China is set to release pork supplies from its central reserves as it moves to tackle soaring prices and shortages caused by an outbreak of swine fever.

A state-owned firm will auction 10,000 tonnes of frozen pork from its strategic reserves on Thursday.

China, the world’s biggest producer and consumer of pork, has struggled to control the spread of the disease.

Beijing has slaughtered more than 1 million pigs in a bid to contain the incurable pig virus.

The highly contagious disease is not dangerous to humans, but has hit China’s crucial pig-farming industry and driven up costs for consumers.

Pork prices jumped 46.7% in August on a year earlier, official figures showed.

In a bid to stabilise prices, a state-owned company that manages the pork reserves will auction imported frozen pork from countries including Denmark, France, the US and UK.

Only 300 tonnes will be sold to each bidder at the auction.

China created its strategic pork reserve in 2007 but the size of the stockpile is unclear.

How important is pork in China?

Pork is one of China’s main food staples and accounts for more than 60% of the country’s meat consumption. The industry produced close to 54 million tonnes of pork last year.

Higher pork prices have put a strain on household incomes, putting a fresh drag on an already slowing Chinese economy.

The meat is used widely in Chinese festivals, and the pork auction comes as the country prepares to celebrate a week-long national holiday for the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.

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Uganda is  set to join the rest of the World in commemorating the World Food Day that calls for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone.

The day will be held under the theme ‘Our Actions are Our Future. Healthy diets for a Zero Hunger Uganda’ and the commemoration will be marked at the Bulindi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Hoima District on the 16th of October.

According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018 report, an estimated 821 million people suffered from chronic hunger in 2017 of which 60 percent of the world’s hungry are women.

The activities in Uganda are coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

Agriculture ministry notes that 70 percent of the world’s extreme poor live in rural areas. Most of them depend on agriculture. Hunger kills more people every year than malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined and about 45 percent of infant deaths are related to under nutrition. Stunting still affects 151 million children under the age of five years.

To meet demand, according to ministry of agriculture, in 2050, the sector will need to produce almost 50 percent more food, feed and biofuel than it did in 2012. One third of the food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. Food losses and waste amount to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries, or nearly US$ 1 trillion in total.

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President Yoweri Museveni has urged Ugandans and Africans to work towards the realization of the United States of Africa, instead of continuing to praise and admire the United States of America (USA).

“Our Government is a government of grandfathers, parents and grandchildren. That’s why I keep telling the ‘Bazukulu’ that instead of praising the USA, let us fight to make the United States of Africa …” he added.

Museveni was yesterday speaking at this year’s Public Private Forum was held at the Kampala Serena Hotel where he the guest of honour.

The theme of the conference was ‘Africa’s Next Big Thing’ and was attended by leaders from various African and European leaders.

Museveni was accompanied by Kenyan monolith Raila Odinga, former Prime Minister and opposition leader who addressed the guests at the forum on boosting trade and business in Africa.

“There a new thinking on how to finance the opening up of Africa and all regions to business, travel and trade. Our countries increasingly recognize the importance of infrastructure and are actively exploring solutions to fund the required development.” said Odinga.

He also urged Africans to trade more with themselves than with foreigners in order to promote integration across borders, citing the late Tanzania president Julius Mwalimu Nyerere who was willing to delay Tanzania’s independence so that Uganda and Kenya could achieve theirs at the same time. This he said, greatly strengthened the East African relations and thus the need for one currency and universal border.

Meanwhile, Museveni  acknowledged Raila Odinga’s analysis of India and how Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) played a vital role in the stabilization of its economy; hence the crucial role of the private sector in any country’s development. Museveni also prioritized infrastructure as a key element in the development of any economy as well as the reduction of greed and profit hungry motives.

Further agreeing with Odinga, Museveni cited Adam Smith’s 1776 ‘Wealth of Nations’ book in which he says that a primitive man produces only for himself, whilst the modern people produce for themselves and for sale. He encouraged Ugandans to promote production beyond themselves and engage in cross border trade if they are to improve their way of life.

The president commended the organisers of the forum, saying it helps people to share ideas. Museveni was later joined by several dignitaries as they toured kiosks of corporate companies such as KIIRA Motors that showcased their various products.

Dr Agnes Atim Apea, the Chairperson Local Government Finance Commission highlighted a few key elements that would be necessary for a conducive environment that would ensure the success of PPPs, among these factors she included political will as well as Public and private producer-community partnerships. These were further echoed by Museveni who cited organizations such Operation Wealth Creation as a good example of a successful and effective PPP.

The summit that was founded in Egypt in 2006 in a bid to increase the role of the private sector in the delivery and development of public services such as transportation and networks is the first of its kind in Africa taking place from the 16th-18th of this month.

Other organisers of the event also include Housing Finance, Kampala Serena Hotel and the United Nations Development Programme.

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The Russian Federation and government of Uganda have signed an intergovernmental pact on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The agreement was signed during the 63rd International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General conference that kicked off today in Vienna, France.

The agreement was signed by Deputy Director General – Director of international activities of Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Nikolay Spassk, and the Minister of energy and mineral resources of the Republic of Uganda Eng. Muloni Irene Nafuna.

According minister Muloni, the agreement meets all modern requirements for such documents and lays the foundation for practical cooperation between Russia and Uganda in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

In particular, it implies joint work in areas of creation of nuclear infrastructure, production of radioisotopes for industrial, healthcare, agricultural use, as well as education and retraining.

The parties agreed to exchange visits for industry experts in the near future and to create workgroups for specific applications like in specific areas, including construction of the Centre for nuclear science and technology in Uganda on the basis of a research reactor of Russian design, which is a complex but promising endeavour.

Earlier, at the opening of the conference, Acting Director General of IAEA, Cornel Ferut, the Agency’s membership has increased to 171 countries thus increasing demand for its services.

No other international organization offers the range of services related to nuclear science and technology that the IAEA does, Acting Director General Cornel Feruta said in his opening address to the IAEA’s 63rd General Conference today.

“We contribute to international peace and security by verifying that nuclear material remains in peaceful uses, and we help to improve the well-being and prosperity of the people of the world through the peaceful use of nuclear technology,” he told representatives of IAEA Member States at the start of the week-long annual meeting.

“We help countries on all continents to generate electricity, produce more food, manage their water supplies, combat deadly infectious diseases affecting humans, plants and animals, and treat cancer,” Mr Feruta said.

“Our safeguards inspectors are on the road every day of the year, keeping track of nuclear material to verify that it is not diverted from peaceful activities. We serve as the global platform for cooperation in safety and security, helping countries to keep nuclear and radioactive material and technologies safe, and out of the hands of terrorists and other criminals,” he said.

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President Yoweri Museveni has directed that the borrowing of funds for national infrastructure development should only be ascribed to railway construction, electricity generation, irrigation schemes, strategic roads’ building and to some aspects of education and health sectors.

“In the education sector, it is the issue of government programme for the implementation of the construction of 280 Secondary Schools at Sub-County level countrywide. At the university level, focus should be on the construction of laboratories first and then main halls, which are optional. Let us do all this with respect to other hard-core issues. I have made this clarification for purposes of streamlining proper national economic growth,” he said.

Museveni was recently speaking during a meeting with the African Development Bank (ADB) Regional Director In-Charge of the Eastern Africa Regional Centre, Gabriel Negattu, at State House Entebbe in the presence of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Matia Kasaija; that of State for Higher Education, John Chrysostom Muyingo and Education Ministry Permanent Secretary,  Alex Kakooza.

The President clarified to the meeting that the construction of the railway is crucial because it will link Uganda to the neighbouring countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and South Sudan. He also noted that as for electricity generation, the current power supply is not enough because the dynamics of the internal economy in Uganda, consumes it all.

Mr.Negattu on his part concurred with Museveni and said that funds ought be borrowed and managed for strategic sectors in the economy. He advised government on the need to think broadly beyond Uganda while planning for infrastructure development.

“Think beyond Uganda and go to East Africa in order to create a centre for development and economic excellence in the region for the future,” he said.

During the meeting, Mr. Kakooza said that out of the 280 Secondary Schools to be constructed in the country\ at between US $60 – US $70 million, 134 will be newly built with the rest requiring only refurbishment.

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