Building resilience of farmers and pastoralists to climate change in Karamoja

A member of Nakiloro Vegetable Growers Group wateringa garden. PHOTO/ RONALD SSETYABULE
What you need to know:
- Climate change is putting rain-fed agriculture at risk with major implications for food security in the Karamoja sub-region.
- Climate resilience involves preparing for the effects of climate change and building the capacity to recover quickly. Resilience is often associated with planning. Bamuturaki Musinguzi looks at the achievements of the Strengthening Drought Resilience for Smallholder Farmers and Pastoralists in the IGAD Region (DRESS-EA) Project that aims to increase the resilience of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to climate change risks in Karamoja in eastern Uganda.
On a Saturday morning, when I arrived in Nakiloro village, Musupo Parish, Katikekile sub-county in Moroto district, 12 members of the Nakiloro Vegetable Growers Group were weeding a garden in preparation for planting tomatoes.
Robert Logit, the group’s chairman, says they started working together in November 2023. The group has 30 members - 19 women and 11 men. They were supported with seeds, chemicals, knapsack sprayers, watering cans, and training in farm management and planting, through the Drought Resilience for Smallholder Farmers and Pastoralists in the IGAD Region (DRESS-EA) Project, under the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE).
“We grow sukuma wiki, cabbage, eggplants, spinach, onions, tomatoes, green pepper, and cowpeas. In January 2024, we earned Shs6.1 million from selling the vegetables. The income is shared among the members. Whatever remains after the sale is shared and consumed by our members.,” Logit says.
The group has a saving box that contains five shares per member. A share is sold at Shs3,000. They meet on Tuesdays and each member is expected to save Shs15,000 per sitting. So far, the savings box contains Shs2.4 million.
“We have benefitted from this project by acquiring knowledge on how to grow vegetables profitably. This knowledge has also improved our nutrition. It has increased our incomes and it is promoting peace in our community because no one thinks of getting involved in criminal activities,” Logit adds.
The group grows the vegetables on a five-acre piece of land owned by Logit’s family. The seeds are also shared among members to grow vegetables for their kitchens in their respective homes. However, there are challenges. The nursery in which the seedlings are grown has developed cracks.
“The cracks are letting in grasshoppers that are destroying the seedlings. We need support to repair the greenhouse. The manual water pumping system that was donated by the project has also broken down yet the stream is far from the garden,” Emma Lomilo, the group’s secretary, laments.
The DRESS-EA Project
Nakiloro Vegetable Growers Group is among the beneficiaries of the DRESS-EA Project, whose objective is to increase the resilience of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to climate change risks related to drought, through the establishment of appropriate early warning systems and implementation of drought adaptation actions in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region.
The regional project is funded by the Adaptation Fund through the Sahara and Sahel Observatory and is being executed by the four IGAD countries of Uganda, Kenya, Djibouti, and Sudan. The anticipated impact will directly benefit a total of 613,530 people.
The IGAD member states face severe water constraints and prolonged droughts. Moreover, the region faces uncontrolled activities such as deforestation and poor agricultural practices that lead to reduced water retention capacities, surface runoffs, and soil cover losses. Such activities not only negatively impact water resources, the environment, and other ecosystems, but also increase their vulnerability to droughts.
Eng. Maximo Twinomuhangi, the team leader of the Kyoga Water Management Zone (KWMZ) Project under MWE, says in Uganda, the project implementation began in 2021 in the Lokere catchment of the Karamoja sub-region, engulfing the districts of Moroto, Napak, and Nabilatuk. It will end in 2026.
“As a result of the high rainfall variability, the Karamoja sub-region suffers acute water shortages during the dry season and heavy flash floods during the rainy season. During the dry season, the Karamajong migrate many kilometres in search of water and pasture for their animals. Climate change projections indicate that temperatures will rise, rainfall intensity will increase and extreme events such as droughts and floods will occur more often,” Twinomuhangi says.

Robert Logit
Eng. Rogers Patrick Azira, a water officer in MWE, says two automatic weather stations have been set up in Moroto and Napak districts, and an early warning center has been renovated at the MWE headquarters to provide the region with early warning information products.
“The smallholder farmer needs to know when it is going to rain or when it is going to be dry so that he can better plan his agricultural activities. To our surprise, we found that only one weather station existed in the region - in Kotido district. So, we thought it wise to set up several stations to increase the density of stations managed by Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA),” he says.
The automatic weather station in Moroto district is located at the headquarters of Rupa sub-county in the Nangolopolony sub-catchment. Whatever the year-old station records is relayed into the database and early warning centre.
“Over 2,000 farmers have been supported with early warning information before the onset of the major growing seasons. Over 3,000 farmers have been trained in climate-smart vegetable growing techniques and supplied with seeds. The vegetables are grown using zai pits and vegetable basins where manure is applied to improve soil fertility,” Twinomuhangi adds.
A zai pit is a climate-smart agriculture technique in which small pits are dug into the soil to improve soil fertility and water retention. It has been proven to enhance yields in arid regions. Vegetable basins, on the other hand, are a method in which holes are dug in the ground used for planting crops, capturing and storing rainwater, and using nutrients efficiently.
According to Twinomuhangi, climate-smart agriculture technologies, including six acres of soil and water conservation and two permaculture gardens have been implemented in Tapac and Lotion sub-counties in Moroto district. Permaculture ensures that farmers grow food all year round. These are soon going to be replicated in Napak district.
“DRESS-EA has also promoted the protection of water sources, specifically boreholes in Lotisan sub-county in Moroto district, and Lokopo sub-county and Ngoleriet sub-county both in Napa district, to ensure availability of water of adequate quality and quantity. The combination of the above achievements contributes to the strengthening of drought resilience for the community,” he says.
Azira says because of the region’s poor groundwater potential, most boreholes dry up during the peak of the dry season. This means the aquifers are not being regenerated well.
“Because we are upstream of the Lokere catchment when it rains most of the water ends up in the catchment. We built this water source protection site in Longoroko village in Lotisan sub-county to improve the sustainability of the borehole during the dry season,” he says.
The water protection site has three zones. The first zone usually measures 15 by 15 metres around the borehole, which Azira says is the most sensitive part of the borehole.
“We fence it off with a chain link because we do not want any sort of activity taking place there. Inside the fence, we leave the grass to give it a more natural look. Outside the chain link, in an area of 100 by 100 metres, we carry out soil and conservation measures to improve the recharge of the aquifers,” Azira explains.
Outside the 100 by 100 zone, high-value trees like guavas and oranges have been planted around the borehole to benefit the community, who will eat the fruits. These trees also help to improve the quantity and quality of water.
John Lokiru, the chairman of the Longoroko Village Water Source Protection Committee, says the quality of water from the borehole has improved since animals are no longer allowed to drink at the water point.
“Previously we fetched water here and the animal also drank this water. Now the cows are directed to the cattle trough. The fruits are growing and the community is eager to eat them, which will improve the nutrition of our children. The crops grown around this water source are growing well because of the soil and water conservation measures. In the past other communities would misuse this source by bathing here hence polluting the water. This protected source has also reduced the flooding around this area,” Lokiru, who is also the local council chairperson, says.

Nakiloro Vegetable Growers Group preparing a garden for planting tomatoes.
Lokiru locks the borehole with a padlock to regulate its use. He says other communities have now realised the importance of having a protected water source and would wish this to be replicated in their areas.
Economic activities
Twinomuhangi says the community has adopted the growing of drought-resistant and fast-maturing crop varieties such as maize MM3, green gram, cowpeas, sukuma wiki, spinach, and eggplants.
“The project is planning to support 270 pastoralists with drought-tolerant goat breeds. Others will be supported with environmentally friendly income-generating activities such as apiary, briquette making, local poultry, and community tourism under the framework of the Water and Environment Cooperative Societies (WECS),” he adds.
The most popular among these economic activities is the growing of fast-maturing drought-tolerant vegetables during the short rain season and the growing of sorghum and maize during the long rain season.
Eng. Mark Tendo, the senior water officer in the Karamoja sub-office of the KWMZ, says the economic activities have improved the livelihoods of the farmers.
“The fast-maturing vegetables and cereals provide nutritious food for the farmers while the surplus is sold off to enable the farmers to access other services using the proceeds from the markets. The early warning information provided by the project has reduced the losses made due to the unpredictability of rainy seasons. The farmers are now making more informed decisions based on weather forecast advisories,” he explains.
“The capacity of farmers to undertake climate-smart agriculture has greatly been improved for the 3000 farmers who have been trained in regenerative agriculture, soil and water conservation, and permaculture,” Tendo added.
Before the implementation of the DRESS-EA project, the area had fewer weather stations which was making the generation of early warnings difficult, but now the weather observations from Moroto and Matany are assisting in the production of more accurate forecasts. The project is also contributing to Uganda’s climate change mitigation efforts.
“Much as DRESS-EA is more of a climate change adaptation project, some aspects of the project contribute to climate change mitigation, such as, the implementation of climate-smart agriculture and tree planting in some locations. These contribute to the reduction of emissions from agricultural activities and the sequestration of carbon by the trees,” Tendo adds.
The expected results of the DRESS-EA Project are strengthening the effective use of the early warning system by the stakeholders; improving the resilience of key operators and partnerships for drought management at regional, national, and local levels; promoting the use of concrete and innovative drought adaptation tools; and strengthening knowledge and awareness of drought risk management.