5th Wave of Desert Locusts Successfully eliminated

14/08/2020

Napak, 14th August 2020. The Joint Control Teams deployed to the field have successfully eliminated the 5th wave of Desert Locusts that had reached Napak District.

The report on activities as highlighted by Mr. Stephen Byantwale the Commissioner for Crop Protection in the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries indicates this achievement by the teams made up of District Entomologists, Crop Protection Officers from the Ministry and Extension Workers with reliable front-line support from the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF).

The control operations involved use of both aerial spraying and ground spraying, applying pesticides and protective gear provided by Government and Partners including the FAO, Russian Embassy, Bayer International, the Chinese Embassy and the Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa.

Monitoring Successful Operations

Today, Hon. Hellen Adoa the Minister of State for Fisheries has completed a tour of the areas of operation of the Desert Locust Control teams including Napak where the 5th wave has been successfully eliminated. The Minister also visited the training centre where awareness about Desert Locusts and Control of the Pests is done.

Reinforcement

After the successful elimination of the 5th wave of Desert Locusts in Napak District, Crop Protection Officers from the Crop Protection Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries are actively carrying out refresher training for District Agricultural Officers from Districts in North and North Eastern Uganda.

Refresher training for District Agricultural Officers from Districts in Northern and North Eastern Uganda is ongoing to increase preparedness, picking from lessons and experiences of the past 5 waves, successfully eliminated by the Desert Locust Control Teams.
Mission Accomplished: The Aerial Spray Aircraft from the Desert Locust Control Organisation for Eastern Africa has touched down at the Moroto Airport after use in the successful elimination of the 5th wave of Desert Locusts in Napak District.

Notes for editors

About Desert Locust Control in Uganda

General Resource and Information Page: https://www.agriculture.go.ug/desert-locust-control/

Support from the Russian Embassy: https://www.agriculture.go.ug/desert-locust-control-excerpt-from-ministerial-statement/

Support from the People’s Republic of China: https://www.agriculture.go.ug/desert-locust-control-the-chinese-embassy-reinforces-ugandas-capacity-to-control-desert-locusts/

Support from the FAO

Support from Bayer International:

About the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries is a Ministry in the Government of Uganda charged with creating an enabling environment in the Agricultural Sector.

The Ministry formulates, reviews and implement national policies, plans, strategies, regulations and standards and enforce laws, regulations and standards along the value chain of crops, livestock and fisheries.

Vision: A competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector.

Mission: To transform subsistence farming to commercial agriculture.

Strategic Objectives

  • To initiate the formulation and review of the policy and legal framework for the sector
  • To establish and implement systems for service provision in the sector
  • To strengthen and implement strategies, regulatory framework, standards, institutional structures and infrastructure for quality assurance and increased quantities of agricultural products to access and sustain local, regional and export markets
  • To design and implement sustainable capacity building programmes for stakeholders in the agricultural sector through training, re-tooling, infrastructure, provision of logistics and ICT
  • To develop strategies for sustainable food security
  • To develop appropriate agricultural technologies for improved agricultural production, productivity and value addition through research
  • To develop effective collaborative mechanisms with affiliated institutions and
  • To take lead and establish a system and institutional framework for agricultural data collection, analyses, storage and dissemination to stakeholders including Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is made up of four Directorates including the Directorate of Crop Resources, Directorate of Animal Resources, Directorate of Agricultural Extension Services and the Directorate of Fisheries Resources each with Departments, Divisions and Partnership Projects.

The Departments of the Ministry which do not fall directly in the above include the Department of Agricultural Planning and Development, the Human Resource Department, the Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Agricultural Infrastructure, Mechanisation and Water for Agricultural Production.

The Ministry is also made up of seven Agencies including the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), Dairy Development Authority (DDA), Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and Coordinating Office for the Control of Trypanosomiasis in Uganda (COCTU) and the National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank (NAGRC&DB).