Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo Chigamoy said on Friday that he received a letter from the President revealing that some cattle keepers were already fleeing forceful eviction from the region leaving behind their cattle.
The tractors are among the 326 hand held single axle 16 HorsePower (HP) tractors and 28, 75 HorsePower (HP) units of tractors that the government has donated to West Nile, Lango and Acholi sub regions to scale up agricultural mechanization and improve commercial farming.
In 1989, President Yoweri Museveni instructed the Ministry of Lands and Surveys to allocate 10 square miles of land to enable them to set income-generating activities and education multi-faced agricultural projects.
Speaking at the project launch in Gulu City, Edward Khaukha, the World Vision Uganda Regional Programme Manager for Northern/Karamoja Region says the FMNR project seeks to promote the conservation of natural tree cover by farmers.
Gulu District according to a report from the District Veterinary Department has a total of 54, 363 herds of cattle but 48.63 percent of them belong to the migrant cattle keepers, the Balaalo group of people.
Umar Ochen Bashir, a prominent leader guiding the Toyoro Kongokinyinyir Nopimpim (Survive with Your Sweat) Slow Food Community Group, highlighted a pressing issue at the Alvers Hotel in Mukono.
The members argued that although the primary objective of the platform was to address drought in arid and semi-arid lands, it was evident that the other climatic excesses that they sought to expand the focus to were also a perennial problem that disrupted life whenever tragedies occurred.
An army officer who commanded the arrest and only identified himself as Innocent from Lugore barracks notes that the suspects assumed roles they weren’t assigned in the implementation of evicting the cattle keepers.
Speaking at Okwang Town Council Headquarters during the launch on Wednesday, Gen. Wamala explained that the ministry committed to rehabilitating the road to foster development through the transportation of agricultural products.
On February 2, 2023, MAAIF restricted the movement of goats, cattle, sheep, and their products within and outside the district following an outbreak of FMD in Lakang and Pogo Sub-Counties, in line with the Animal Act Cap 38.
During the meeting, attended by MP Okot and local leaders, the community expressed strong
discontent with both the NFA and Agago district officials. They condemned the intended planting of markers, denouncing it as a government ploy to claim their land under the disguise of establishing a forest reserve that they believe
doesn't exist in the area.
Paul Mwambu, Commissioner in charge of crop inspection and certification at the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed the center's role in maintaining phytosanitary standards essential for international trade. However, he highlighted the necessity for interventions at the farm and transport levels to ensure consistent quality from production to exit points.
Minister of State for Northern Uganda, Grace Freedom Kwiyocwiny said the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries had advised that the animals in Amuru District should not be moved because of the presence of FMD in the district.
Bernard Loum, the coordinator of CSOs working towards restoring the depleted forest cover in northern Uganda, said although they started effecting the resolution in 2020, they didn’t meet the one million target because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cuts in donor funding which also halted planting in the past three years.
Many agricultural staff in the districts have been struggling to deliver services, citing a lack of transport and facilitation. Matters worsened in the current financial year when the Ministry of Finance discontinued the Agricultural Extension Grant, which traditionally supported districts in providing advice to farmers in the field.
The State Minister for Northern Uganda Rehabilitation Grace Freedom Kwiyucwiny in a November 7 letter to all Resident District Commissioners (RDCs) in Lango, West Nile, and Acholi Subregion seen by this reporter noted that five major routes have been identified for the exit of the noncompliant cattle keepers.
The hand- held tractor which has the capacity to plough three acres of land using three liters of fuel (diesel) per day can also be used to pump water for irrigation, milling if a milling component is attached to it and it can also be used to for trenching.
