Mixed reactions as parliament moves to pass Nutrition Bill

By Denish Ongora (denish.ongora@vol.co.ug)

Lira

Leaders of Lango cultural foundation are divided over a move by parliament to pass the Food security and Nutrition Bill, seeking to have all households in villages across Uganda establish traditional granary to store food.

The bill is being prepared by the Parliamentary Alliance on Food and Nutrition security.

The bill seeks to ensure that all households have granaries and bars them from selling nutritive food in a bid to strengthen immunity of family members.

Prime minister of Lango cultural foundation Robert James Ajal said keeping food in granaries at this time that people are struggling with financial difficulties is an impossibility, adding that the food can instead be stocked up in stores.

Ajal said government can improve food security through distribution of seeds and irrigation equipment as well as setting up good prices for agricultural produce.

Lango cultural foundation spokesperson Jacob Ocen said the granaries will go a long way to improve food storage among households.

On the issue of banning the sale of food stuffs, he said this may not be workable.

Otuke district chairman Francis Abola says the absence of granaries has contributed to the current hunger situation since most families did not store enough food for use in such times.

Abola also attributed the current hunger on the fact that people have shifted from growing food crops to cash crops which renders them food insecure.

Milton Muwuma the chairperson Parliamentary Alliance on Food and Nutrition security said 1 out of 3 children in Uganda are malnourished due failure by households to provide nutritive food which is in most cases sold off.