The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A new breed of desert locusts has invaded Kumi district, causing destruction to farmers in the area. The insects raided the country for the second time through Amudat district on Saturday and spread to the districts of Nakapiripirit, Nabilatuk and Moroto by Monday morning.
In Kumi, they were first reported in Ongino sub county on Sunday evening and spread to four other sub-counties in Kumi district by Monday.
Unlike the yellow swarms of locusts that invaded the country in February, the new breed of locusts is brownish in colour. According to Kumi District Production Officer Rajab Ogogl, the new breed consists of very young, strong and destructive locusts.
Vincent Apedel, a teacher and farmer in Akum Parish, Ongino sub county says the insects landed on his garden of sorghum, eating all the plant to ground level.
Jacob Ekiru, another farmer in Ongino says he has lost three gardens of green peas, millet and sorghum in hours. He told our reporter that by the time the army arrived to spray the insects, the damage had already been caused.
Early on Monday morning, soldiers started spraying gardens in Kumi as a way of taming the destructive locusts. They used motorized hand pumps that killed a reasonable number of desert locusts in Ongino and other sub-counties.
Since the invasion of desert locusts in February, the government has appropriated 22 billion Shillings to manage the insects. An aircraft was also secured to help spray the insects which suddenly disappeared for more than a month.
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