As farmers in Uganda continue to decry the ever emerging crop pest and diseases with the latest one being the full army worm that ravaged many maize plantations in many parts of the country. The country is yet at stake of being invaded by a devastating potato pest known as Potato theist Nematode. According to Dr. Imelda Kashaija the Deputy Director General for Agricultural Technology Promotion at NARO, the potato theist has for now two years been ravaging Kenya farmers and chances are that the Ugandan counter-parts had already brought potato tubers that contained the pest. “We have just learnt about its presence in Kenya which is not very far so we want to guard against this possible entry into Uganda. Because Kenya and Uganda exchange materials so much so we cannot be sure whether it is in Uganda or not.” The pest is spread through use of infested tubers and when planted premature and stunted growth are the key symptoms in produce and it can stay in soil for over thirty years. “The eggs are in form of a theist that’s why they are called a theist Nematode. It forms a hard theist around it which helps it to keep it hibernated or hidden in the soil. So even that theist can keep in the soil for over thirty years without dying. So, meaning that once the soil is infested we have actually created a problem of growing potatoes in that particular soil.”

Dr. Kasaija said the pest was brought from Europe through tendencies of direct importation of potato tubers and it has since spread to many Potato growing regions with fears that Uganda could be the next destination. “...this means that the only way it came into Africa in Kenya is through the importation of tubers directly. And we know we have its history in Kenya, about three years ago potato tubers were imported from European countries.” Because of its devastating effect, NARO embarked on the sensitization program about the dangers of bringing in potato tubes from neighboring countries. “So we shall make surveys may be in Western Uganda and some places where we actually suspect potato could have come in and if we find that it is still in fewer places we shall try to contain it by actually working with relevant authorities to disable the movement of potatoes from such field to be used as seeds.”