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Veterinary officers decry shortage of cattle vaccines

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Not happy. Cattle dealers at Lwemiyaga cattle market on December 20, 2019. Veterinary officers have complained over insufficient vaccines against foot and mouth disease (FMD). PHOTO/WILSON KUTAMBA.

District veterinary officials in the south western part of the cattle corridor have complained over insufficient vaccines against Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), saying this may delay the vaccination exercise.

Although vaccination against FMD kicked off in March, in some districts the veterinary officers say they have not covered even a quarter of livestock population in their respective districts due to shortage drugs.
In February, Cabinet approved a supplementary budget of Shs14.6 billion to procure FMD vaccines for livestock across the country.

Dr Godfrey Kimbugwe, the Kyotera District veterinary officer, said the district received only 15,000 doses in the first batch of May against 200,000 head of cattle in the district which he said cannot cover five per cent of livestock in the area.

“In September, we received the second batch of 13,000 dozes and we carried out strategic vaccination in hot spots which translates to 23,000 doses against 170,000 head of cattle,” he said during an interview on Monday.

Dr Kimbugwe said although they did not officially record any cases of FMD in August, they were surprised to find three animals infected at the border between Rakai and Isingiro districts.
Dr Kaddu Nsubuga, the Gomba District veterinary officer, said the district has 130,000 head of cattle, but only 40,000 have been vaccinated.

“We appreciate government efforts to fight FMD, but it looks like they are overstretched given the other demands. If resources can be found, I am sure we will be able to eliminate the disease,” he said.

Dr Ronald Bamek, the Lyantonde District veterinary officer, said farmers continue questioning why they are carrying out selective vaccination yet FMD affects all the farmers.
“In Lyantonde, we are vaccinating against FMD, rabies and peste des petits ruminants virus infection (PPR) in goats, but there are limited vaccines to cover the available livestock,” he said.

He added that the district has more than 140,000 head of cattle and FMD usually spreads from the neighbouring districts of Rakai and Sembabule.

“Vaccines are expensive, but selective vaccination equally exposes unvaccinated livestock to great risk of FMD and other related livestock disease,” he said.
Dr Erias Kizito Nsubuga, the Rakai District veterinary officer, said out of the 120,000 head of cattle in the district only 10,000 have been vaccinated.

He said the district’s strategic location along the Uganda-Tanzania border makes it vulnerable to FMD due to regular cross-border movements of livestock.
“What we have done is to carry out strategic vaccination only in villages near the Uganda–Tanzania border. When we get more vaccines as promised by government, we shall consider all the livestock in the district,” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from Mr Bright Rwamirama, the State Minister for Animal Industry were futile as he could not respond to repeated calls from this newspaper.
Rakai has more than 100 porous entry points which nomadic farmers use to sneak  into the country.

**Daily Monitor

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Robusta coffee hits record high to trade at sh7,500 per kilo in Ibanda

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Robusta coffee prices have continued their upward trend by gaining sh1,000 in value over the past month. 

Robusta is trading at a high of sh7,500 per kilogramme of quality beans in Ibanda, while traders quoted low-grade robusta coffee beans at sh7,200 per kilo.

This compares to sh6,500 a kilo four weeks ago and sh5,600 recorded two months back. The sh7,500 per kilo is the highest for Robusta coffee in a long time in Ibanda and surpasses the sh6,900 recorded during the last harvest season.

Deogratias Tihwayo, a coffee trader in Ibanda town, attributed the increase to the quality of this season’s coffee beans compared to previous seasons. He said this has attracted more buyers and, hence, pushed up the prices.

David Kiiza, the chairperson of Kashangura Coffee Co-operative in Kashungura, Kagongo Division, said farmers were observing the recommended agronomical practices that have improved quality and out-turn. 

Meanwhile, Arabica coffee was unchanged over the reporting period, trading between sh8,000 and sh8,500 per kilogramme in Ibanda town and Kashangura. Arabica coffee hit a record high of sh12,000 a kilo last season. 

However, there has been subdued demand over the past months with the crop out of season.

UCDA daily market prices

Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) indicative figures for March 20 quoted robusta (clean) at between sh7,000 and sh8,000 a kilo, Arabica parchment sh8,500 – sh9,500, and Kiboko ranged from sh2,300 to sh2,600 per kilogramme, among others.

Source: New Vision

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Falling coffee prices, reduced output forecasts rattle Uganda farmers

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There has been a slump in international coffee prices and shipping costs in the last quarter of 2022

Uganda’s coffee industry is walking into a challenging 2023 defined by falling prices and diminished output forecasts following the recent dry spell that hit major growing areas.

While the sector enjoyed a boom between 2020 and 2022 – with surging coffee prices, rising export volumes and considerable incomes for farmers – decline in international shipping costs and improved production forecasts in Brazil triggered a slump in coffee prices in the last quarter of 2022, according to industry players.

International shipping costs dropped from record highs of $10,000 per container charged on certain sea routes in January 2022 to less than $2,000. Shipping fees charged per 20-foot container ferried from Indonesia to North America, for example, are estimated at $800-$1,000 currently.

Consequently, local and international coffee prices have dropped since October 2022.

International robusta coffee prices fell from an average price of $2,400 per tonne to $1,856 per tonne towards the end of last year, according to industry data. Local robusta coffee prices declined from Ush7,200 ($1.9) per kilogramme to Ush5,800 ($1.6) per kilogramme during the second half of 2022 while Arabica coffee prices fell from Ush11,000 ($2.9) per kilogramme to Ush8,000 ($2) per kilogramme in the period.

In 2021, average coffee prices stood at more than Ush15,000 ($4) per kilogramme.

Dry spell

Robusta coffee production accounts for more than 60 percent of Uganda’s overall coffee output.

Besides gloomy coffee price forecasts for 2023, a severe dry spell in the past six months could pose a huge threat to coffee production levels. The weather affected major coffee-growing areas like the Central region and risks cutting this year’s output to around 5.5 million bags, industry players forecast.

“Brazil and Vietnam are headed for a bumper coffee harvest this year while India and Indonesia have discounted their local coffee prices in a way that has undercut Uganda’s growth momentum on the international market,” said Robert Byaruhanga, chief executive of local exporter Funzo Coffee Ltd.

Post-Covid shift

Asian and Latin American coffee exporters are regaining dominance in European and North American markets after the lockdown period because of the lower coffee prices, reduced freight charges, shorter port clearance turnaround times and reasonable coffee quality grades, Byaruhanga explained.

Ugandan farmers are now holding onto their coffee produce in anticipation of better prices.

Overall coffee exports stood at 6.26 million bags valued at $862.28 million in 2021/22 compared to 6.08 million bags worth $559.16 million registered in 2020/21, data from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority shows.

An estimated 447,162. 60 kilogramme bags of coffee valued at $64.1 million were exported in November 2022 at an average price of $2.39 per kilogramme — 6 US cents lower than the average price of $2.45 per kilogramme posted in October 2022.

Original Source: Daily Monitor

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Over 40 goats die of PPR disease in Madi-Okollo

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At least 43 goats have died of Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) disease, also known as ‘goat plague’ and several others are undergoing treatment in Madi-Okollo district.

Madi-Okollo district veterinary officer, Dr Charles Onzima, says the viral disease, which is related to rinderpest in sheep as well as goats, has claimed the lives of goats in Olali parish in Ogoko sub-county.

He adds that PPR disease was confirmed in the district after 500 local and 94 Boer goats were supplied to families in Olali parish under a poverty eradication programme that he suspects infected the local goats.

43 of the boar goats died while 10 of the local goats of the communities also died of PPR disease.

Onzima says immediately after receiving information about the disease, the veterinary officers got the goats manifesting the signs of PPR that include sudden onset of depression, fever, discharge from the eyes and nose, sores in the mouth, breathing difficulty and death among others.

He says that they have already had three rounds of vaccination for the available goats in the affected area.

Original Source: New Vision Via harvestmoney.co.ug

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