Prime
Govt gives workers over 400 motorcycles to boost livestock disease control
Ministry of Agriculture PS Maj. Gen. David Kasura (L) and Agriculture minister Frank Tumwebaze test the motorcycles as District Veterinary Officers observe during the handover in Entebbe on August 19, 2024. PHOTO/PAUL ADUDE
What you need to know:
- The strategy is to commercialize agriculture to move people from subsistence agriculture, government officials said.
Government has distributed more 50 motorcycles to extension workers hoping to boost fisheries, crop and livestock disease control, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Frank Tumwebaze.
“A month ago, we gave out 169 motorcycles in the districts of Lango, Acholi and West Nile. Last year, we gave out 200 bikes. Our strategy is to have no district complain that they haven’t been given. In this lot, it’s mainly central, southwestern and western Uganda. We should have one or two motorbikes per sub-county; one for the livestock and one for crops,” he explained.
Mr Tumwebaze made the remarks while handing over 50 motorcycles to District Veterinary Officers in Entebbe on Monday, urging local authorities to ensure they are put to proper use.
“It will be funny when there is a disease outbreak in the sub-county and you find the motorcycle isn’t there but it’s rather taking people for some other social gathering,” he observed.
MAAIF Permanent Secretary Maj Gen David Kasura said 28 of the motorcycles are to be distributed for disease control in 28 livestock disease prone border districts in the south and southwest of the country.
“We recognise the issue of trans-boundary diseases and by the time we get to these places the disease has spread all over the country. What we are doing now is to quicken the process of getting information about the diseases and actually be able to react to the diseases in time,” he explained.
Mr Kasura said the 28 districts include Ntungamo, Kyankwazi, Kiryandongo, Nakasongola, Ntungamo, Kibale, Kakumiro, kiboga, Nakaseke, Kayunga, Luweero, Mubende, Mityana, Gomba, Kagadi, Mpigi, Mbarara, Bukomansimbi, Sembabule, Lyantonde, Lwengo, Masaka, Kyotera, Rakai, Isingiro and Kiruhura.
According to him, the second batch of motorcycles will go to 22 districts in the Irrigation for Climate resilience (ICRT) project, which was designed together with the Ministry of Water to combat effects of climate change.
“We are giving motorcycles for our component which involves the engineering capacity from the ministry of water to provide water and our extension workers moving to gardens to provide farmers with advice on how they have cultivated. We are giving them to the four project districts of Isingiro, Kanungu, Lamwo and Lira. Other districts will get later as the minister mentioned,” he said.
He added: “The strategy is to commercialize agriculture to move people from subsistence agriculture.”
