Govt to help HIV infected farmers

By Kikonyogo Ngatya The government is planning to help farmers infected with HIV/AIDS to afford the high cost of anti-retroviral drugs, Dr Kisamba Mugerwa, the agriculture minister, has said. Kisamba said this on Tuesday at the opening of a three-day international pastoralists harmonisation initiative conference held at Mbale. The conference was organised by the OAU/Inter African Bureau of Animal Resources. It seeks to promote dialogue and peace to end a 30-year-old conflict among the Horn of Africa pastoralists. "Farming employs most people many of whom are subsistence farmers. We are carrying out research on the HIV/AIDS effect on this sector to see how the Government can help them," he said. This year, the Aids Candle Light Memorial drive by the Uganda Aids Commission called upon the service sector to help their employees afford the cost of the anti-retroviral drugs. "We are finding it difficult to implement the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture and other services in the Karamoja region," Kisamba said. "Out of the 800 extension workers recruited to extend services to the farmers, none is willing to be deployed in Karamoja because of insecurity," he added. Ends