Ugandan farmers need more chance to supply food to WFP

Four people have been confirmed dead and more than 100 treated after eating food distributed by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Karamoja sub-region.
On Saturday, March 16, a day after 120 families received Super Cereal, sugar and oil, more than 90 people were admitted to Lotome Health Centre in Napak District, with 12 children under the age of five years admitted with symptoms including confusion and high fever.

The source of the poisoning is believed to be Super Cereal, a fortified blended food, distributed by WFP. The Super Cereal aims to improve nutrition among pregnant, breastfeeding women and children.
Many are asking how food meant to contribute to good health has instead ended up causing deaths.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said: “We have already sent samples of blood, urine and food leftovers of six survivors to the government analytical laboratory for examination. They are yet to establish whether the entire food donation from Turkey was affected.”
According to WFP, they are investigating the matter and have submitted samples of Super Cereal for laboratory tests to determine whether there is a link between eating blended food and people falling sick after distributions.

“As a precaution in case Super Cereal is linked to outbreaks of sickness, WFP is stopping distributing Super Cereal in all its operations in Uganda, including in refugee settlements across the country, in government-led Maternal Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) and community-based supplementary feeding programmes in Karamoja,” the food-assistance branch of the United Nations said.
The food poisoning incident has raised significant issues besides the deaths. Although WFP has bought food worth about Shs550 billion from Ugandans in the last three years, more can be done to support the Ugandan farmers.

It was interesting to learn that the Super Cereal in question was imported from Turkey. While it is said that about 60 per cent of Africa’s land is arable, many people are wondering why WFP is importing food from different parts of the world into Uganda to feed the vulnerable in our society, and yet they would have engaged local farmers as food suppliers.
According to WFP, “Ugandan smallholder farmers lack farming skills, handling techniques and access to services such as credit and insurance. Storage facilities are often inadequate to protect harvested crops from pests, moisture and mould, which results in losses of up to 30 per cent.”

Why then can’t WFP build the capacity of the Ugandan farmers and develop their skills and expertise in food supply chain? Much as they are increasing the capacity of smallholder farmers in some communities, more can and should be done.
Since Uganda is one of the countries with the largest population of refugees, Ugandan farmers should be supported to be able to produce for these refugees so that they can benefit as a host country, as opposed to importing the food from places such as Turkey.

In countries such as Afghanistan, WFP supports more than 26 industrial mills to participate in government-led flour fortification programmes through long term agreements. The agreements enable WFP to work with local farmers and food suppliers with the agency providing technical guidance, developing necessary skills, fortification formulas and equipment.
It remains to be seen if the incident in Karamoja can provide government of Uganda with the opportunity to engage WFP so that Ugandans can tap more into opportunities in the food production, distribution and consumption.

Ms Victoria Nyeko is a media commentator.
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Twitter:@VictoriaNyeko