Coffee farmers in Acholi sub region have been urged to use low cost methods of fencing their gardens to keep away roaming livestock and wild bush fires.
Julius Twiine, a senior agriculture officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF) says farmers can use Kei apple, a thorny hedge plant for fencing their gardens.
Twiine explains that farmers have been trained to create fire lines and also keep their gardens weed free to prevent wild bush fires.
Roaming livestock and wild bush fires are a common trend in the sub region especially during the dry season (between December and March) when farmers have harvested their crops of the season.
The two cultural practices are however a threat to coffee, a perennial crop being embraced by local farmers because of its high value when compared to other crops.
Currently farmers in Lango and Acholi sub region are asking for 22 million coffee seedlings from MAAIF indicating a growing interest in the crop.
Justine Muboka
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