Agony as Ntoroko loses 15,000 cattle to drought

Joint efforts. Herders assist a cow to stand in Rwebisengo Sub-county , Ntoroko District. Currently many animals are weak, while others are dying of starvation. PHOTO BY SCOVIA ATUHAIRE. 

THURSDAY MAY 11 2017

In Summary

·         Plight. According to the district veterinary officer, many cows have died due to starvation caused by lack of pasture and water.

By SCOVIA ATUHAIRE & FELIX BASIIME

Ntoroko. Herders in Ntoroko Distict have been left in agony as they count losses following the death of more than 15,000 cattle due to prolonged drought, district veterinary officials have revealed. 

Not only has the situation led to a drastic drop in prices of cattle, it has also put the lives of residents at risk as they have nothing left to depend on.

The small town that sits on the southern shores of Lake Albert has since July last year experienced constant floods and drought that have destroyed crops, pastures and swept away houses and roads.

According to the district veterinary officer, Dr Patrick Bagonza, this has painted a gloomy picture among the Tuku community.

“Many cows have died because of starvation due to lack of pastures and water. Some farmers had constructed dams but they all dried up,” Dr Bagonza said.
The areas most hit by drought are Budiba, Kibuuku, Kanaara, Bweramure, Butungama and parts of Rwebisengo Town Council among others.

Although some areas neighbour Semuliki National Park, herders have been denied access to the pastures in the park which has left their animals gaunt and feeble.

According to Dr Bagonza, the animals need to be supported in order to move since they cannot ably stand on their own.
Currently diseases like trypanosomiasis and ticks are on the rise due to the low immunity among cattle.

According to the district information officer, Mr Ibrahim Baluku, transacting businesses in Ntoroko has proved perilous as the area is hit by floods and drought back-to-back each year.

However, whenever the area is hit by catastrophes, the government only responds through donation of relief items like posho, beans, jerrycans and tents which residents say cannot sustain them for a long period.

Contaminated water
Residents in Rwebisengo Sub-county, which is the most drought hit, have no option left but to compete for the dirty salty pond water with their animals, which exposes them to higher risks of acquiring water borne diseases.

Although no human deaths have so far been reported, there are fears that if the situation is not arrested, it will get out of hand.

“If cattle keepers are taught how to make hay and silage for the future, I think this can solve the issue of shortage pasture during the rainy season. Hay and silage can be kept for long and used in future,” Dr Bagonza reasoned.

The Rwebisengo Sub-county chairperson, Mr Christopher Mujungu, observes that the drought has also affected the local revenue.

“The sub-county has been getting about 80 per cent of its local revenue from cattle. Government work is now at a standstill because we are depending on central government releases that cannot enable us push on with our community work,” Mr Mujungu said.

He added that in the last quarter, the sub-county received about Shs20 million in local revenue from cattle markets but this has since dropped to Shs12m this quarter.

The chairman Rwebisengo Cattle Keepers Association, Mr Charles Mujungu Kasoro, predicts harder times ahead.

Pledges
During the 2016 campaigns, President Museveni promised to extend water to the area to benefit people as well as feed their starving animals but the residents are waiting for the President to fulfill his pledge.

“President Museveni pledged to avail us safe water but we have never seen anything and yet we lose our cows to starvation every year,” Mr Kasoro noted.

According to Mr Kasoro, prices of cattle have gone so low because of the current situation. “We used to sell mature cows between Shs700,000 and Shs900,000 but now prices have gone down to as low as Shs50,000 to Shs70,000 for an emaciated cow and a dead one goes at Shs50,000 or just buried as we don’t get buyers,” he said.

Ntoroko District is inhabited by the Bakonjo and Batuku indigenous tribes as cultivators and cattle keepers respectively.
Batuku depend mostly on milk from their cattle because they don’t grow crops.

“Imagine living a culture of buying food, it means without money you cannot eat” he said.

Speaking to Daily Monitor, Mr Patrick Muhumuza , a meat dealer in Rwebisengo, noted that although prices have gone down, the demand for meat is also low as many cows are being slaughtered daily.

“Some months ago, I used to buy cows between Shs 200,000 and Shs 300,000 when sunshine was not much but now I buy them at Shs50,000 because many cows are dying. We slaughter them, dry the meat and sell it in markets depending on the size of dried meat; we sell between Shs 5, 000 and Shs12,000 per kg,” he said

Lobbying for support
However, the area Member of Parliament, Mr Gerald Rwemulikya, said he has already engaged the Prime Minister for relief and other interventions. 

Mr Rwemulikya said he received five tonnes of maize for planting in March. “I kept it because our people may eat the seeds because of drought and it is treated and poisonous”

According to the district chairman, Mr Timothy Kyamanywa, the drought and floods have always stretched the district budget and resources by increasing the cost of containing malaria, especially among the children.

Voices

“I have lost 82 heads of cattle since December 2016. These cows are my everything because they are my source of income. My children trek 5km looking for safe water for drinking,” Alexander Mujwara, cattle keeper

“Since the dry spell in December, 2016 I have nothing to prepare for my children because food prices have gone high and I have no money. We sometimes spend a day hungry because of lack of money,” Ester Kabarwani, resident