Food prices increase as drought withers crops
A farmer looks at his garden that has dried due to excessive sunshine. Photo/ ALEX ASHABA
What you need to know:
Locals say two consecutive dry seasons have left farmers struggling to fend for their families.
Adry spell has withered several acres of crops in Kasese District, leaving farmers counting losses and causing a hike in the prices of foodstuff.
Many locals told Daily Monitor that they can no longer afford to buy food for their families.
Even livestock farmers have also been adversely affected, leaving many households grappling with poverty.
Ms Jozoline Kisole, a resident of Kanyatsi Village, invested her resources in a 1.5-acre plot of land, but her efforts seem to have been in vain.
She said despite her hard work, she only managed to harvest a meagre basin of beans from an acre.
“I had great expectations for the August season, but it appears my hard work has gone unrewarded. During the February season, I leased one and a half acres of land to grow beans and groundnuts. To my dismay, I did not harvest anything from the groundnuts.
‘‘Moreover, from the one-acre plot where I sowed beans, I only managed to gather a single basin, equivalent to just 40 cups,’’ she said.
Mr Hannington Masereka from Musasa Village said his hopes of a successful farming season have faded. The rain is yet to make an appearance.
Mr Masereka said the previous season, he had diversified his crops with cotton, maize, soya beans, beans, and groundnuts, but his dreams of earning income for his family through farming are now hanging in the balance.
“In the past, I used to cultivate a diverse range of crops, including cotton, maize, soya beans, regular beans, and groundnuts. However, this time around, I find myself in a difficult situation. Last season, I decided to focus solely on maize, hoping it would outperform other crops, but as we find ourselves in September, there hasn’t been any sign of rain,’’ he said.
Mr Remegio Masereka, a cotton farmer, said the two consecutive dry seasons have left farmers struggling to feed their families.
In Kasese, various markets are experiencing a shortage of essential foodstuff such as beans, matooke, onions, tomatoes, and cassava due to less production.
For over a month now, the prices of the foods have skyrocketed.
Some business people are now buying food from the districts of Rubirizi and Bunyangabu.
Current prices
To put this into perspective, a kilogramme of beans, which used to cost Shs3,000 has now skyrocketed to Shs6,000.
Similarly, a batch of onions, once a reasonably priced commodity at Shs5,000, has surged to Shs15,000.
A small-sized bunch of Matoke was available for a manageable Shs7,000, but now it ranges between Shs18,000 and Shs22,000.
A crate of tomatoes, which was priced at Shs150,000, now goes for Shs175,000.
Additionally, cassava flour, a dietary staple, has surged to Shs1,200 per kilogramme from its earlier price of Shs1,000 while a litre of milk has increased from Shs2,000 to Shs2,300.
