Technologies that help farmers respond to climate change

Agriculture in many parts of Africa, Uganda inclusive, is mainly rain-fed yet farmers usually experience severe periods of drought where they would require water to irrigate their farms during times of such weather.

During extreme dry seasons, many farmers are forced to abandon farming with very few who major in vegetable growing continuing because it is the time they expect to reap big income since prices of commodities usually rise.

The effects of climate change are expected to increase and intensify droughts, floods and landslides which will have significant impact on livelihoods and local communities who depend on agriculture.

This is already affecting farmers in various parts of the country because the three seasons in the 2016 extending to the first season in 2017 have been greatly affected by the dry spell. However, experts recommend the following for a greater output.

Methods
Experts from Food and Agriculture Organisation advise farmers to utilise a small piece of land but diversify in the agricultural activity but not to concentrate on growing one item.

Processing. For the case of animal husbandry, farmers have been advised to adopt processing hay and silage for the animals. When giving hay to the animals, it should be sprinkled with water and salt added to it before serving it to the animals and practice zero grazing.

Varieties. Livestock farmers are encouraged to grow pasture varieties which withstand dry season like improved forage species such as caliandra and grevillea.

Alerts. Dr Willy Kakuru a climate change expert, with FAO, explains that giving early warning information to farmers is key because they will be alerted when to plant and what to plant for a specific period.

Water harvests. Farmers growing crops are encouraged to conserve water harvested during rainy season
Crop varieties. Use of crop varieties that are resistant to drought is also a better alternative and for the case of maize the Drought Tego maize varieties are good to adopt.

Mushrooms. Farmers are also advised to adopt growing of mushrooms as source of quick income especially during dry spell.

Agro inputs. It is essential to use agro inputs like fertiliser to boost the yield of crops as well as small scale irrigation using treadle pumps from water reserved in the tanks.

Mulching.
Conservation agriculture where planting in rows is essential and practices such as mulching is key during dry season.
Assessment. In the fisheries sector aquaculture fisheries is advisable and the fish ponds should be established where there is reliable water source.

Knowledge. Dr Kakuru contends that strengthening knowledge of farmers on climate change adaptation, improved water access for livestock and improved resilience of agricultural production system for farmers in all parts of the country is the way to go.

Other initiatives are construction of valley dams for farmer field schools which they can use a group.

Best practices

In Mubende District, farmers who have been growing green vegetables during times of drought, have not been able to do so because of lack of water to carry out irrigation.

Maurine Sekide from Nakaseta village in Kitenga Sub-county, Mubende District, who engages in mixed farming is laments about the dry spell since she can hardly plant anything including green vegetables due to lack of water to irrigate the crops.

Sekide, who belongs to Balyejusa Farmers group, has been engaged in agriculture since 1999 majoring in cultivating crops such as banana and beans but from 2013 her family has ventured into animal husbandry, poultry keeping and vegetables growing.

She took this up after experts from FAO sensitised farmers about the importance of practicing mixed farming to increase their income.

Apart from growing bananas, she is keeping poultry and improved cattle breeds whose milk production rate has dropped as a result of drought.

During times when there is rain, the family is able to get 10 litres of milk from every cow daily but due to scarcity of water and pasture they now get seven litres of milk.

The family managed to construct an underground water tank at home, which is capable of storing 35,000 litres of water, used for the animals and watering vegetables grown in the backyard. The nearest spring water source is about 6km from home.

The family set up greenhouse nursery beds of fruits, eucalyptus, coffee, vegetables but it cannot be utilised as result of the dry spell.

Tomato growing during off season used to fetch the family some income but this time round all the plants are dried up due to lack of water for irrigation.

The animals now depend on preserved hay and silage made from kaliandra tree which is resisting the drought and still growing well.

Sekide explains that in the previous years the family would engage in mass production of maize and banana on a big piece of land and the harvest were quiet appealing because the soils were fertile coupled with adequate rain but the prolonged drought is now affecting the yield.