Minister cautions against consumption of desert locusts

 Nakapiripirit, Uganda  | THE INDEPENDENT |  State Minister for Agriculture Aggrey Bagiire has cautioned against the consumption of desert locusts.

The minister issued the warning during an interface with the media in Nakapiripirit following reports that residents in parts of Acholi, Teso and Karamoja had turned the migratory pests into a delicacy.

Logwe Logira, a resident of Moroto district told URN that desert locusts are edible like grasshoppers, a seasonal delicacy for communities across the country. Paul Longole, another resident from Moroto said that the locusts were eaten in the 1960’s, when they last invaded Uganda.

But Bagiire said that eating desert locusts is not conceivable and should be discouraged all over the country. Bagiire explained that desert locusts have been sprayed with poisonous chemicals capable of causing complications and death in humans if they are consumed. He added that the country was food secure and therefore needless for the communities to eat desert locusts.

The Minister however assured the public that the government has taken all safety considerations on environment and, agriculture and public safety during ongoing operations to eradicate locusts from Ugandan territory. 

Currently, the government is battling the invasion in parts of the country with the help of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces. 

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