The Federal Government of Germany has donated €2.3 million (about Shs 10Bn) to boost efforts of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) in the fight against the desert locusts that invaded Uganda earlier this year.
The share that Uganda will get is part of a €20 million (about Shs 84Bn), which FAO received from Germany to “implement a regional project for emergency livelihoods assistance to vulnerable farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists affected by desert locust in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda.”
“The donation will help families cope with the negative impact of the crisis and support them to re-engage in their livelihoods with priority given to women-headed households.” Uganda’s FAO Country Representative Mr. Antonio Querido told The Ugandan Wire.
Mr Querido further said that the households will also receive unconditional cash transfers for six months, crop and vegetable seed, animal feed as well as farming tools to assist in sustaining agricultural livelihoods.
Speaking to our reporter, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the German Embassy in Uganda, Hans Von Schroeder said their country remains committed to collaborating with Uganda to fight the unprecedented threat posed by desert locusts.
Germany’s donation is estimated to support about 4000 households and communities affected by the Desert Locusts, particularly in the most affected regions of Karamoja and Teso.
