Traders, consumers all set, but no Nsenene yet

November is traditionally known as a month of grasshoppers locally known as nsenene.

But unlike previous years, grasshoppers have this year delayed coming around, creating anxiety among trappers and traders who always make a killing from selling these delicious insects.

Consumers are also confused and some have in the past couple of weeks been checking popular markets for grasshoppers.

“We could be in serious business now, but we don’t know what the problem is,” Mr Solomon Sembatya, who deals in this seasonal business at Busega Market in Kampala, said yesterday.

At Nyendo, a Masaka City suburb, which is a traditional hub of grasshoppers, it is a different case this year.

Mr Sulait Mulindwa, a grasshopper dealer in Masaka City,  says he has invested Shs25 million, but doubts whether he will recover his money.

“I had high hopes that this season I would get some good money since we have had a lot of rain, but it seems grasshoppers will not be there this time round. Traditionally, they could start coming in the late week of October, but we are already into the second week of November,” Mr Mulindwa says.

Surprisingly, many people who collect or eat grasshoppers hardly know their origin, breeding, and migration patterns.

Ms Susan Kaikai, a grasshopper consumer in Soroti City, says by this time of the year, nsenene sellers would be in serious business, but the streets are dry.

“Whatever has happened to nsenene, it’s only God who knows,” she says.

Climate change
Mr Aloysius Ssemwogerere, the Kiboga District entomology officer, attributes the delayed grasshopper harvesting to climate change and global warming.

“This is what happens when seasons change. However much the grasshoppers are late, there is still hope that they will come around in early December,’’ he says.

Mr Edward Ssewagudde, the chairperson of Kiboga District Basenene Association, concurs with Mr Ssemwogerere, saying: “ We are still hopeful that we will harvest them [grasshoppers] any time. What bothers us are the money lenders who started demanding profits on the borrowed money yet we haven’t made any money.”  

In Arua City, Ms Loyce Acen, a dealer in grasshoppers, says: “We are having sleepless nights waiting for the grasshoppers. Last year, I earned about Shs500,000 and it helped me to pay school fees and enjoy my Christmas. But this year, there is no hope because the season has been delayed.”

She says by this time of the year, as has been the tradition, the grasshoppers would be in plenty. In some parts of Arua City, trappers managed to get grasshoppers on Sunday and a cup was being sold at Shs5,000.

Ms Grace Piboth, another dealer, says she borrowed Shs1 million to set up the grasshopper traps. 

“If the grasshoppers don’t come, then I do not know how I will repay the loan. Last year, I borrowed Shs600,000, but I managed to earn a profit of Shs400,000,” she explains.

In Maracha District, Ms Esther Afekuru, a resident of Oluvu Sub-county, says she used to buy grasshoppers cheaply in Arua City and sell them in places where they are scarce.

“We used to buy a cup of grasshoppers at Shs1,000, but this time, a cup is sold at Shs5,000 and I cannot risk working at a loss,” she says.

In Yumbe, Mr Luke Amadile, the district entomologist, said grasshoppers usually lay eggs in the sand and the eggs hatch when the weather is dry.

“This time, with the current elnino rain, the areas are flooded with water and I presume those eggs cannot hatch now. But let us wait and see whether some few will come,’’ he says.

Mr Kuraish Katongole, the chairperson of Old Masaka Basenene Association Uganda (OMBAU) in Greater Masaka, says they started noticing a declining grasshopper tred na decade ago.

“When volumes of grasshoppers trapped in Masaka started declining and migrated to other areas like Kisoro and Fort portal, it was a clear indicator that things were not right. We need scientists to carry out research and tell us why the trend,” he says. 

However, Prof Phillip Nyeko, an entomologist and lecturer at Makerere University, reveals that the continued use of pesticides is a great threat to grasshoppers and other insects, which breed in wetlands and forests. He calls for limited use of non-selective pesticides.

“There is still hope to get grasshoppers because November has just started, but our people need to change the way they look at the environment. Most of those insects will completely disappear if no efforts are made to protect their breeding grounds,” he says.

Investment
In the western town of Kabale, Ms Prossy Friday says she has so far spent Shs3.5m to connect electricity and buy items such as drums, fluorescent bulbs, and long corrugated aluminium sheets. 

“I have incurred extra costs of about Shs700,000 in replacing the electric bulbs that blow off regularly. I am planning to withdraw the equipment and take them to my stores because I have lost hope,” Ms Friday said.

Mr Geofrey Bakare, another grasshopper dealer in Kabale Town, says: “Umeme charges me Shs350,000 per bulb for every two months on special arrangement. I have about five big bulbs that are accompanied by five other small bulbs. I am still optimistic that anytime this month, the grasshoppers will come and I will recover my money.”

For Ms Ezra Tumuramye, who has set up his grasshopper trap in Burebane Cell Kanungu Town Council in Kanungu District, the breeding pattern for ensenene  seem to have changed. 

“I hired land and set up these traps in mid-October, paid the town council license fees, electricity and hired two people to keep watch, but I have never received any catch, which is demoralising,” he says.

The mayor of Kanungu Town Council, Mr Godfrey Karabenda, said the town council levied some charges on those who wanted to trap grasshoppers, but many traders are not doing business.

In Bundibugyo District, one of the grasshopper trappers, Mr Wilson Mbusa, told Daily Monitor yesterday that very few grasshoppers are swarming the prepared harvesting sites in the areas of Irambura Parish, Bukonzo Sub-county.

“They [grasshoppers] used to fall in lowland areas, especially in Bundibugyo Town Council, but now they have shifted to the hilly areas,” he says.

Rain pattern
Mr Moses Kathabasya, who has set up two trapping areas in Bukonzo Sub-county, is worried that heavy rains may further delay the grasshoppers.

“Grasshoppers don’t like heavy rains, we just need moderate rains otherwise we’re worried that they may not come in droves,” he says.    

Mr Javira Beturumura, the Bushenyi District entomologist officer, explains that there are two reasons why grasshoppers are reducing in numbers - one is climatic change and secondly the way trappers catch them is not sustainable.

He says there is ongoing research at Makerere University that will see the grasshoppers breed and sold commercially.

“As the origin, breeding, and migration patterns of grasshoppers remain a mystery, grasshopper trappers have been trying to find means of how they can breed these profitable insects on a farm so that they stop moving from area to another,’’ he said.

Over the years, Masaka has generally been known as a home of nseneneand the informal trade has been a valuable source of income for many people. Those who benefit from the grasshopper business include hardware owners, electrical appliance dealers, transporters, and those who fry them in markets.

How ensenene are trapped
Dealers use large shiny iron sheets lined up vertically into a barrel at the bottom with bright bulbs suspended to attract them to the trap. 
    
When the grasshoppers come to the lights, they circle around them until they fall onto the sheets, and slip into the barrels. While in the trap, they cannot escape. The market for ensenene is largely found in Uganda’s urban centres though many people in other countries are also developing appetite for this seasonal   delicacy.  
    
Grasshoppers are highly nutritious with proteins, fats, carbohydrates, ash and dietary fibers.

Compiled by Al-Mahdi Ssenkabirwa , Robert Muhereza,Malik F Jjingo,Joseph Kiggundu, Naume Biira ,Emmanuel Arineitwe, Milton Bandiho,Longino Muhindo &Simon Emwamu

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