Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has directed the country's ministry responsible for wildlife to put up an electric fence around Kidepo Valley National Park in the northeastern region to reduce the conflict between animals and surrounding communities, local media reported Monday.
Museveni's instructions followed a petition from local leaders in villages neighboring the park that elephants were destroying their crops.
"I have directed the ministry of tourism, wildlife and antiquities to come here and put up an electric fence to stop elephants from coming to the villages," Museveni said at an event in the northern Ugandan district of Kitgum from where the local authorities petitioned him, according to state-run television Uganda Broadcasting Corporation.
Museveni said that the issue was solvable, citing a similar situation in Murchison Falls National Park in northwestern Uganda.
Chris Nyeko, a farmer from Kitgum, expressed his frustration over the losses he had incurred due to elephant invasions.
"The elephants have visited my farm about four times in one year, causing enormous losses. Unfortunately, the government does not offer any compensation," Nyeko said.
"An electric fence could be part of the solution, but Kidepo is so big. Many of my neighbors were also greatly affected," he added.
Last year, local media reported that a herd of 40 elephants from Kidepo destroyed about 60 acres of crops in Kitgum.
According to government data, the park stretches over 1,442 square kilometers.
