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Department of Crop Protection – Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries

Department of Crop Protection

Directorate of Crop resources

Department of Crop Protection

The department is responsible for sustainable crop pests and diseases control for improved food security and household incomes in Uganda and is headed by Mr. Byantwale Tibeijuka Stephen who is the current Commissioner at the Department of crop protection

Direct contact office of the commissioner

Office of Commissioner for Crop Protection

Tel: 0414-320115/0414-320187/0414-320801

Email: ccp@agriculture.go.ug; ccpmaaif@gmail.com

Objective

To support control of crop pests and diseases for improved and sustainable food security and household incomes in Uganda

key functions and outputs

Key Functions

  • Formulate, review and implement policies, legislations, standards, plans, guidelines and strategies for controlling the spread of crop pests and diseases in Uganda.
  • Conduct field and laboratory investigations of crop pests and disease outbreaks
  • Control crop pests and diseases in Uganda.
  • Monitor outbreaks and prevalence of crop pests and diseases in Uganda and including the neighboring countries
  • Conduct surveillance, collection, collation and dissemination of crop pests and disease epidemiological data
  • Guide MAAIF, local governments (LGs), and other stakeholders on crop pests and diseases control strategy
  • Support field extension staff, NGOs and LGs on crop pests and disease control.
  • Manage the provision and monitor the availability & use of major agricultural chemicals in control of crop pests and disease epidemics

Key Outputs

  • Policies, legislations, standards, plans and strategies for controlling the spread of crop pests and diseases in Uganda formulated, reviewed and implemented.
  • Field and laboratory investigation of crop pests and disease outbreaks in Uganda conducted
  • Crop pests and diseases controlled in Uganda
  • Outbreaks and prevalence of crop pests and diseases in Uganda and including neighboring countries monitored
  • Surveillance, collection, collation and dissemination of epidemiological data conducted
  • MAAIF, Local Governments & other stakeholders guided on crop pests and disease control strategy
  • Collaborative mechanisms established and operationalized with research & other national, regional and international organizations
  • Provision and monitoring of the availability & use of major agricultural chemicals managed
  • Field extension staff, NGOs and Local Governments supported in the area of crop pests and disease control

Statutory instruments

  1. Plant Protection and Health Act, 2016
  2. Plant Variety Protection Act, 2014
  3. Plant and Seeds Act, 2006
  4. Agricultural Chemicals (Control) Act, 2006

Strategies, Policies and guidelines;

  1. The National Fertilizer Policy and National Fertilizer Strategy, 2017
  2. The Cassava Brown Streak Disease Control Strategy (draft)
  3. The National Fall armyworm Control Strategy (draft)
  4. Banana bacterial wilt control training manual and Guidelines
  5. Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease Control Strategy and Guidelines

 

ONGOING PROJECTS;

Project 1386; Crop Pests and Disease Control Project phase 2

Responsible Officer: Mr. Byantwale Tibeijuka Stephen (Project Coordinator)

Start date; 1st July 2015 end date: 30th June 2020

Objective:

To reduce crop losses due to pests and diseases from average of 30 - 40% to below 10% by 2020; equip staff with up-to-date knowledge and skills to control crop pests and diseases effectively and in an environmentally safe manner and strengthen surveillance, forecasting and diagnostic system through;

  1. To control crop pests and diseases particularly epidemics including Banana bacterial wilt (BBW), Coffee Twig Borer (BCTB), Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR), Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD), Coffee Stem Borer, Armyworms, Quelea birds, Fruit flies, Pseudocercospora leaf & fruit spot in citrus, Parthenium weed, Striga weed, Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MNLD) from the current average of 50% to less than 10%
  2. To annually train Ministry staff and equip them with up-to-date knowledge and skills to control pests and diseases effectively in an environmentally safe manner
  3. To train staff from local governments and farmers and technically back them up in the control of pests and diseases reducing the pre- and post-harvest losses where 10-20% and 20 – 30% losses of the yield are incurred, respectively
  4. To strengthen a pest and disease surveillance, forecasting, monitoring and diagnostic system to enable timely and effective control of pests and diseases
  5. To strengthen plant quarantine system to protect Uganda’s agriculture against foreign pests and diseases by ensuring all plant/plant products imports are free from foreign pests and diseases
  6. To support the plant health inspection and certification services, to ensure that Uganda’s exports are free of pests and diseases and are competitive in the international markets

Key outputs

  1. Crop losses to pests and diseases minimized and crop yields increased
  2. MAAIF staff and Local Government staff trained on pests and disease control
  3. Diagnostic Laboratories, mini-Laboratories and mobile plant clinics equipped
  4. Agricultural exports free from pests and diseases
  5. Efficient plant health and certification services put in place
  6. Uganda’s agriculture protected from foreign plant pests and diseases
  7. Effective pests and disease surveillance, forecasting and monitoring system put in place

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Supporting organizations

The organizations collaborating with the department to improve on crop pests and disease control include;

  1. Center for Agricultural Biosciences International (CABI).
    • CABI (https://www.cabi.org/) through the plantwise (https://www.plantwise.org/) program supports the department to disseminate information on plant pest diagnosis and management through a network of mobile plant clinics.
    • CABI’s plantwise program has supported the department to train over 400 extension officers as plant doctors and supported establishment of over 200 mobile plant clinics in 92 districts.
    • CABI/Plantwise has supported the department to reach out to farmers with information on major crop pest and diseases diagnosis and control through plant health rallies.
    • CABI has also supported the department to develop crop pests and diseases reference materials.
    • CABI offers a diagnostic support to the department for new pest and disease problems in the country.
    • CABI also supports the department with online resources; the crop protection compendium (https://www.cabi.org/cpc/) and plantwise knowledge bank (https://www.plantwise.org/knowledgebank/) from which crop protection information is accessed. This is important for pests risk analysis and pest surveillance.
  1. Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa (DLCO-EA) (http://www.dlcoea.org.et/).
    • DLCO-EA is a regional pest and vector management organization established by an International Convention signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1962.
    • Its mandate is to promote control operations and forecast techniques against upsurges and plagues of the desert locust, as well as of the larvae of the African armyworm moth, the grain-eating birds and the tsetse fly that transmits the deadly human sleeping sickness.
    • The organization supports the department in control of migratory pests such as the African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta), grain eating quelea birds (Quelea quelea), and the locusts (Schistocerca gregaria)
  1. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT (http://www.cimmyt.org/).
    • CIMMYT works throughout the developing countries to improve livelihoods and foster more productive, sustainable maize and wheat farming. The center targets critical challenges, including food insecurity and malnutrition, climate change and environmental degradation.
    • Through collaborative research, partnerships, and training, the center helps to build and strengthen a new generation of national agricultural research and extension services in maize- and wheat-growing nations.
    • CIMMYT supports the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries through the Department of Crop Protection and National Agricultural Organization (NARO) through training and support development of resistant varieties in control of Maize lethal necrosis disease (MLND), Fall armyworm and Wheat rust (race Ug99).
  1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations;

FAO (http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/) promotes Sustainable Intensification of Crop Production through integration and harmonization of all appropriate crop production policies and practices aimed at increasing crop productivity in a sustainable manner, thereby meeting key millennium development goals aimed at reducing hunger and preserving the natural resources and environment for future use.

FAO supports the department through;

  • Development and strengthening of the national capacity to monitor and respond effectively to trans boundary and other important pests outbreaks
  • Conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources with strong linkages between conservation, plant breeding and seed sector development
  • Policies and technologies appropriate to needs of a country and/or region to reduce negative impact of pesticides

Currently FAO supports the Ministry through the department of crop protection on control and management of the Fall armyworm outbreak. The organization also supports the Ministry on management of the Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease (MLND) epidemic.