Food insecurity hits Lango’s charcoal production hotspots

Food insecurity is soaring across the charcoal burning hotspots of northern Uganda. 
 Last week, sources told this publication that residents of Otuke, Kwania, Apac, Dokolo, Oyam and Omoro districts, are staring at hunger following reports of crop failure last year and the crackdown on massive tree cutting for charcoal.
Mr Geoffrey Ogwal, a farmer at Amiakony Village, Adok Sub-county in Dokolo District,  last week said because of changes in weather patterns, the yields are very low.

 “I have survived on farming for more than 40 years but currently, life has become very hard because of unreliable rainfall. Last year, I sold a bull and rented 15 acres of land which I cultivated with high hopes of a bumper harvest but that year, we experienced a prolonged dry spell which destroyed almost all the crops I planted,” he said.
 Mr Washington Onyum, the secretary for Kwania District Farmers Federation, said for the last three years, farmers are counting losses due to harsh weather conditions.
 “In my area, farmers are no longer planting beans because when you plant it, you don’t harvest anything. We are receiving very little rainfall and this has affected development at home since the majority of us are farmers,” he said.

 Mr Charles Ogang, a commercial farmer at Igulu Village, Kungu Parish, Akokoro Sub-county in Apac District, cultivated 10 acres of land and planted soybeans in the first planting season of 2022.
Mr Ogang said he spent Shs3 million to prepare the land and purchase seeds, among others.
 However, due to unreliable rainfall, he got only 10 bags, about 1,200 kgs – less than what he expected. 

“There was rainfall during the time of planting and weeding but when the soybeans started flowering, the rainfall amount reduced and eventually rains disappeared. I had also planted maize on five acres but it also failed. So I made big losses that season,” Mr Ogang said.
 He attributed poor crop yields to changes in weather patterns mainly caused by indiscriminate cutting down of trees for commercial charcoal burning.
He said the low crop production in the charcoal burning hotspots has resulted in rising food prices.
Mr Jimmy Owiny Eron, the agricultural officer for Alango Sub-county in Otuke, said the northern region is already grappling with the effects of climate change.

 “Climate change is real. Last year, during the second planting season, there was a lot of drought and most of the crops that farmers planted dried up. From May to July, it was totally dry in Otuke. So, all the crops that farmers had planted were destroyed by the prolonged dry spell.”
 Mr Jimmy Okweny, the Kwania senior environment officer, said: “the rate at which trees are being cut in the district is now surpassing the rate at which we are planting trees”.

 Adding: “Over 15 percent of our tree cover is lost and it is attributed to many factors of deforestation and the recent floods which affected areas around the shores of Lake Kwania.”  
Mr Tonny Jasper Odongo,  the Apac secretary for production and marketing, said the land tenure system is a challenge in enforcement.
“Some people are cutting down trees in their own land for charcoal burning and when you question them, they say that they are clearing their land for cultivation. So, in such a case it’s very hard to handle and some sub-counties are giving them operation permits,” he said.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development has called for accelerated investments to help small-scale farmers in developing countries access and manage increasingly scarce water resources in the face of a changing climate and  weather patterns.
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Data
Based on United Nations (UN) data, in 2018, only 42 percent of Ugandans had access to electricity — many were too poor to afford it. As of 2016 and 2017, 90 percent of all households burned wood fuel for cooking, with just 15.5 percent using charcoal in rural areas, but 66.4 percent of urban households using it.
 The UN data shows that those using charcoal account for roughly 23 percent of the country’s total population,implying that nearly 10.7 million people in a nation of 46.8 million rely on charcoal to cook meals. The high demand for charcoal is fueling the reduction of Uganda’s forest reserves.
Today, commercial charcoal production hotspots in Apac and Kwania districts are Akokoro, Chawente, Atongtidi and Nambieso sub-counties, while Minakulu Sub-county is the epicentre  in Oyam District.