By Venance Ntegeka
Farmers across Uganda are counting heavy losses as a prolonged dry spell withers crops, dries up water sources and leaves livestock struggling for pasture and water. The extreme weather is also threatening household incomes and food security.
Across several regions, farmers who invested heavily in coffee, maize, beans, sorghum and other crops are watching their gardens dry up before harvest. Livestock farmers are facing a similar crisis, with animals losing weight and milk production falling as pasture and water sources disappear.
For many, failed crops mean lost income, mounting debts and growing difficulty paying school fees and meeting basic household needs.
In Bunyoro, livestock farmers are also being pushed to desperate measures as valley dams dry up. Charles Rukundo, a cattle farmer in Buliisa District, says some farmers are considering moving their animals to other districts, particularly areas near water bodies, in an attempt to save them from dying.
In Greater Masaka, one of the areas in Central Uganda severely affected by the dry conditions, coffee and food crops have been badly hit. Sulaiman Minani, a farmer from Bisanje Ward in Masaka City, says the drought has destroyed his one-and-a-half-acre coffee plantation, wiping out a major source of income.
In Isingiro District, farmers in Nakivale Refugee Settlement are also counting the cost of the prolonged drought. Austin Rugamba, the Refugee Welfare Chairperson in Rubondo Village, says he has lost more than 10 acres of beans and maize, leaving him with little hope of recovering his investment.
Nakasongola District Chairman Rogers Kulaba Ssemanda says cassava and watermelon gardens have been destroyed, while livestock are becoming increasingly weak because of inadequate water and pasture. Some animals, he warns, could die if the rains do not resume soon.
According to the seasonal climate outlook presented by Dr Alfred Okot-Okidi, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda is expected to receive near-normal to above-normal rainfall, with El Niño conditions projected to begin around mid-September.
