The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Tress Bucyanayandi has said Uganda has enough food to avert food shortages that may exist in different parts of the country.

He says that farmers in different parts of Uganda have started harvesting and that the yields are good.

“Farmers are the cardinal factor in the food production and security and that if they decided to sell everything then problems would come,” Bucyanayandi said.

The Minister’s statement follows a warning on Monday by the UN that Uganda could be next in line for a severe food shortage hit countries, after other Horn of Africa states including East Africa Community member neighbour Kenya experienced severe food shortages.

Some 12.4 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are already in dire need of help to meet their food needs due to the worst drought in 60 years, U.N. under-secretary-general and emergency relief coordinator Valerie Amos said in New York.

The UN warned that famine has been declared in two regions of southern Somalia but may soon engulf as many as six more regions of the lawless nation.

By Baingana Samuel