Mayuge District
Encyclopedia
Mayuge District is a district
in Eastern Uganda
. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mayuge
, where the district headquarters are located.
to the north, Bugiri District
to the northeast and east, Namayingo District
to the east, the Republic of Tanzania to the south, and Jinja District
to the west. The coordinates of the district are:00 20N, 33 30E. The district headquarters are located at Mayuge
, approximately 38 kilometres (23.6 mi), by road, east of Jinja
, Uganda's sixth largest city.
. Present day Mayuge District, Iganga District
, Kamuli District
, Jinja District
, Kaliro District
and Bugiri District
, constitute the Busoga
Kingdom.
7660.4 square kilometre of the district surface area is open water of Lake Victoria
. 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.
{| style="font-size:100%;"
|-
| width="100%" align="center" | Mayuge District Population Trends
|- valign="top"
|
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"
! style="width:2em;" |Year!! Estimated Population
|-
|2002||326,600
|-
|2003||335,700
|-
|2004||345,100
|-
|2005||354,800
|-
|2006||364,700
|-
|2007||374,900
|-
|2008||385,400
|-
|2009||396,200
|-
|2010||407,300
|-
|}
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 Lake Victoria
include:
In recent times, bee keeping for production of honey
, is becoming an accepted and practiced method of earning an income in the district.
Districts of Uganda
Uganda is divided into 111 districts and one city across four administrative regions. Most districts are named after their main commercial and administrative towns....
in Eastern Uganda
Eastern Region, Uganda
Eastern Region is a region of Uganda. It is divided into the following districts:...
. Like many other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Mayuge
Mayuge
Mayuge is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Mayuge District and is the location of the district headquarters. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
, where the district headquarters are located.
Location
Mayuge District is bordered by Iganga DistrictIganga District
Iganga District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Iganga, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
to the north, Bugiri District
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:...
to the northeast and east, Namayingo District
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...
to the east, the Republic of Tanzania to the south, and Jinja District
Jinja District
Jinja District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it is named after its main municipal and commercial center, Jinja.-Location:...
to the west. The coordinates of the district are:00 20N, 33 30E. The district headquarters are located at Mayuge
Mayuge
Mayuge is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the 'chief town' of Mayuge District and is the location of the district headquarters. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
, approximately 38 kilometres (23.6 mi), by road, east of Jinja
Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...
, Uganda's sixth largest city.
Overview
Prior to 2000, Mayuge District was known as Bunya County and was part of Iganga DistrictIganga District
Iganga District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Iganga, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
. Present day Mayuge District, Iganga District
Iganga District
Iganga District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Iganga, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
, Kamuli District
Kamuli District
Kamuli District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town' of Kamuli.-Location:Kamuli District is bordered by Buyende Districtto the north, Luuka District to the east, Jinja District to the south and Kayunga District to the west...
, Jinja District
Jinja District
Jinja District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most Ugandan districts, it is named after its main municipal and commercial center, Jinja.-Location:...
, Kaliro District
Kaliro District
Kaliro District is a district in Eastern Uganda. It was created out of the eastern part of Kamuli District in 2006, and is now a fully fledged district...
and Bugiri District
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:...
, constitute the Busoga
Busoga
Busoga is a traditional Bantu kingdom in present-day Uganda.It is a cultural institution that promotes popular participation and unity among the people of Busoga, through cultural and developmental programs for the improved livelihood of the people of Busoga. It strives for a united people of...
Kingdom.
7660.4 square kilometre of the district surface area is open water of Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
. 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
The 2002 national census estimated the population of the district to be about 326,600 people, of whom 51.2% were female and 48.8% were male. It is estimated that the population of the district in 2010 was approximately 407,300. See table below:{| style="font-size:100%;"
|-
| width="100%" align="center" | Mayuge District Population Trends
|- valign="top"
|
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto"
! style="width:2em;" |Year!! Estimated Population
|-
|2002||326,600
|-
|2003||335,700
|-
|2004||345,100
|-
|2005||354,800
|-
|2006||364,700
|-
|2007||374,900
|-
|2008||385,400
|-
|2009||396,200
|-
|2010||407,300
|-
|}
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:- MaizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
- CassavaCassavaCassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
- Groundnuts
- Cocoa
- CottonCottonCotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
- CoffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
- Beans
- Sweet potatoSweet potatoThe sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
s - MilletMilletThe millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
- SimsimSimsimSimsim may refer to:*Simsim, the word for sesame in various Semitic languages. Also widely used in Arab-influenced East Africa.*Simsim, Gaza, a depopulated Arab village in what is today Israel...
- SunflowerSunflowerSunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...
- TomatoTomatoThe word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
s - Passion fruit
- OnionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s - CabbageCabbageCabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
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 Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
include:
- Nile PerchNile perchThe Nile perch is a species of freshwaterfish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. It is widespread throughout muchof the Afrotropic ecozone, being native to the Congo, Nile, Senegal, Niger, and Lake Chad, Volta, Lake Turkana and other river basins. It also occurs in the brackish waters of...
- TilapiaTilapiaTilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...
- Rargentae (Mukene)
- ClariasClariasClarias is a genus of catfishes 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 of water....
(Cat fish) - ProtopterusProtopterusThe African lungfishes are the genus Protopterus and constitute the four species of lungfish found in Africa. Protopterus is the sole genus in the family Protopteridae.-Description:...
(Lung fish)
In recent times, bee keeping for production of honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, is becoming an accepted and practiced method of earning an income in the district.