By Frank Nyakairu & Grace Masiko
Nov 7, 2004
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KAMPALA – Hundreds of debt-ridden Indian commercial farmers are lobbying government to allow them relocate to Uganda to start a new life. This follows committing of suicide by over 500 of their colleagues who were in distress since May this year. The farmers from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh want Uganda to allocate them 100,000 hectares of farmland, according to a Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) official, John Musajja Akawa. He told Sun day Monitor that a team led by Mr CC Reddy, an advisor to the Andhra Pradesh government is still in negotiations with government on the matter. Information Minister, Nsaba Buturo says: “The issue of land is not a problem and the state of our infrastructure is also not that prohibitive.” He however cited political sabotage. The Pradesh state plans to send hundreds of farmers to East Africa to cultivate farmland. Pradesh has already been in talks with Kenya to lease 20, 000 hectares and send about 1, 000 farmers there to work, according to media reports. At least 502 farmers have killed themselves since May. |
© 2004 The Monitor Publications
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