Con men cheat Masaka farmers
Toiling. A pig farmer feeds her animals in Masaka District recently. PHOTO BY MARTINS E. SSEKWEYAMA
What you need to know:
- Dr Mayega said some farmers are allowing the fraudsters to access their farms without first ensuring that all their apparatus is disinfected as recommended.
- To avert the further spread of the virus, Dr Mayega said the district has intensified farmers’ sensitisation campaigns to dissuade farmers from seeking services of fake veterinary officers
MASAKA. Fraudsters are taking advantage of an outbreak of swine fever in Masaka District to hoodwink unsuspecting farmers in the area, veterinary experts have warned.
Dr Lawrence Mayega, the Masaka District production officer, said although the fever is incurable, fraudsters are soliciting money from farmers in the district under the pretext of treating and vaccinating their pigs.
“We have received reports about farmers who are incurring double losses of paying money to unscrupulous people who besides administering fake injections also carry the virus to more pigs,” he said during an interview yesterday.
Dr Mayega said some farmers are allowing the fraudsters to access their farms without first ensuring that all their apparatus is disinfected as recommended. To avert the further spread of the virus, Dr Mayega said the district has intensified farmers’ sensitisation campaigns to dissuade farmers from seeking services of fake veterinary officers .
Many farmers in the district reportedly lost their pigs to this highly contagious viral infection. Mr Ritah Nantume, the Bukakata Sub-county community development officer, said the outbreak of swine fever has affected government programmes like Youth Livelihood Programme and Women Fund projects, where some beneficiaries had opted for piggery.
