Some lessons to learn from the drought
Michael J Ssali
What you need to know:
The first rains have been severe and life threatening in districts such as Kalangala, Masaka, Kyotera and several other districts where buildings, and crop fields have been destroyed by violent rainstorms.
By the time of writing this column nearly a week ago, many parts of Uganda had received some rain. We could be coming to the end of a long drought that has destroyed crops and rendered livestock farming quite difficult.
The first rains have been severe and life threatening in districts such as Kalangala, Masaka, Kyotera and several other districts where buildings, and crop fields have been destroyed by violent rainstorms.
A period of about two months without rain in a country such as ours where nearly all households produce their own food can easily result in food shortage and poverty.
“With a score of 27.3 in the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Uganda has a level of hunger that is serious,” says the food assessment report, https://www.globalhungerindex.org). With 70 percent of households engaged in agriculture our food security is tied to the way we carry out farming.
We must find a way of farming that is both sustainable and productive. At issue is how will smallholder food producers in the rural areas, successfully grow crops in times of rain scarcity. What lesson have we learnt from the long drought in which we have witnessed crops drying up and animals starving due to lack of grass and water in the grazing fields?
We will have to put more emphasis on water conservation innovations. We must as much as possible try out all forms of rainwater harvesting. We must value water storage more than ever before. We must consult more about crop seed varieties that are tolerant to drought conditions. We must look for fast growing crop varieties.
We must pay more attention to where we procure planting material. We must keep the soil healthy by preventing soil erosion and misuse of agricultural chemicals. We must be more vigilant in fighting pests and crop diseases. We must have more efficient ways of storing harvested food. We must learn how to store grass for feeding livestock in times of fodder scarcity.
This is a year of enhanced political activity ahead of the general elections early next year. Farmers must guard against behavior that can lead to civil unrest.
We need an enabling political, social, and economic environment that helps us boost crop and livestock production. As the campaigns proceed farmers should pay more attention to politicians that promise to pursue sustainable food, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and rural development policies and practices.
