First Lady advices farmers on Banana Bacterial Wilt preventions

The First Lady and Minister for Karamoja Affairs Janet Museveni has advised farmers in Ntungamo to avoid using the same agricultural tools already used

on a banana plant affected with the Banana Bacterial Wilt disease (BBW) before carefully treating them. She said that it is imperative to either wash the tools used on any affected plant in Jik or to pass them into very hot fire to kill the bacteria before their use on another plant in order to curb the spread of the BBW disease. She encouraged the farmers to remember to thank God with their harvest by actually reviving the practice of tithing in order for God to bless their gardens, protect them from disease and make their farms thrive.

Hon. Janet Museveni also MP Ruhaama, on a working tour of her constituency, was responding to out cries by the people about the Banana Bacterial Wilt which they said is rapidly spreading in Ntungamo District. This was during meetings held with the Sub County leaders and communities of Ntungamo and Itojo on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss progress of Government programmes’ implementation in their respective areas.

Mrs. Museveni said the Movement Government has a burden and duty to make the poor start earning an income through its people-centred programmes like NAADS and the Community Driven Development Programme (CDD) meant to directly benefit the grass root people. | She however regretted the still existing hurdles in the programmes implementation which she said are denying the fulfilment of Government’s objective. Among these are the different categories of farmers and variation in the money received by them. In response to a report that some farmers boycott trainings offered by the Advisory Services providers at Parish headquarters, Janet Museveni advised the trainers to endeavour visit each benefitting farmer and offer the service on site. She also advised the leaders to always use the radio to disseminate information. Mrs. Museveni advised the Sub County and District leaders to always hold such open forum meetings because they enable the communities know all the monies sent from Government through the various sectors and how it is benefitting them. The people of Ntungamo and Itojo Sub counties thanked the President and the NRM Government for taking over Ihunga Polytechnic as a Government Institution and for starting a Nursing school at Itojo Hospital.