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Farmers in Eastern Uganda receive small grants to tackle climate change

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Mbale, Eastern Uganda – The Government of Uganda together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched small grants to help farmers in the mountainous Elgon region to tackle land degradation and reverse the impact of climate change.

The grants provided under UNDP’s “Integrated Landscape Management for Livelihoods Improvement and Ecosystems Resilience (ILM) project, will be administered through Community Based Organisations (CBOs).

At least 15 CBOs from three districts in Eastern Uganda including; Mbale, Bulambuli and Manafwa received grants totaling to 530 million shillings (approximately $142,368). The grants will be used to procure farm implements which will enable farmers to practice climate smart agricultural practices.

The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, Hon. Vincent Sempijja and the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Rosa Malango, who was represented by Ms. Sarah Mujabi, the Programme Officer for Climate Change at the UNDP Uganda Country Office, launched the grants at Mbale District headquarters on July 3rd, 2018.

Each of the three districts local governments also received a Global Positioning System (GPS) to record coordinates of where the intervention has been done, along with a laptop, camera and printer to document and share their success stories.

In a speech read for her by Ms. Mujabi, the UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Malango, pointed out that projects such as these were important to address the ruin caused by flooding and landslides which arises from land degradation and climate change which affects the peoples’ daily efforts to fight poverty and hunger and live healthy lives.

“You see this impact in the sorrow of a mother grieving for her near-to-harvest garden that has been washed away or in the tears of a desperate father who must rebuild after the family house was flattened by boulders in the wake of a landslide,” Ms Malango said.

Minister Sempijja and Ms. Mujabi, accompanied by the Mbale District Chairman, Mr Benard Mujaasi and several district and ministry officials also toured the Elgon landscape to witness first-hand the effects of land degradation and climate change on the livelihood of the communities.

“I have never seen something like this,” the Minister said as he inspected gardens in Bushiuyo village, Mbale district, where farmers have dug contours across the slope and planted grass to stop soil erosion.

The Minister was impressed that the implementation of the ILM project is at community level and that farmers are involved in finding solutions to the problems affecting them.

“I am happy to visit projects where people are involved in using scientific methods that can stop soil erosion and landslides,” Minister Sempijja observed.

He proposed that successes of the ILM project be documented and used to develop a template on sustainable land use, which should be distributed to every farmer in the country as a reference.

He also urged the local communities in the mountainous region susceptible to landslides and flooding, to implement the sustainable land use techniques learned under UNDP’s ILM project so that their farming is sustainable, and their land is protected.

“We must stop soil erosion, landslides and flooding to improve our agriculture for better yields,” the Minister said, adding that by trapping all the water from the mountain top, the communities are able to protect the soil’s nutrients from escaping hence boosting its fertility and productivity, hence boosting the farmers’ incomes.

Ms. Malango noted that the ILM project will help Uganda achieve Sustainable Development Goals one on no poverty, goal two on zero hunger), goal13 on climate action and goal 15 on life on land.

The project which started in 2017 will also help Uganda achieve her commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change to reduce 22 percent Green House Gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and to increase carbon sequestration.

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Farmers in Napak want security forces deployed in gardens

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A section of farmers in Napak District is demanding for the deployment of security personnel in gardens to prevent attacks by suspected Karamojong warriors.

This follows a message that was sent to one of the phones belonging to the community member in Nabwal sub county threatening people to stop cultivation or else their cattle will be stolen. Suspected warriors have also been dropping leaflets in the villages warning farmers of possible attacks in case they risk going to cultivate in their gardens.

Robert Koryang, a resident of Lotome trading center, says that they are worried of going to their farm gardens which are far away from their home because of threats from the cattle raiders.

Koryang said the warriors are still hunting for cattle and they see the farming season as an opportunity to target farmers who use oxen for ploughing.

He observed that the persistent insecurity in the region frustrated their efforts to cultivate last year leading to a hunger crisis.

Judith Anyakun, another farmer recalls that early last year a suspected raider chased them out of their farms before making off with four oxen that were used for ploughing.

She suggested that the security forces should be deployed in their settlements nearer to the fields so that they are able to respond to any attack that may occur during farm activities.

John Paul Kodet, the LCV Chairperson for Napak, says that they are taking the threats seriously because the warriors have been issuing warnings to the communities before attacking.

Kodet said they have distributed seeds to the farmers but he is skeptical if communities shall be able to cultivate due to threats from suspected warriors.

He noted that some villages in the sub-counties of Lopei, Lokopo, and Lotome are very distant from the military installations and this puts them at high risk of being attacked.

Kodet appealed to the government to tighten security in the targeted areas such that people will be able to cultivate without fear.

Denis Okori, the Napak Resident District Commissioner said that the security forces already have the intelligence about the planned attacks and measures have been put in place to protect the communities.

Okori said they have designed strategic plans on how the deployment will be conducted and therefore farmers should not get worried because the government is trying everything possible to ensure there is peace.

He also confirmed receipt of the phone used for sending threats and it has been taken to the Internal Security Organization for tracking.

Okori urged the communities not to worry but instead clear the gardens for farming in order to fight hunger in the families as security does its part to protect them.

Last year, the residents of Napak district suspended the use of oxen for ploughing over fears of being attacked by suspected warriors. The cattle were only kept from the confined kraals and only released during the day for grazing, and returned in the evening when the army took responsibility for keeping them.

Original Source: URN via The Independent

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Mbarara struggling to contain Rift Valley Fever, no livestock quarantine yet

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The government is reluctant at imposing the livestock quarantine on Mbarara despite registering five confirmed cases of death among humans resulting from Rift Valley Fever, the Resident District Commissioner, Emmy Turyabagyenyi Kateera has revealed.

According to Kateera , when they informed the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries about the outbreak, they deployed a team on the ground to manage the situation. Mbarara District Veterinary Officer, Andrew Bakashaba, says that registered fifty cows infected by Rift Valley Fever in Rwanyamahembe Sub County on different farms.

He, however, says that they are currently managing the situation through sensitization. Bakashaba has warned residents against eating meat from animals that have died on their own, noting that Rift Valley Fever is only transmitted from animals to humans through infected meat.

He has also asked people to always watch out for meat that has a veterinary medical stamp as proof that it’s been tested and found to be clean. Turyabagyenyi said that they have directed extension workers to hold engagement and sensitization meetings with farmers and livestock traders on how to do self-preservation on their farms and the movement of animals.

PHOTO: The Jenner Institute

He said they asked the Ministry of Agriculture to hold on imposing a quarantine as they monitor the situation on the ground noting that if the situation goes out of hand they would be left without any choice but to announce the quarantine.

He says they have deployed veterinary doctors at all known slaughter slabs and asked them to double-check the meat before and after it is delivered to butchers.  Dr. Richard Atuhairwe, the in-charge of Bwizibwera Health Centre IV, says that the disease was detected among 30 people, and results from Uganda Virus Research Institute returned positive.  He says that five of the thirty have since died.

Rift Valley Fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever that is most commonly seen in domesticated animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats and can also cause illness in people. It is caused by the Rift Valley Virus. Meanwhile, a Quarantine has been imposed on Byembogo Village in Nyabisirira Town Council after a case of foot and mouth disease was confirmed on one farm.

Turyabagyenyi says a farm belonging to one Mr. Mungonya with over 1500 cattle had been stopped from sending out cattle and animal products like milk from the farm. He says that they have also temporarily closed the Kyeshema livestock market that is shared between Kiruhura and Mbarara districts noting that Kiruhura had last week closed its side.

He says they are now moving to vaccinate all animals in the village as they monitor the situation.

Original Source: URN via  The independent

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Kamwenge closes livestock markets to halt spread of Foot and Mouth Disease from Kazo

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Kamwenge District Veterinary Department has ordered the temporary closure of all livestock markets in the district to curb the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease-FMD to the area.

The District Veterinary Officer, Dr. Paul Mbago told URN that the decision follows the outbreak of FMD in the neighboring Kazo district.

He explains that his office held a meeting with stakeholders and livestock farmers in the district and they came up with guidelines to stop the spread of the disease to the district.

According to Mbago, they have written to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries requesting 10,000 doses of the FMD vaccinate to vaccinate livestock in Bihanga and Nkoma sub-counties, which border Kazo district.

Last week, Kazo district confirmed the outbreak of the highly contagious livestock disease at a farm in Bwatama village in Buremba Town Council.

Original Source:URN via The Independent

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