Most of the pastoralists have been forced to sell off their cows for as low as Shillings 100,000. To date most farmers are continuing to lose their animals due to the prolonged drought.
Cattle farmers in Hoima have lost
over 200 cattle because of drought that has hit the district since October
2018.
The water dams used to water the
animals dried up as early as September 2018 leaving herdsmen crying foul. The
dry spell forced cattle farmers to drive their animals to Lake Albert and River
Wambabya for watering but many of them would collapse and die on the way due to
the long distance.
Most of the pastoralists have
been forced to sell off their cows for as low as Shillings 100,000. To date
most farmers are continuing to lose their animals due to the prolonged
drought.
The most affected cattle farmers
are from the areas of Kabale, Nyamasoga, Kayera,
Kiryamboga, Kabanda, Mbegu, Kapapi, Kasenyi lyato, lenju, Runga waaki, Tonya
and Kaiso in the sub counties of Buseruka, Kigorobya, Buhanika, Kyabigambire
and Kitoba. Some of the animals are now
at the danger of contracting the deadly foot and mouth disease since they are
not confined in one place.
Sam Ntambara, a cattle keeper at
Nyamasoga in Buseruka Sub County, says he lost 20 head of cattle in a period of
three months only. He says if the drought persists many of his animals could be
killed.
//Cue in; “Tugakitandikira mwaka
guhoire…
Cue out…ku gwa tandikire.”//
James Kandwanaho, a herdsman in
Tonya says he was forced to drive his animals to the neighboring Kitoba sub
county in search of pasture but still the situation is not any better. He has
30 cows since December last year.
//cue in; “Ekyanda Etutwaire kubi…
Cue out…binga buli kiro.”//
Victor Rugira, a pastoralist at
Runga in Kigorobya Sub County has lost 25 of his cows due to the long drought.
He says most of the dams that had been constructed in the area dried up in
October.
Geoffrey Komakech, the Hoima
District Production Secretary, says the drought has greatly affected cattle
farmers. He however, advises the
herdsmen to keep manageable numbers of animals given the continued levels of
drought in the district.
He explains that overstocking is
still a problem in the district because herdsmen are yet to embrace modern
livestock farming practices.
There are more than 300,000
cattle in Hoima district but annually over 1000 die due to lack of water and
pasture resulting from the long drought according to the statistics from the
district veterinary office.
Dr Patrick Ndorwa, the Hoima
District Veterinary Officer advises herdsmen to move their animals near the
lake where they can easily access water for their animals.
