Pests devastate farms

By Ronald Kalyango

New technologies, in the crop, livestock, fisheries and forestry sector are facing immense challenges as a result of pests and disease. In the first quarter of this year alone, pests and disease caused crop failures in almost all the districts of the country.

The striga weed, cassava brown streak virus and a mutation of the banana bacterial wilt have attacked and devastated farms around the country exacerbating the prevailing food crisis. What is worrying is that all the cassava varieties developed in the 1990s at the height of the cassava mosaic disease attack, are susceptible to the new virus. In 2007, the country reported an outbreak of the cassava mosaic virus and cassava brown streak disease in new districts that had initially not been affected.

According to Chris Omongo, a plant entomologist at Namulonge Research Station, out of the 25 districts surveyed, the disease was confirmed in 16. These include Hoima, Moroto, Kasese, Bushenyi, Pallisa, Iganga, Soroti, Kumi, Arua, Yumbe, Lira, Gulu, Mukono, Wakiso, Luweero and Nakasongola. The only districts which didn’t have the disease by the time the survey was conducted were Masindi, Nebbi, Koboko, Kitgum, Moyo, Pader, Apac and Masaka.

He said Mukono, Luweero, Wakiso and Pallisa had the highest number of incidents with 100% crop failure. To avoid further spread of the disease, he suggested that non-government organisations seek clearance from the Ministry of Agriculture’s crop protection and production departments.

“ You can’t stop development partners from helping vulnerable people, since extension services are still thin on the ground,” he said.

The are also increasing challenges from recurring droughts, persistent low-input cultivation and market limitations in form of reduced shelf life, poor quality standards and lack of an effective and national cassava industrialisation strategy.

In the livestock sector Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Contagious Bovine Pleuro-pneumonia (CBPP) continue to cause havoc to animals especially in the five districts of Karamoja region.

“There is a lot of money in the livestock and fisheries sectors but the continued disease outbreaks are limiting Uganda’s export potential,” said Oloho Mukani, the director of animal resources. He said through government intervention this financial year, over 600,000 heads of cattle would be vaccinated against FMD and over 500,000 against lumpy skin disease.

This financial year also 20 million doses for vaccination against the newcastle disease in poultry will also be procured. In addition, 25 new disease resistant crop varieties that increase agricultural productivity, value addition, food and environmental safety, will be generated by NARO scientists.

The budget speech indicates that scientists at the coffee research centre in Kituza, Mukono district will also receive funds to multiply 20 million disease resistant coffee seedlings.

The seedlings will later be distributed to farmers who are currently facing the problem of coffee wilt disease.

In addition, cotton farmers in 46 districts will be provided with 4,000 metric tones of high quality cotton planting seed.

And in order to increase the availability of water for production, a number of schemes including Kawomeri dam in Abim; Leye, Olelpec and Olamia dams in Apac; Kagango dam in Isingiro will be worked on.

Other projects will include Mayikalo dam in Sembabule and Obwongyerero and Kagamba Valley Tanks in Isingiro. Piped water will be extended in Sembabule district and a 10,000 cubic metre valley tank will be completed.

The above interventions will create an additional 4.4 million cubic metres storage capacity of water for production bringing the national storage capacity to total of 35 million cubic metres, representing 55% of the projected national demand for water for production.

Hope Mwesigye, the agriculture minister says this financial year, emphasis will be placed on consolidating the agricultural extension service through the restructured National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), integrating it with the provision of inputs to farmers.

She said government will provide integrated support to six farmers per parish, a total of 30,000 farmers annually, whose farms will serve as demonstration sites to others and support them to graduate into commercial farmers.

“We want homes of the selected six farmers per parish to act as training centres for other farmers in the parish,” said Mwesigye while meeting NAADS coordinators in Kabarole, Bundibugyo, Kasese and Kabale district recently.

She said in addition to the selected six farmers, government will also continue to provide improved technologies and inputs to farmers who are organised into groups currently engaged in subsistence or semi-commercial agriculture.