Excitement as grasshoppers land in abundance in Masaka 

After a long wait, residents in Masaka are excited and ready to enjoy their traditional delicacy, grasshoppers locally called nsenene which had snubbed the area for nearly a month.

Nsenene which usually come around late October through November and early December had delayed to appear. Entomologists blamed the delay on changing weather patterns and wanton depletion of their breeding grounds like wetlands and forests in the area.

But in the wee hours of Saturday morning, November 25, grasshopper trappers in Masaka were all smiles after seeing swarms of the seasonal insects hovering over their well-lit traps spread across Masaka City and its environs.

In Nyendo, a traditional grasshopper hub was a beehive of activities when Monitor visited the area on Saturday at noon. A cup of the grasshoppers was selling between Shs4,000 and Shs5,000 depending on the dealer.

Mr John Ssebunya ,a grasshopper trapper at Bwala in Masaka City said he managed to trap 25 sacks of grasshoppers on Friday night and each piece fetched him Shs200,000.  

He says that they are excited about the grasshoppers  and is hopeful that they can manage get money from the sales to cover some of the accumulated electricity bills and other operational costs.

“We could not believe that the grasshoppers hand finally landed here after waiting for them for so long. Many of our colleagues had already lost hope amid high operational costs,” Mr Ssebunya said on Saturday.  

Hajji Quraish Katongole ,the chairperson of Old Masaka Basenene Limited, an association that brings together grasshopper trappers in the area , said “As believers , we  patiently waited for the edible insects because we knew Allah will give us what we want and they are finally here. We are optimistic that Masaka trappers will also get a big catch given that the country is of late receiving heavy rains.”

 He however asked officials of UMEME, the national power distributor to be patient with their members, saying that since they have started working, they  will clear outstanding electricity  bills instead of impounding their materials.

“I am going to meet UMEME officials after getting numerous reports from several parts of the region about UMEME’s decision to impound grasshopper dealers' materials like iron sheets and drums  over unpaid bills. This is unfair because the people have-not been working, and it would be hard for them to pay during the previous weeks but since they have started working ,they are going to pay,” he added. 

Ms Jane Namukasa, a  grasshopper vendor  at Ssese Corner along Elgin street in Masaka City said  they are currently selling  a cup of grasshoppers  between Shs5,000  and Shs6,000.