Gorilla Trekking Uganda Gorilla Safaris

The increasing number of flights by airlines to Entebbe is a sign of growing confidence by both tourists and business travelers in Uganda a top official at the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

Mr. Ignie Igunduura, Manager Public Affairs Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said that rising number of both international and local airline frequencies means that more people are now traveling to. The surge also reflects that the capacity Ugandans and expatriates is increasing.

“It is a mark of confidence in our economy and opportunities for investment in various sectors and it is a sign that the aviation industry is growing industry,” Mr. Igunduura told Gorilla trekking safari in an interview at the first anniversary of Air Uganda, in Kampala, on Friday.

The increasing flights and passenger traffic are also piling pressure on the transport industry to offer better air travel services and develop the under developed aerodromes within the country. “We need to maintain the airport facilities at the level they are and also make them better so that we can have more tourists coming in,” Igunduura stressed.

He also lauded Air Uganda for historic performance in its first year by hitting the 75,000 mark. “Air Uganda has recorded some very rare figures of passenger growth,” he said. As government aims to strengthen the role of Entebbe International Airport, it has also announced that it will give Air Uganda the national designation once held by Uganda Airlines.

This means that the airline will be given permission to have the national flag colours splashed on its aircrafts like Kenya Airways and South African Airways.

“We are now planning, so that you can spread your wings wider. We want to see you going beyond this continent. We want to see you acquiring new aircrafts,” Mr. Igunduura told the managers of Air Uganda at the ceremony.

Reported by,

Deborah Allen

Gorilla Trekking Safari

Kampala

Bees Abroad, a UK charity organization has earmarked sh100m, to promote beekeeping among vulnerable households in Kibale district.

The one-year project expected to benefit about 250 farmers is being implemented by Emesco development foundation, a local Non-Governmental organization that operates in nine of the 13 sub counties that form Kibale district.

Emesco provides bee hives, honey buckets, smokers, basic hive management training and harvesting veils to the beneficiary farmers. Emily Kugonza, Emesco’s Executive Director, said Bees Abroad, is dedicated to alleviating poverty in developing countries.

Speaking during a monitoring exercise of the beneficiary farmers in Kagadi Sub-County recently, Kugonza said farmers had been trained on how to make bee hives using improvised local materials like eucalyptus sticks, mud and cow dung.

Mary Kasarubayo, a resident of Nyakabingo village said she had received training from Emesco’s staff and also benefited from the bee hives, buckets and the smokers.

Kasarubayo, who started the business 5 years ago with minimal guidance from extension workers, believes that bee keeping will earn her more money if she puts in practice what she learnt.

Kasarubayo noted that before training, almost all the honey she harvested was for home consumption. She says only a little was sold to petty traders.

Reported by

Deborah Allen

Gorilla trekking Safari

Kampala

Inadequate funding to the agriculture sector has hindered agricultural productivity, the animal husbandry state minister has said. Speaking at Speke Resort Munyonyo recently, Bright Rwamirama said: “We do not have money to provide people with water for agricultural production. Besides, we mostly depended on donor funds.”

He called for more funding to the sector so as to fight poverty. “Agriculture in Uganda is implemented in remote areas with hardly any infrastructure and it is susceptible to weather vagaries.

About 70% of Ugandans are involved in subsistence farming yet this is the sector that would have moved the masses out of poverty,” the minister said. The theme for the conference, attended by over 200 agricultural experts from east and southern Africa, was: “Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) - the Future for Sustainable Agricultural

Development.” The minister hailed the International Fund for Agricultural development (IFAD), a UN agency for investing $454m (about sh771.8b) in agricultural activities. He urged the Government to develop agricultural policies, improve infrastructure, train farmers and invest in agro-processing and research.

“The Government can no longer expect things to just happen in the agricultural sector. It has to play an active role in promoting value-addition and agro-processing,” he stressed. Fred Rubarema, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, called for the improvement of the agricultural sector so as to eradicate poverty.

He asked the Government to address the challenges that small holder farmers face, as well as support upcoming large scale farmers. The participants called upon African governments to implement the Maputo Declaration of 2003, which calls upon governments to increase funding to the agricultural sector to at least 10% of their budgets.

IFAD Africa director Ides de Willibois promised to continue supporting more agricultural activities.

Reported By

Allen Deborah

Gorilla trekking Safari

Kampala