Swarms of Desert locusts have spread to more districts of Nabilatuk and Nakapiripirit in the Karamoja sub-region according to reports.
This was confirmed by the Minister of State for Agriculture Aggrey Bagiire during an emergency meeting held last evening further expressing fear that the swarms could spread to more districts in Karamoja and Teso.
The Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda yesterday confirmed the presence of locusts in the Karamoja sub-region in the sub-counties of Loroo and Karita in Amudat district following their crossover from Kenya.
Rugunda assured the nation that the technical team was on alert and ready to handle the invasion. The Prime Minister said a team of 2,000 UPDF officers were leading from the frontline to combat the invading swarms of desert locusts.
He said they were going to use manual and motorized sprays on the ground to spray the locusts. This, according to Rugunda is expected on Monday. The ground team will be supported by aerial spraying by planes.
The team of armed forces on the ground also includes the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda Prisons.
Apart from spraying, the armed forces were going to be engaged in mobilization and mapping of the areas invaded by the desert locusts.
Now Bagiire says some pumps both manual and motorized are to be airlifted to the affected sub-region this morning so that the UPDF soldiers deployed on the ground can start spraying.
He adds that they expect an update this morning from a team that has been dispatched to negotiate the price for the two aircrafts which are going to be hired for aerial spraying.
Bagiire, however, says the pesticides to be used by the aircraft are not readily available in the country.
