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Atiku David, acting production officer Logiri Sub-county explaining how they are managing the new crops. By Godwin Abedican Arua Atiku David, the acting production officer Logiri Sub-county in Arua district has said that there is some sign of hope for banana f
Atiku David, acting production officer Logiri Sub-county explaining how they are managing the new crops.
By Godwin Abedican
Arua
Atiku David, the acting production officer Logiri Sub-county in Arua district has said that there is some sign of hope for banana farmers in the Sub-Cunty after devastation of their banana plantations by the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) Disease.
Over 4 months ago, a team from Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) made a visit to the district and recommended that farmers should destroy all affected plants and allow a period of 3 months before replanting, which seems to be giving a positive outcome.
According to Atiku, following the collaborations with local council systems on the recommendations given, there was a call to the LC1s and LC2s whose areas were affected to adhere to a drawn plan towards eliminating the affected plants in their areas where a number of them were destroyed and after 3 months later restocking commenced with the new planting materials to the affected gardens.
He says that his office has been doing regular monitoring of the new crops as they consider the disease a critical issue and treat it as an enemy to the farmers with fears of what they will best do in case of a resurgence of the disease with efforts towards the permanent elimination of the disease.
Atiku further adds that, for study purposes they have don plantings at different intervals to inform decision making.
“As an extension worker, we have put up some crops at different times with some planted after 3 months, some after 3 and half months and some 4 months after removing the diseased plants. We depend on the outcome of National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) to see how the disease persists below or after 3 months. That’s what we have done and we intend to give the outcome to NARO when they come,” he added.
When observed, the new plants look healthy for now. As they grow, we intend to see what happens then scale up this to other parishes. At the moment, there are no threats to them. Currently, we are done with what was affected and we are ready to respond accordingly to any new cases.
According to him there are some farmers whose gardens have had clean planting materials despite the massive infection by the disease which gardens are now what they rely on as a source of planting materials including supplying other farmers from districts like Moyo, Adjumani, Koboko and Gulu when they come around.
“We have around 52 fields which are clean. We are still relying on them but by around July, Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) is also coming to join us. They will bring us more clean materials and we shall also set demos so that other farmers benefit from there. As per the new planting materials, it is demand driven and farmers demanding them pay one thousand shillings to the owners per sucker, that’s how farmers are helping each other,” he said during the interview.
On food security, Atiku said Logiri is food secure making it possible to support others including supplying refugee camps, while those who relied on bananas also have been on safer sides since they have multiple banana fields both in the valleys and around homesteads which were not all affected simultaneously with other forms of crops also grown.