Mayuge District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Eastern Uganda The Eastern region is one of four regions in the country of Uganda. As of Uganda's 2014 census, the region's population was . Districts , the Eastern Region contained 32 districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in s ...

. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mayuge, where the district headquarters are located.

Location

Mayuge District is bordered by

Iganga District Iganga District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Iganga is the site of the district headquarters. Location Iganga District is bordered by Kaliro District to the north, Namutumba District to the northeast, Bugweri Distri ...

to the north,

Bugiri District Bugiri District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Bugiri, where the district headquarters are located. Location Bugiri District is bordered by Namutumba District and Butaleja ...

to the northeast,

Namayingo District Namayingo District is a district in Eastern Uganda. The district is named after its 'chief town', Namayingo, where the district headquarters are located. Location Namayingo District is located along the Equator. It is bordered by Bugiri Distric ...

to the east, the

Republic of Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

to the south, and

Jinja District Jinja District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Jinja is the district's main municipal and commercial center. Location Jinja District is bordered by Kamuli District to the north, Luuka District to the east, Mayuge Dist ...

to the west. The coordinates of the district are:00 20N, 33 30E. The district headquarters are located at Mayuge, approximately , by road, east of Jinja, Uganda's sixth largest city.

Overview

Prior to 2000, Mayuge District was known as ''Bunya County'' and was part of

. Present day Mayuge District,

Kamuli District Kamuli District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Kamuli is the site of the district headquarters. Location Kamuli District is bordered by Buyende District to the north, Luuka District to the east, Jinja District to th ...

Kaliro District Kaliro District is a Districts of Uganda, district in the Eastern Region, Uganda, Eastern Region of Uganda. It was created out of the eastern part of Kamuli District in 2006. Kaliro is the site of the district headquarters. Location Kaliro Di ...

and

, constitute the

Busoga Busoga ( Lusoga: Obwakyabazinga bwa Busoga) is a kingdom and one of four constitutional monarchies in present-day Uganda. The kingdom is a cultural institution which promotes popular participation and unity among the people of the region throu ...

Kingdom. A large proportion of the district surface area is open water of

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

. It is estimated that this represents 77% of the total surface area in the district. Another 10% of the district is protected national forest reserve. The district has many Islands which are currently occupied by permanent and migratory fishermen. These include the Islands of Seguti, Dagusi, Vumba, Kaza, Nambuga and Simu. The Islands are all easily accessible by motor boat or canoe.

Population

In 1991, the national population census estimated the district population at about 216,800. The 2002 national census estimated the population of the district to be about 324,700 people, of whom 51.2% were female and 48.8% were male. The district population annual growth rate was calculated at 3.6%. In 2012, it was estimated that the population of Mayuge District was approximately 461,200.

Economic activities

Due to fertile soils and favorable climate, Mayuge District has great agricultural potential. However, the fact that open water and natural forest reserves occupy an estimated 87% of the surface area of the district, significant pressure has been exerted on the natural environment from the increasing population numbers. Most of the agriculture in the district is on the subsistence level. The crops grown include the following:. Fishing is another high-value activity practiced in the district. This activity is the largest income earner in the district, accounting for 63% and 52% of the district revenue in 2002 and 2003 respectively. In 2004, an estimated 2,600 people were engaged in commercial fishing in Mayuge District. The fish caught from

include: (a)

Nile Perch The Nile perch (''Lates niloticus''), also known as the African snook, Goliath perch, African barramundi , Goliath barramundi, Giant lates or the Victoria perch, is a species of freshwater fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is wid ...

(b)

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

Clarias ''Clarias'' is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Clariidae, the airbreathing catfishes. The name is derived from the Greek ''chlaros'', which means lively, in reference to the ability of the fish to live for a long time out ...

(Cat fish) and (e)

Protopterus ''Protopterus'' is the genus of four species of lungfish found in Africa. ''Protopterus'' was formerly thought to be the sole genus in the family Protopteridae, but more recent studies have classified it with ''Lepidosiren'' in the family Lepi ...

(Lung fish). In recent times, bee keeping for production of

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

, is becoming an accepted and practiced method of earning an income in the district.

References

External links