Elephants destroy Moyo gardens

Moyo Woman MP Joyce Moriku (2nd left) and the district chairman, Mr William Anyama (2nd right) talk to some of the farmers whose gardens were ravaged by elephants. Photo by SCOVIA ICETA

MOYO.

Farmers of Dufile Sub-county are counting loses after their crops were destroyed by elephants believed to have crossed from Nimule National Park in South Sudan.

The animals destroyed gardens of maize, cassava, potatoes and cotton, among others.

Mr Maurice Vuzi, the Dufile Sub-county chairperson, said the gigantic beasts invaded the sub-county on Monday at round 9pm and destroyed more than 35 acres of crops.

Scared
“We are not sure of our fate next season because every harvesting season, elephants destroy our crops, but this time they are coming in a large numbers. There are no control measures in place, that is why they roam freely from South Sudan to Uganda looking for food,” Mr Vuzi said.

Ms Alice Drajedio, one of the affected farmers in Pakaruhwe village, said: “We spend sleepless nights looking for ways of survival by planting crops but now how can we eradicate poverty in our area when elephants keep on destroying the crops in the gardens?”

Mr Williams Anyama, the Moyo District chairman, said the residents had done some good work as far as food production is concerned.
“But the continuous invasion by elephant in the area is a serious setback,” he said.

He noted that food security alone is a big problem to the people of Dufile Sub-county, which has far reaching negative implications.

Dr Joyce Moriku, the State minister for Primary Healthcare, who is also the Woman Member of Parliament for Moyo District, met with some of the affected farmers at Arra Trading Centre where she gave Shs500,000 to technical staff to facilitate them in the process of gathering data of the affected farmers.

Remedy
Officials from Food and Agricultural Organisation and Conservation International introduced the farmers to the chili pepper cloth as a cost-efficient anti-crop-raiding technique. Using the technique, chili is sprayed on the boundaries of the gardens, giving a smell that scares away the elephants.