How Covid has hampered national livestock census

The exercise was scheduled to take place between May 17 and May 28 and enumerators were expected to gather data from household based farms and large scale private and institutional farms.  

The exercise is aimed at helping government update data on all livestock types and breeds, production systems, access to veterinary services, land ownership and tenure systems, ownership of livestock by sex, labour and other inputs used and sources of water.

However, a snap survey done by this newspaper in various districts across the country reveal that the exercise has not kicked off in some areas and where it has started, it is at a slow pace.

In some districts, livestock farmers say they were not aware of the exercise.

“I only heard about the exercise from a friend who also got the information through the media.  Even if the exercise is still on, in this situation of coronavirus, I cannot allow visitors in my home,” Ms Esther Lajara, a mixed farmer rearing cattle, goats and pigs in Bugiri District, said during in an interview with Daily Monitor on Monday.

Enumerators no-show

Mr Jimmy Okee, the chairperson of Bukaya West Village, Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District, said enumerators who are supposed to conduct the exercise have not yet reached the area. 

“May be they [enumerators] feared Covid-19 and postponed the exercise, we are still waiting for them,” he said on Monday.

Mr Ernest Ssenyonjo, the chairperson of Bukaya East Village in the same municipality, said although an announcement was aired on one of the local radios in the area about the livestock census in mid-May, enumerators have not yet approached him.

“I am the one supposed to take them [enumerators] around to talk to the farmers, but I have not seen them,” Mr Ssenyonjo said.

In Yumbe District, Dr Neckyon Matinda, the district veterinary officer, said the livestock census had not yet been conducted in all the parishes, but they conducted sampling in select parishes.

“We had selected 153 enumeration areas in 10 parishes in the whole of Yumbe District, where four enumeration areas form a parish. 

We have already submitted the estimates we collected from those sampled areas to Ubos,” he said.

In Arua, a livestock farmer, Mr John Adriko, of Riki Village in Ayivu East Division, Arua City, said: “We had asked the veterinary department to halt the exercise due to Covid-19, but since we were not many, some of us completed the exercise without any problem. It affected other farmers who were not reached before the lockdown.”

In Maracha, the district veterinary officer, Dr Alex Candia, said the exercise was successful. 

“We conducted the exercise and a summary report has already been submitted to Ubos. West Nile is not part of the cattle corridor and the enumerators only sampled households that have animals. So, not all villages were covered,” Dr Candia said.

Fake results?

However, some sources intimated to Daily Monitor that in some districts, the enumerators simply concocted figures and submitted data to the district veterinary offices, which may cast doubt on the veracity of final data collected.

We, however, could not independently verify this allegation. 

Enumerators in some sub-counties, especially in the districts of Rakai, Lyantonde and Gomba, are reportedly withholding the data until they are paid their allowances. 

Each enumerator was reportedly promised Shs190,000 as allowance.

Mr Eugen Kitatire, the Kalangala District veterinary officer, said the exercise was completed, although the enumerators only covered a few sampled villages.

“Within the cattle corridor, the exercise was conducted evenly, unlike in other areas where a few areas were sampled, which is likely to affect planning,” Mr Kitatire said. 

In Rakai and Kyotera, both Dr Erias Kizito and Dr Godfrey Kimbugwe, the district veterinary officers respectively, said the exercise went on smoothly and they are in the process of paying allowances to the enumerators.

“By the time the President declared another lockdown, our officers had completed everything and we were collecting the information from different sub-counties. 

The enumerators have also received their allowances except for a few, whom we are planning to pay very soon,” Dr Kimbugwe said.

Dr James Kuna, the Kamuli District veterinary officer, said the lockdown has delayed the compilation of their final report on the census.

“The only challenge we got is that some farmers were unwilling to declare their animals, fearing that we will use this [information] to tax them heavily, which is not true,” he said. 

The Kamuli District chairperson, Mr Maxwell Kuwembula, said the census may not give accurate information on livestock statistics since they sampled only 192 out of 774 villages.

“The sample was limiting and our people were already worried of animal diseases in western Uganda. So telling them of enumeration and not medicine to vaccinate or treat their animals was not making sense to them, hence information was also limited,” he revealed.

Dr Patrick Bagonza Businge, the Ntoroko District production officer, said the exercise was smooth and by the time the President announced the new lockdown, they had already received data from the sub-counties and are currently compiling the final report.

Sembabule District

Dr Angelo Ssali, the Sembabule District veterinary officer, said they completed the exercise, but some enumerators in some sub-counties are yet to submit results. “The livestock census was successfully concluded. However, some materials from more than four sub-counties are yet to reach the district headquarters. We are improvising to see how we can transport the materials to the district and later to Ubos headquarters,” he said. 

However, Mr Godfrey Tumusime, a livestock farmer in Lwemiyaga Sub-county, no enumerator visited his farm.

“I have not heard about livestock census. May be if you are talking of the 2014 population census because they equally asked about the number of cows, goats and chicken we were rearing,” he said.

Mubende District

In Mubende, Dr James Ssematimba, the district veterinary officer, said by the time President Museveni announced the second lockdown on June 6, they had completed the exercise, but data was still at the sub-counties.

“Collecting data from  the sub-counties  is now a big challenge because our people cannot move from one place to another because of the ban on both private and public transport, but when the situation normalises, we will get it and send it to the centre [Ubos headquarters],” he said.

Mr Peter Makyati, the chairperson of Kansambya Village, Mubende District, said some livestock farmers shunned the exercise, fearing that government could use the data to impose hefty taxes on them.

“We did our part as local leaders, but some residents refused to cooperate with enumerators. Some enumerators are also still demanding their allowances and we hope government will pay them as promised,” he said.

 Agriculture ministry speaks out

Ms Charlotte Kemigisha, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said Ubos is the lead agency in gathering the census data and the ministry will only comment about the exercise after receiving the survey report. 

“We are at the receiving end and it is too early to comment on a survey whose findings Ubos has not yet shared with us,” she told Daily Monitor in telephone interview on Monday. 

Ms Kemigisha, however, urged farmers in areas where the exercise has not yet been conducted to be cooperative and give enumerators the right information.

“It will be unfortunate if farmers give wrong information to enumerators,” she said. 

By press time, attempts to get a comment from Mr Edgar Mbahamiza, the Ubos spokesperson, were futile.

Compiled by Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa, Fred Ssewajje, Phillip Wafula, Denis Edema, Sam Caleb Opio, Alex Ashaba, Sylvester Ssemugenyi, Malik Fahad Jjingo, Robert Elema, Felix Warom Okello, Robert Atiku, Wilson Kutamba & Paul Ssekandi.