The business is poor now especially that it is the grasshopper season, one buys potatoes accompanied by grasshoppers.

The influx of grasshoppers commonly known as Nsenene in Rukungiri municipality has led to low meat sales. A kilogram of beef is currently at 10,000Ugx while chevon costs 13,000 a kilogram.



Abdullah Tumwebaze, a butcher at best butchery in Rukungiri central market says few people are buying meat unlike in the past before the grasshoppers season.



He says the demand for meat has lowered adding that he was selling between 100-150 kilograms of meat per day but currently he sells 50-80 kilograms per day.



Abdullah who is the in-charge of Rukungiri municipality Islamic ritual slaughter of animals adds the number of cows slaughtered in the municipality has reduced.

Vendors in Nakasero market vending grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are a lucrative business towards the end of the year. Miriam Namutebi



"The business is poor now especially that it is the grasshopper season, one buys potatoes accompanied by grasshoppers. I currently sell 50 kilograms of meat and the biggest sale nowadays is 80 kilograms. I was slaughtering 2 cows a day and all the meat got finished but currently, I normally slaughter one and stays over" said Abdullah.



Joseph Friday a Mchomo vender at Ntungamo stage in Rukungiri town equally says that he has reduced the quantity of meat to be roasted from 7 to 3 kilograms as a result of the grasshopper season.



"The situation is not favorable because of grasshoppers, I feel like they should disappear, I have been buying 7 kilograms of meat to roast at night but currently I buy 3 kilograms customers say that they rather buy grasshoppers and leave meat" Joseph added.

A grasshopper vendor frying grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are a lucrative business towards the end of the year. Miriam Namutebi



Jackson Mukuru, a resident of Buyanja sub-county Rukungiri district who spoke to our reporter as he caught grasshoppers at night along go down street in Rukungiri town said he can't buy meat when there are grasshoppers. "You see grasshoppers come once a year and meat is here every day so I can't buy meat and leave grasshoppers even if am taken to the butchery"