Farmers resort to mobile water tanks as valley dams dry up

Nakasongola.

The persistent dry spell in parts of the cattle corridor district of Nakasongola have forced farmers to hire mobile water tanks to re-fill some of the valley dams to save their animals.
Farmers say the pastures and wells have dried up and their animals have been left to starve.
The dry spell, which hit the district towards the end of November last year according to the district chairperson, Mr Samuel Kigula, has spread to the sub-counties of Lwampanga, Lwabyata, Nakitoma, Kalungi and Nabiswera.
“We fear that farmers could lose their livestock if the dry spell persists in these areas,” Mr Kigula told Daily Monitor at the weekend.
He added: “The farmers reportedly hire a mobile water tank with a capacity of 10,000 liters at Shs40, 000. This rate could rise if the dry spell persists. We appeal to the government to intervene and help of our farmers.”
Statistics indicate that 70 per cent of the population in Nakasongola District are cattle keepers who entirely depend on seasonal rains to feed their animals.
Meanwhile, cultivators on the other hand are complaining of low yields because the dry spell has destroyed most of their crops, especially those planted late.
The district has also been hit by an outbreak of the Foot –and- Mouth Disease (FMD), which has forced authorities to impose a ban on livestock movement.
However, due to dry spells, some herdsmen in the area may be forced to migrate in search of water and pasture which may intensify the spread of FMD.
Mr Erasmus Ssemanda, a livestock farmer with 170 head of cattle in Nabiswera Sub-county, said he cannot look on as his animals starve to death.
“We must search for pasture and water despite the cattle quarantine. The farmers in our area are not comfortable because we predict hard times ahead as the dry spell persists. It is only well established farmers who are safe because they can even afford hiring mobile water tanks to re-fill the dried up dams,” Mr Ssemanda said in a telephone interview.
Nakasongola has 80 communal valley dams and 419 private-owned ones.
The district veterinary officer, Dr Samuel Eswagu, says the problem is expected to escalate if the dry spell continues in February.
“Nakasongola did not get enough rains to help fill up the water dams. This perhaps explains why some valley dams are getting dry. The farmers should not panic because of the animal movements,” Dr Eswagu said.
“ We have sensitised the farmers and many have had their respective animals immunized against FMD. It is true that all cattle markets are closed, but we have particular areas where we have allowed farmers to sell cattle,” he added.
Nakasongola District has about 260,000 head of cattle with Nakitoma and Nabiswera Sub-counties having the biggest number.
Government constructed some valley dams which are supplemented privately owned dam.
The only challenge with the privately owned dams is that they are not easily accessed by all farmers.
“These dams are fenced off. Our prayer is that we possibly get more water dams which benefit the general public,” Dr Eswagu said in an interview.

Appeal
Mr Ezra Kamunda, a livestock farmer at Nakitoma Sub-county, claims that unlike the previous years where Nakasongola had two short rainy seasons, most parts of the district had little rainfall throughout 2017.
“It is true that the water we have for animals is not enough. We also fear that the dry spell could extend to early March which could see some of the animals starve to death. Not all our farmers can afford to hire the mobile water tanks to re-fill the valley tanks,” Mr Kamunda said.
“We call upon government to channel more funds to the Agriculture sector which could help fund the valley dams construction for farmers within the cattle corridor areas,” he added.
He, however, appealed to livestock farmers and pastoralists to start planting trees as many clear forests and bushes for settlement.