Hope Mafaranga

By Hope Mafaranga Elengo training his worker how to use the machine When we left the camp in 2006, we had nothing to turn to as most of our houses, crops and animals were destroyed by the 20 year old of the war of the Lord Resistance Army (LRA) and one had to think out of the box to ensure his family survives.   The memories of the LRA seems fresh in the mind of Patrick Alengo, 50 , a resident of Onil Village, in Aloi sub-county, Alebtong district. He remembers the suffering as if it just happened yesterday. Alengo a father of seven and a catechist at St Nichols, Awiny said, when they returned from the camps, they had nothing to feed their children on and had no shelter at all.   “We use to live on aid from non-government organisations and life was a nightmare. I had to do something extra ordinary to sustain my family,” he said. An opener   He said one day, he attended a meeting organised by Care international which was intended to sensitising war ret

 By Hope Mafaranga In 2004, when the vanilla prices dropped in Uganda, many farmers abandoned the crops.   However a few in Bundibugyo district, in western Uganda never gave up planting it, despite the unexpected drastic fall in the farm-gate prices of vanilla. It is such kind of persistence, resilience and patience that kept Amon Matte 32, a resident of Bumara village, Bumate parish, Harugare sub-county in Bundibugyo going.   He said many farmers saw the fall in price as a curse that was leading them to poverty. "Many of my colleagues considered the fall in vanilla prices as a big misfortune and a bad omen.      They even advised me to quite but I was thinking ahead and I knew that the condition would not be permanent," Matte said.   What kept him going? The senior   four drop out and a father of four says,   positive attitude kept   him going , adding that he had had   banana plantation in Mbarara, Kabarole and Bushenyi , which was affected b

  By Hope Mafaranga Now that we have a law in place, drought and diseases will become history as we will be able to apply modern technology backed by research for better yields, this is the kind of excitement Joseph Katushabe a farmer in Ibanda district in western Uganda had to say upon hearing that Parliament passed the National Biotechnology and Biosafety (NBB) Bill, 2012.   The controversial Bill, which was passed at the beginning of October 2017, has been on and off the shelves since 2012, leaving both politicians and scientists divided. Joseph Katushabe in his gardern of Tomatoes in Ibanda district Among the clauses that were controversial included transporting of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for export or import without the approval of a competent authority will become criminal in Uganda.   Defaulters risked paying a fine of 2.4 million Uganda shillings or be jailed for five years.  Katushabe, other farmers and scientists will be able to use