AGRICULTURE – KMAUPDATES

Jun122020 by Ronald KabuubiNo Comments

President Yoweri Museveni says the commissioners who recently resigned from Uganda Revenue Authority were actually sacked because of corruption, Uganda Passes Budget of 45.5 trillion 2020/2021 financial year budget Presentation 20/21

2021 ELECTIONS, AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, Business, CORONAVIRUS, Covid 19 Donations, COVID-19, EAST AFRICA, FEATURE STORIES, INTERNATIONAL, INTERNATIONAL NEWS, UGANDA, Uganda Police Force, WORLD, World Health Organization

Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga@RebeccaKadagaUG#BudgetUg2020#PlenaryUg Before we commence the Budget Presentation, I would like on a sad note to inform the House about three events in the last four days, namely: the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza, the death of Amb. Onyanga Aparr & the death of Gen. Kasirye Gwanga. Uganda's Speaker Rt Hon Rebecca Kadaga. Uganda's Finance Minister Matia Kasaijja arrives to Present the Budget. Ugandan Members of Parliament Hon. Mary Karooro Okurut (R) with Hon. Naigaga Mariam. Hon. Mawanda and Hon Jimmy Akena,former Ugandan President Obote's Son Jimmy Akena. President Yoweri Museveni has said the commissioners who recently resigned from Uganda Revenue Authority were actually sacked because of corruption. Museveni, who was speaking a...

May152020 by Ronald KabuubiNo Comments

COVID-19 response must target African agriculture and the rural poor (by Olusegun Obasanjo and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe)

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE

ROME, Italy -- By Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, former Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Africa has so far escaped the worst health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the continent looks like it could be the worst hit from the economic fallout of the crisis: 80 million Africans could be pushed into extreme poverty if action is not taken. And disruptions in food systems raise the prospect of more Africans falling into hunger. Rural people, many of whom work on small-scale farms, are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the crisis. It is therefore vital that the COVID-19 response address food security and target the rural poor. At this time, the international developm...

May72020 by ShafiqNo Comments

Coronavirus – South Africa: Committees on Agriculture welcome the absorption of all employees in the reconfigured department

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, South Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, and the Select Committee on Land Reform, Environment, Minerals and Energy were today briefed by the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights and the Ingonyama Trust Board on their strategic and annual performance plans, and the medium term expenditure framework budget for 2020/21. The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Ms Thoko Didiza informed the committees that the department’s new reconfigured structure has been finalised by the Department of Public Service and Administration. She said, according to the new structure, the employees of the former two departments will be absorbed without any...

Mar312020 by ShafiqNo Comments

South Africa: Farmworker are vulnerable to labour malpractice

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, Business, ECONOMY, South Africa

The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development wishes to send a clear message to all employers in the agricultural sector to observe the provisions of the state of disaster regulations and the recommendations for hygiene, social distancing and other measures necessary to keep farmworkers and others in the agriculture sector safe and to fight transmission risk. Farmworkers are a pivotal link in the chain that keeps our nation healthy, ensuring adequate nutrition and food security. The committee has been informed that some conditions of employment of farmworkers are being infringed upon by employers and the necessary transport arrangements are not observed. Employers must also ensure that adequate arrangements are made for basic hygiene practice and other basic pr...

Feb262020 by ShafiqNo Comments

AFRICA: Ethiopia races against time to control locusts as the planting season starts.

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, Ethiopia, locusts

Cross-border swarm movements with Kenya and breeding continues in Southern EthiopiaROME, Italy, February 25, 2020/ -- The Government of Ethiopia is racing against time to control Desert Locusts as the February – May Belg season starts.With support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture is scaling up aerial and ground operations in Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' (SNNP) regions – Belg crop-producing areas."We are at a critical stage at which we need to save the next and subsequent harvests and safeguard the livelihood of the population," said Fatouma Seid, the FAO Representative in Ethiopia.FAO's surge support boosts operations as funding gap growsSo far, FAO Ethiopia has recei...

Feb262020 by ShafiqNo Comments

UGANDA: Agriculture ministry urges for more Shs16b to fight locusts

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, locusts, UGANDA

The Ministry of Agriculture has asked for another Shs16 billion to fight locusts. The Minister of Agriculture, Mr Vincent Sempijja, said the money is needed to control the locusts that have now spread to 23 districts. “We have asked for more Shs16 billion. Of this, Shs9b will be for the UPDF response team, Shs5.6b will be used to buy more chemicals and the rest shall be used to support lower local governments,” he told journalists in Kampala on Tuesday, February 25, 2020. “Locust swarms have now been confirmed in the regions of Karamoja, Teso, Acholi, Lango and Sebei,” he added. If the money is provided, it will bring the money allocated to locust control to Shs38 billion given that Shs22 billion had earlier been allocated for the purpose. Mr Sempijja dismissed claims...

Feb252020 by ShafiqNo Comments

New O-Level Curriculum- what was the Fuss?

AFRICA, African stars, AGRICULTURE, AUSTRALIA, Banking, BASKETBALL, EDUCATION, ZIMBABWE

Parliament of Uganda last week was a hive of eyebrow- raising moments and some calculated gaffes; two intruders crashed into parliament proceeding in acts erstwhile enthusiasts of ‘Taichi Movies’ will fondly reminisce! While, what appeared an unending O-Level curriculum hurricane was skillfully settled by the markswoman- The Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga who with every passing day is proving adept at allowing her will succeed. For the curriculum, the wishful objections were shrewdly sucked away. So, what was the Fuss; Are we ready? Is the Curriculum workable? Questions and objections that earlier came out. Yet, as we speak, Senior One Students from Nyakasura Boarding Secondary School in Fort Portal, Kabarole district are producing Coff...

Feb252020 by ShafiqNo Comments

UGANDA: 11 districts hit with Strange banana disease.

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, UGANDA

A strange disease has hit bananas in western region and is fast spreading in more than 10 districts with little or no response from government technocrats. The disease, which agricultural experts have not defined, was first reported mid last year but intensified last month and has reached epidemic scale. National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) scientists told Daily Monitor that the disease has not yet been characterised since it was first reported in July 2019. The western region produces up to 68 per cent of the country’s banana output, according to the 2009 findings of Uganda National Bureau of Statistics. Local farmers say technocrats and leaders have ignored them every time they approach them for help.Mr Fred Ndagano, one of the farmers in Kibaare in ...

Feb132020 by ShafiqNo Comments

SOUTH AFRICA: Cooperation models for transforming the agricultural sector.

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, Business, South Africa

South-South and triangular cooperation can foster smarter agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General tells UN panelROME, Italy, February 13, 2020/ -- The path to reducing unacceptable hunger levels "lies in our ability to transform the agricultural sector", FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today at a high-level panel here."We need smarter agriculture that works with, not against, nature, that properly values and remunerates the contributions of small-scale producers, fishers, pastoralists and indigenous peoples not only to food but to preserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem services," he said.The Director-General made his remarks at "Targeting Hunger: South-South and Triangular cooperation for Transforming Agriculture", an interactiv...

Feb102020 by ShafiqNo Comments

UGANDA: Government confirms outbreak of new deadly banana disease

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, UGANDA

The government has confirmed an outbreak of new and more deadly banana disease in western Uganda. The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), says the fast-spreading disease is drying up banana plants and wilting fruits at a terrifying rate. The ministry also said there is as yet no known drug that can be used to stop the disease. Sources from affected areas say the disease started manifesting last month, with Ntungamo and Kabarole being worst-hit districts. But in an effort to stop any panic among banana farmers, Mr Stephen Byantwale, the commissioner of crop protection at MAAIF, said the disease, although dangerous, is not comparable to banana wilt. “We know about it and we are in touch with district staff. This is not as serious as bacteria...

Jan302020 by ShafiqNo Comments

UGANDA: Government to spend Shs5b on weed control.

AFRICA, AGRICULTURE, UGANDA

The Ministry of Agriculture has earmarked Shs5 billion to control strange weeds that have invaded the country.Dr Ambrose Ogona, the director general of the National Agriculture Research Organisation (Naro), said the funds will be spent on conducting a countrywide survey and research programmes on the weeds.“Uganda has been affected by quite a number of foreign weeds. The most recent are the dodder, congress and salvinia molesta weeds that have been identified as a potential threat to the country’s economic development,” Dr Ogona said on Friday.He was speaking to district leaders and coordinators of Operation Wealth Creation during a review of the National Agriculture Advisory Services activities in Teso Sub-region in Kumi District.Dr Ogona said the weeds affect grazing fields, w...