Elephants from South Sudan’s Nimule National Park have been crossing into northern Uganda, destroying gardens of maize, cassava, potatoes and cotton, a local daily reports.
Maurice Vuzi, the Dufile sub-county chairman, said the elephants destroyed more than 35 acres of crops on Monday.
He added: “We are not sure of our fate next season because every harvesting season, elephants destroy our crops, but this time they are coming in large numbers.
“There are no control measures in place. That is why they roam freely from South Sudan to Uganda looking for food.”
Farmer Alice Drajedio told the Daily Monitor that this was causing a food crisis for villagers: “We spend sleepless nights looking for ways of survival by planting crops but now how can we eradicate poverty in our area when elephants keep on destroying the crops in the gardens?”
