2nd Lockdown: Food Prices Double in Gulu

GULU – People in Gulu are struggling to feed their families as food prices soar, spurred largely, by the second national lockdown and ban on inter-district movement and cattle markets.

Essential food prices and commodities have nearly doubled, according to people interviewed for this story.

In Gulu Main Market, the price of about 65 to 70 pieces of ginger, measuring a little less than four inches each, have soared to Shs 200,000 up from Shs 130,000.

A kilogram of garlic goes for Shs 7,000 up from Shs 2,200 while watermelons have disappeared from the shelves.

Meanwhile, a kilogram of beef (meat) which sold for Shs 12,000 before the lockdown has climbed to between Shs 14,000 and Shs 16,000.

Jackie Adure, a market vendor at Gulu Main Market told theCooperator in a recent interview that, “We have lost supplies from Kampala but the problem again is that our local farmers haven’t taken advantage here to produce them,” Adure explained.

Patrick Omona, the vice chairman Gulu City Livestock and Butchery Cooperative Saving and Credit, said they have decided to increase the price to make some profit.

Omona said the least a cow costs on the market is Shs 1 million.

https://thecooperator.news/farmers-in-tears-after-suspension-of-livestock-markets

“We were operating at a loss because we would only get about Shs 900,000 from the sale of meat, which is much lower than what we spend to buy it,” Omona said.

Geoffrey Akera, a butcher at Lacor trading Centre, said the closure of auctions largely to curtail the spread of the coronavirus has cut off supplies of animals for slaughter.

Jenifer Oyella, a food vendor in Laroo, said the current food prices in the markets have affected her restaurant business.

“I attempted to increase the prices of my local dishes and suddenly I lost customers and now I have suspended the operation until the situation becomes normal,” Oyella added.

Surprisingly, while prices of other commodities have nearly doubled in the district, beans prices have dipped.

At Cereleno Market in Gulu City, a kilogram of beans dropped by Shs 500 from Shs 2,500 while a bag of beans in the villages has fallen from Shs 180,000 to Shs 130,000 currently.

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Cooperatives Fail The Loans Acquisition Test

NWOYA – Without assets to stake as collateral, cooperative societies in the northern district of Nwoya have failed to snap up agricultural loans available in several banks.

John Bosco Odong, a member of Kochgom Cooperative Society, told theCooperator in a recent interview, that requirements for cooperative societies to get an agricultural loans are quite stringent.

“Farming being an enterprise that comes along with several challenges, banks fear they might lose money since in agriculture there are several risks,” he said

According to him, banks refer to farming as a risky enterprise and are therefore reluctant to dole out loans to farmers.

Alfred Ocan, chairperson of Nwoya Rice and Cassava Cooperative, said they have tried severally and failed to get bank loans.

“We have now turned to microfinance support centers since banks cannot help us.” he said.

He said the government needs to revise the loan policy on collateral and other things, so that farmers can be supported.

Joana Akullu, a member of Amilobo Cooperative Society in Gulu, said, “It’s more than 10 years now since the government allocated funds for farmers but in our group we have never accessed such loans.” Kenneth Kitara, the District Commercial Officer, said some cooperatives have not been able to access loans because many lack documentation on what exactly they do.

https://thecooperator.news/300-nwoya-farmers-targeted-for-irrigation-project/

“You might find that a cooperative has a storage facility where they gather their produce, but when you put them to task to explain the details of the storage and acreage of each farmer they get stuck,” he said.

“Many cooperatives have scanty documentation to attract bank loans, that is why many banks shunned them,” he said.

“We always put them to task to have proper records so that they can tap support from the government agricultural loans that were availed to them to improve their household income and create jobs,” he said.

In 2010, the government availed loans to farmers in Uganda and the money was channeled through banks and some microfinance institutions.

In 2016, the Central Bank revealed that the agricultural sector had the highest level of non-performing loans in Ugandan banks with 15.3 per cent.

Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of our countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The post Cooperatives Fail The Loans Acquisition Test appeared first on The Cooperator News.

Cooperatives Fail The Loans Acquisition Test

NWOYA – Without assets to stake as collateral, cooperative societies in the northern district of Nwoya have failed to snap up agricultural loans available in several banks.

John Bosco Odong, a member of Kochgom Cooperative Society, told theCooperator in a recent interview, that requirements for cooperative societies to get an agricultural loans are quite stringent.

“Farming being an enterprise that comes along with several challenges, banks fear they might lose money since in agriculture there are several risks,” he said

According to him, banks refer to farming as a risky enterprise and are therefore reluctant to dole out loans to farmers.

Alfred Ocan, chairperson of Nwoya Rice and Cassava Cooperative, said they have tried severally and failed to get bank loans.

“We have now turned to microfinance support centers since banks cannot help us.” he said.

He said the government needs to revise the loan policy on collateral and other things, so that farmers can be supported.

Joana Akullu, a member of Amilobo Cooperative Society in Gulu, said, “It’s more than 10 years now since the government allocated funds for farmers but in our group we have never accessed such loans.” Kenneth Kitara, the District Commercial Officer, said some cooperatives have not been able to access loans because many lack documentation on what exactly they do.

https://thecooperator.news/300-nwoya-farmers-targeted-for-irrigation-project/

“You might find that a cooperative has a storage facility where they gather their produce, but when you put them to task to explain the details of the storage and acreage of each farmer they get stuck,” he said.

“Many cooperatives have scanty documentation to attract bank loans, that is why many banks shunned them,” he said.

“We always put them to task to have proper records so that they can tap support from the government agricultural loans that were availed to them to improve their household income and create jobs,” he said.

In 2010, the government availed loans to farmers in Uganda and the money was channeled through banks and some microfinance institutions.

In 2016, the Central Bank revealed that the agricultural sector had the highest level of non-performing loans in Ugandan banks with 15.3 per cent.

Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of our countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

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Rising Layoffs Worry Nwoya Casual Workers

NWOYA – Commercial farmers in Nwoya are cautiously scaling back operations and increasing layoffs of casual labor jobs largely to cope with the grim Covid-19 restrictions on movement.

The rising lay-offs of casual laborers is a big worry for cooperative farmers who live off odd jobs on commercial farms.

Alfred Ocan, the chairman of Nwoya Cassava and Rice Cooperative Society, said casual workers live off the little money earned from odd farm jobs each day but as Covid-19 strikes a second time, some commercial farmers have opted to try other businesses.

“Many of our members do odd jobs on commercial farms and if work scales down some cooperatives are also affected,” he said.

According to him, several casual workers have been affected by these layoffs.

https://thecooperator.news/nwoya-rice-farmers-hit-by-falling-prices/

The little they have been earning on farms, they have used it to open up their land for farming while others have bought shares in cooperative societies, he said.

Joyce Lamunu, a casual laborer, told theCooperator that her employer laid off 25 of his 50 casual laborers.

“We have been trekking every day to farms to do odd jobs but as I talk now many of us have been laid off. They feared that we might take Covid-19 at the site and we infect others,’’ she said

The District Commercial Officer Kenneth Kitara said Covid-19 restrictions on inter-district movement are to blame.

“Casual laborers at the moment cannot be moved from one district to another, that has made commercial farmers to scale down their activities,” he said.

Kitara said the affected farmers are being encouraged to put their energies into farming their private land.

Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of our countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The post Rising Layoffs Worry Nwoya Casual Workers appeared first on The Cooperator News.

Rising Layoffs Worry Nwoya Casual Workers

NWOYA – Commercial farmers in Nwoya are cautiously scaling back operations and increasing layoffs of casual labor jobs largely to cope with the grim Covid-19 restrictions on movement.

The rising lay-offs of casual laborers is a big worry for cooperative farmers who live off odd jobs on commercial farms.

Alfred Ocan, the chairman of Nwoya Cassava and Rice Cooperative Society, said casual workers live off the little money earned from odd farm jobs each day but as Covid-19 strikes a second time, some commercial farmers have opted to try other businesses.

“Many of our members do odd jobs on commercial farms and if work scales down some cooperatives are also affected,” he said.

According to him, several casual workers have been affected by these layoffs.

https://thecooperator.news/nwoya-rice-farmers-hit-by-falling-prices/

The little they have been earning on farms, they have used it to open up their land for farming while others have bought shares in cooperative societies, he said.

Joyce Lamunu, a casual laborer, told theCooperator that her employer laid off 25 of his 50 casual laborers.

“We have been trekking every day to farms to do odd jobs but as I talk now many of us have been laid off. They feared that we might take Covid-19 at the site and we infect others,’’ she said

The District Commercial Officer Kenneth Kitara said Covid-19 restrictions on inter-district movement are to blame.

“Casual laborers at the moment cannot be moved from one district to another, that has made commercial farmers to scale down their activities,” he said.

Kitara said the affected farmers are being encouraged to put their energies into farming their private land.

Buy your copy of theCooperator magazine from one of our countrywide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

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Museveni To Farmers: Don’t Overprice Milk

KAMPALA – Insidious cattle diseases such as Foot and Mouth and Anthrax have diminished the quality of the country’s animal products, made farmers to overprice milk and narrowed their competitive edge in the international market”, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Tubuhaburwa has said.

“The global demand for milk products is 906 billion litres valued at US$ 458 billion therefore our present production of 2.6 billion litres of milk can enter the global market provided you solve the problem of cattle diseases such as Foot and Mouth, Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia (CBPP) and Anthrax and of course also offer competitive prices,” the president said in his annual State of the Nation Address last week at Kololo Independence Grounds.

“Therefore, the Banyankore I once met at Rwakitura clamoring to over price milk need to know more about this global competition for market with countries such as New Zealand and Holland,” the president added.

“So, one day I attended a meeting at Rwakitura with the Banyankore. They said we want more money for our milk but if you overprice milk, how will it compete in London, Beijing, New Delhi and New York with milk from other countries? So, we need to wake up our people that we are struggling in a global environment,” he said.

Museveni said Uganda needs to produce quality products to compete internationally.

“Our people need to know that if we are to compete for global markets, our products must be of good quality, must be safe but also cheaper than what other countries are offering,” he said, adding that finding market for agricultural products is not an issue, the post-harvest mishandling of the products is.

“The global demand for maize and maize products is 852 million metric tons valued at US$ 152 billion therefore our production of five million tons of maize can be absorbed provided we solve the problem of quality, getting rid of the shameful aflatoxins- caused by people who mishandle food during harvesting. Why do you mishandle people’s food?” Museveni asked

He said demand for Ugandan products is high.

“Fortunately, the global demand is able to take all the coffee because the global coffee demand is 166.34 million tons and the global demand for milk products is 906 billion litres, valued at US$ 458.1 billion. Therefore, our present production of 2.6 billion liters of milk, can enter the global market provided we solve the problem of cattle diseases (Foot and Mouth, CBPP, anthrax),” he said.

He also appealed to all Ugandans to join the money economy through practicing commercial farming.

“Let all the leaders stop confusing people by sending contradictory or divergent messages. The NRM message ever since 1966 has been; all homesteads should join the money economy and stop working just for the stomach,” Museveni said.

He said the performance of industries in Uganda is still held back by the heavy costs of manufacturing, which include; exploitative commercial bank loans and high transport among others.

“In addition to our long-term goal of building a modern standard gauge railway, we are together with Kenya, rehabilitating the metric-gauge railway for immediate use because by road, a 20ft container costs US$19000 and a 40ft costs US$3200 to Mombasa yet by rail it costs only US$1400 for a 20ft and US$1900 for a 40ft, respectively,” he said.

https://thecooperator.news/hoima-milk-traders-urged-to-form-sacco-for-value-addition/

He also nudged the youths to adopt technology which will address unemployment in Uganda.

“I have been urging our people in the ICT sector to take advantage of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the world. India is earning US$191billion per year from this business of BPOs and employing 1.1million young people,” the president explained

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is a method of subcontracting various business-related operations to third-party vendors.

Museveni said he will not accept the minimalist approach of the Ministry of Finance where Ugandans generate wealth that is smaller than that of individual companies in some parts of the world.

“By 2026, Uganda’s population will be 48 million people. If each person is earning US$3,000, that will be US$144billion. Yet US$3,000 per person per year translates to Shs10.8million per year and this will just be people’s incomes, without including infrastructure,” he said.

However, the president believes that once COVID19 is kicked out, Uganda’s economy will resurrect.

“Before the Corona, we were earning US$1.5billion from tourism alone, hotels, banking, music, sports and professional services were moving on well until corona came in,” Museveni said.

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country- wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The post Museveni To Farmers: Don’t Overprice Milk appeared first on The Cooperator News.

Aupi Community Cooperative Fails To Cultivate Land

YUMBE – Aupi Community Cooperative farmers struggled for three years to find money to buy 200 acres of farmland.

Now, they can’t cultivate the huge acreage in the West Nile district of Yumbe.

They need tractors to open up the farmland but can’t find any to hire.

According to managers of Aupi Community Savings and Credit Cooperative Society, demand for agricultural products soared in Yumbe District spurred by the huge influx of refugees in need of food.

Farmers couldn’t match the demand for food since they didn’t have tractors to open up huge acreage of arable land.

https://thecooperator.news/trainings-key-to-growth-cooperatives-boss/

The Board Chairman of the cooperative Tohaabubakar Ijoga said, “Aupi cooperative has committed members who are ready to practice commercial agriculture but due to inaccessibility of tractor hire services by the group, members have resorted to small scale agriculture for domestic use.”

He said the cooperative has only Shs 65 million, which is too little to buy a tractor.

Meanwhile, Leonard Okello, the chief executive officer of Uhuru Institute for Social Development, advised the management of Aupi Cooperative to apply for tractors through government programmes such as Operational Wealth Creation (OWC).

“Use the available government programmes to bail you out from poverty, e.g. parish model and OWC, which target to eradicate poverty among organized and focused members in the community,” Okello said.

Amana Small, a member of the cooperative, said the members’ reluctance to repay loans has held back the cooperative’s progress and capacity to own tractors.

She said if the cooperative owned a tractor; it would be easier for group members to hire it at a low cost compared to tractors hired from private individuals.

She said hiring a tractor costs Shs120, 000 per acre and it’s hard to place an order because everyone wants to hire that one tractor.

“Uhuru please help us with a tractor such that we practice commercial agriculture for economic transformation,” Amana said.

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Traditional Herbalists In Tree Restoration Drive

GULU – Traditional herbalists in Acholi sub-region allied to Wise Women Uganda are replanting indigenous herbal trees, which are facing extinction.

Some of the endangered tree species include; Afzelia Africana, commonly known as Beyo and shea-nut, found only in Acholi and some parts of West Nile.

The trees are being felled indiscriminately by timber and charcoal dealers.

https://thecooperator.news/farmers-unite-to-push-shea-nuts-prices-up/

However, about 40 women, mainly traditional herbalists and birth attendants, said that in the past they could easily get indigenous medicinal trees and shrubs to treat patients but to date they can hardly find any.

Juliet Adoch, the director Wise Women Uganda, told theCooperator that they bought seven acres of land in 2016 to plant medicinal trees and shrubs.

“In our umbrella organization, we have traditional healers and traditional birth attendants and we all use medicinal trees to heal several ailments among the population, but since most of the indigenous tree species could not be found, we have embarked on restoration,” she said

She said they have several seedlings of Beyo, Shea-nut trees.

The women have also distributed seeds to farmers in the region and sensitized them on the medicinal benefits of indigenous trees.

Grace Acayo, a traditional healer, said they have struggled to get seeds of both Afzelia Africana and Shea-nut.

“A lot has been injected in this restoration initiative but all was aimed at seeing that indigenous trees are grown once again,” she said.

The tree replanting initiative has also been taken to schools so that the young generation can also embrace it as a means of fighting natural calamities that might result from environmental degradation.

The District Forest Officer James Ocaka lauded the initiative and urged the entire population to borrow a leaf from the women.

“Reforestation should be our responsibility and since women have taken the lead, there is a lot to learn from them,” he advised.

He however, decried the indiscriminative cutting of trees in the region.

In 2018, the Ministry of Water and Environment, suspended the cutting, transportation, and sale of Afzelia Africana and shea nut trees, and their products.

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country- wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The post Traditional Herbalists In Tree Restoration Drive appeared first on The Cooperator News.

Traditional Herbalists In Tree Restoration Drive

GULU – Traditional herbalists in Acholi sub-region allied to Wise Women Uganda are replanting indigenous herbal trees, which are facing extinction.

Some of the endangered tree species include; Afzelia Africana, commonly known as Beyo and shea-nut, found only in Acholi and some parts of West Nile.

The trees are being felled indiscriminately by timber and charcoal dealers.

https://thecooperator.news/farmers-unite-to-push-shea-nuts-prices-up/

However, about 40 women, mainly traditional herbalists and birth attendants, said that in the past they could easily get indigenous medicinal trees and shrubs to treat patients but to date they can hardly find any.

Juliet Adoch, the director Wise Women Uganda, told theCooperator that they bought seven acres of land in 2016 to plant medicinal trees and shrubs.

“In our umbrella organization, we have traditional healers and traditional birth attendants and we all use medicinal trees to heal several ailments among the population, but since most of the indigenous tree species could not be found, we have embarked on restoration,” she said

She said they have several seedlings of Beyo, Shea-nut trees.

The women have also distributed seeds to farmers in the region and sensitized them on the medicinal benefits of indigenous trees.

Grace Acayo, a traditional healer, said they have struggled to get seeds of both Afzelia Africana and Shea-nut.

“A lot has been injected in this restoration initiative but all was aimed at seeing that indigenous trees are grown once again,” she said.

The tree replanting initiative has also been taken to schools so that the young generation can also embrace it as a means of fighting natural calamities that might result from environmental degradation.

The District Forest Officer James Ocaka lauded the initiative and urged the entire population to borrow a leaf from the women.

“Reforestation should be our responsibility and since women have taken the lead, there is a lot to learn from them,” he advised.

He however, decried the indiscriminative cutting of trees in the region.

In 2018, the Ministry of Water and Environment, suspended the cutting, transportation, and sale of Afzelia Africana and shea nut trees, and their products.

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country- wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The post Traditional Herbalists In Tree Restoration Drive appeared first on The Cooperator News.

Traditional Herbalists In Tree Restoration Drive

GULU – Traditional herbalists in Acholi sub-region allied to Wise Women Uganda are replanting indigenous herbal trees, which are facing extinction.

Some of the endangered tree species include; Afzelia Africana, commonly known as Beyo and shea-nut, found only in Acholi and some parts of West Nile.

The trees are being felled indiscriminately by timber and charcoal dealers.

https://thecooperator.news/farmers-unite-to-push-shea-nuts-prices-up/

However, about 40 women, mainly traditional herbalists and birth attendants, said that in the past they could easily get indigenous medicinal trees and shrubs to treat patients but to date they can hardly find any.

Juliet Adoch, the director Wise Women Uganda, told theCooperator that they bought seven acres of land in 2016 to plant medicinal trees and shrubs.

“In our umbrella organization, we have traditional healers and traditional birth attendants and we all use medicinal trees to heal several ailments among the population, but since most of the indigenous tree species could not be found, we have embarked on restoration,” she said

She said they have several seedlings of Beyo, Shea-nut trees.

The women have also distributed seeds to farmers in the region and sensitized them on the medicinal benefits of indigenous trees.

Grace Acayo, a traditional healer, said they have struggled to get seeds of both Afzelia Africana and Shea-nut.

“A lot has been injected in this restoration initiative but all was aimed at seeing that indigenous trees are grown once again,” she said.

The tree replanting initiative has also been taken to schools so that the young generation can also embrace it as a means of fighting natural calamities that might result from environmental degradation.

The District Forest Officer James Ocaka lauded the initiative and urged the entire population to borrow a leaf from the women.

“Reforestation should be our responsibility and since women have taken the lead, there is a lot to learn from them,” he advised.

He however, decried the indiscriminative cutting of trees in the region.

In 2018, the Ministry of Water and Environment, suspended the cutting, transportation, and sale of Afzelia Africana and shea nut trees, and their products.

Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country- wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news

The post Traditional Herbalists In Tree Restoration Drive appeared first on The Cooperator News.