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Uganda: MPs Oppose Fixing Food Prices
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New Vision (Kampala)
20 May 2008
Posted to the web 21 May 2008
Mary Karugaba
Kampala
FIXING prices for commodities by the Government will accelerate the problem of scarcity, the parliamentary forum on food security has said.
Addressing journalists on the escalating food prices recently, the MPs said the Government should instead increase funding to the agriculture sector to enable farmers produce more.
Chairman Chris Baryomunsi observed that when the Indian government tried to fix prices, suppliers hid rice until the policy was withdrawn.
"You can't set prices for commodities in a liberalised economy. Traders and suppliers will automatically withhold the commodities, making them scarce."
He said the Government needed to table a policy on food security to streamline the issues of storage and production.
MPs Benson Obua (Moroto), Judith Akello (Pader) and the Rev. Simon Lokodo (Dodoth) were concerned about the increasing food scarcity in post-conflict areas of northern Uganda.
"Food security is a big concern in Acholi, Teso and Lango. Just as the returnees were resettling, the floods came and disrupted their lives," Akello said.
"The Government's intervention to mitigate the situation has been slow and wanting. In Acholi, most people are still in camps."
Lokodo said about 28 people had died in Karamoja of hunger.
"In Karamoja, famine is approaching catastrophic levels. People have started dying and others are eating poisonous fruits and leaves. Many have even migrated to Kenya in search of food."
The MPs called on the Government to liaise with the war-affected districts, donors and NGOs to avert the looming disaster likely to befall northern Uganda.
They also urged the Government to supply seeds to the resettling people and those in satellite IDP camps.
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"The Government should give food support to schools in the northern Uganda to avoid fees hikes and resultant drop-outs," Baryomunsi said.
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