Rice farmers given 90 days to vacate wetlands
Farmers in rice gardens in Hisega Village, Butaleja Town Council, Butaleja District recently. Several farmers have opposed the ban, saying it will affect their livelihoods and push them further into poverty. PHOTO/ YAHUDU KITUNZI
What you need to know:
- Trend. The ban on rice growing came at a time when many wetlands such as Lwera on the Masaka-Mbarara highway have been reclaimed to grow rice. Uganda’s wetland coverage has dropped from 17.5 per cent in 1990s to 8.5 per cent, while forest coverage has dropped from 24 per cent to 12.4 per cent.
Kalaki District leaders have given rice farmers 90 days to voluntarily vacate wetlands or face eviction.
The district senior environment officer, Ms Ketty Alilim, said farmers have encroached on wetlands in a bid to earn more from rice at the expense of the ecosystem.
Ms Alilim told sub-county and village chairpersons in a meeting on Friday that if residents don’t get out of the swamps, future environmental effects may be difficult to reverse.
“In the 90 days, harvest your rice, and never get back to the wetlands,” she directed, appealing to the local leaders to enforce the directive.
Ms Alilim said the essence of protecting the wetlands is to ensure that the ecosystem is safeguarded so that the rainfall pattern can be restored to avoid droughts.
She added that plans were underway to demarcate wetlands of Otuboi, Apapai, and Bululu in a programme supported by the central government.
The District Forestry Officer, Mr Bernard Ouke, cautioned the residents about the looming climate change impacts and urged them to conserve both public and private forests.
He said Section 31, (4) of the National Forestry and Tree Planting Act, 2003, and section 36 of the National Forestry and Tree Planting Regulation (NFTPR), 2016, prohibit any dealing in reserved trees species without written permission from the line minister or relevant authorities.
He said three central forest reserves of Bululu, Anyara, and Acogowen under the management of NFA were degraded and are currently being restored by commercial tree farmers using tree species such as eucalyptus and pine.
Mr Ouke said local farmers were also being encouraged to grow more trees.
In July, Cabinet banned the growing of rice and other crops in wetlands across the country.
State minister for Environment Beatrice Anywar said this was done to restore the environment.
However, several farmers have opposed the ban, saying it will affect their livelihoods and push them further into poverty.
