they highlight, ending support to fossil gas is necessary, not only for climate security, but also for ensuring energy security, since continued investment in gas exposes countries of operation to high and volatile energy prices that can have a severe impact on their ability to reach development targets. Moreover, they underscore that supporting new gas transportation infrastructure is not a solution to the current energy crisis, given that new infrastructure would not come online for several years, well after the crisis has passed.

The signatories of the statement call on the EBRD to amend the Energy Sector Strategy to

  • fully exclude new investments in midstream and downstream gas projects;
  • avoid loopholes involving the use of unproven or uneconomic technologies, as well as aspirational but meaningless mitigation measures such as “CCS-readiness”; and
  • strengthen the requirements for financial intermediaries where the intended nature of the sub-transactions is not known to exclude fossil fuel finance across the entire value chain.

Source: iisd.org

Download the statement: https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-09/ngo-statement-on-energy-sector-strategy-2024-2028.pdf

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FARM NEWS

Kigezi In Famine Scare After Drought Hits The Region

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Farmers in Rubanda district are living in fear that they may be hit by famine due to the prolonged drought that has greatly affected the area. This comes after the area was hit by heavy rains in the month of May 2023, which left most of the gardens washed away, and since then the dry season has started up to date.

This is the first of its kind for Rubanda district and Kigezi at large to undergo such a prolonged drought.

According to farmers, this is the first of its kind for Rubanda to go through a long drought, adding that they are in fear that they may be hit by famine since they were used to receiving rains at the beginning of August, which is not the case this year. They add that even the seedlings that they had planted excepting that the rains would come have all dried up by the long spell.

Farmers also say that they don’t know what could be the cause that has stopped the rains,adding that the government should come up with a program that provides them with seedlings.

Akampurira Prossy Mbabazi, a woman Member of Parliament for Rubanda District, says that the issue of drought is not only in Rubanda District; however, this is the first of its kind. She adds that the drought comes after the area was hit by heavy rains, which caused a lot of challenges, adding that now it is the drought that may affect the farmers.

Akampurira further says that, as a leader,she will continue to educate farmers on better methods of farming depending on climate change.

Kikafunda Evelyne, founder of Green Environment Promotion (GEP), says it’s sad that farmers in Rubanda district and Kigezi at large are experiencing a long drought. She attributes it to problems of environmental degradation that include swamps being reclaimed, deforestation, and plastic pollution, adding that this is an indication that people don’t mind about the environment.

Kikafunda calls upon all people to take part in protecting the environment, adding that environmentalists should devise means on how to protect the environment.

It’s now been four months since it last rained in the districts of greater Kabale, that is, Rubanda, Kabale, and Rukiga districts, as well as other parts of the Kigezi Subregion.

Source: chimpreports.com

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