Mbarara, (UG): Dairy farmers in areas affected by Foot and Mouth Disease in Mbarara City have now resorted to using pervious means to sell their products, such as milk and ghee outside the quarantine area despite efforts by the authorities to arrest the defiant individuals.
Nyakayojo, Rwenjeru, Rwemijina, Nyarubanga, and Katengyeto are among the areas in Mbarara District severely impacted by FMD.
On Thursday last week, the Minister of Agriculture, Hon Frank Tumwebaze told Parliament that quarantine restrictions in identified districts remain in place to avoid escalation of the disease.
The lawmaker stressed that the government is procuring vaccines which will later be made available on the market through a financial digital system managed, by the Ministry of Local Government. Mr Tumwebaze also noted that they guided the District technical team spearheaded by the RDC in writing on how non-affected areas could trade their products without interference.
The National Drug Authority has hence called on livestock farmers to be more vigilant and avoid being conned by unscrupulous individuals who sell fake Foot and Mouth Disease vaccines.
This comes from an operation which saw over six traders arrested for selling counterfeit drugs in the Kampala container village area.
The outbreak of FMD which happened in November 2023, has had over 37 districts affected by the debilitating outbreak of foot and mouth disease which has paralyzed and constrained the animal husbandry sector financially.
Mr Abiaz Rwamwiri, the public relations officer of the National Drug Authority, maintains that they are working relentlessly with security and the Ministry of Agriculture, to ensure that the culprits of illicit drugs on the market are brought down.
Meanwhile, livestock farmers have called upon the quick intervention from government before farmers lose their herds and livelihoods.
The MPs in their previous sittings expressed the bureaucracy in delaying the importation of the vaccines that have paralyzed the animal husbandry sector and tasked the government to allow cattle keepers to buy foot and mouth vaccines from authorized dealers as they await the government’s mitigate measures.
The government through the minister of agriculture still maintains its stand of upholding the quarantine measures.
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