Africa-Press – Uganda. Over 100 farmers in Ntungamo and Itojo sub-counties in Ntungamo District are counting losses following a Thursday night fire that destroyed crops, trees, and other projects in the Butare-Ruhanga hills.
The hills that stretch for about 2 square kilometres were gutted by the fire suspected to be from an arsonist, starting at around 9:30pm on Thursday until Saturday afternoon.
Farmers have been using the hills for agriculture activities while using the lower part of the hill for settlement.
“I have most almost all my crops. I started growing these crops about 8 years ago after I returned from Isreal in a project funded by the first lady. They taught us how to grow crops in hills, I put in all the money I had, now I don’t know where I shall begin from. At least for the time I have been cultivating here, there has not been fire, now it came for me,” Mr Enock Mwesigye, one of the affected farmers, told Daily Monitor on Sunday.
Acres of eucalyptus, pine trees, pineapples, beehives, cassava, tea, coffee, fruits were all destroyed by the fire.
Mr Mwesigye alone lost 21 acres of crops and 140 beehives in the fire. There are other 112 farmers affected.
Mr Warren Tumusiime said he lost much of the crops in the fire and will have nothing to feed his family.
“If the government does not come in to support us, some people may commit suicide. The biggest challenge we have is that we can’t get someone who set these hills on fire to seek justice. We really need the government’s intervention,” he said.
The Ntungamo sub-county councilor Mr Naboth Mpirirwe noted that there has been a tendency of some individuals especially herdsmen burning hills during dry spells thinking the hills may generate better grass when it rains after the burning.
The Ntungamo District Natural Resources Officer, Ms Dinah Tumwebaze said they are engaging police to hunt for the perpetrators while they see what to do about the farmers who lost their crops.
