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More than 300,000 people in Karamoja face food crisis- government
What you need to know:
- In 2006, the region suffered a severe drought, In 2007, it experienced a dry spell followed by floods and massive water-logging in the most fertile areas. Then, a honey dew fungal infection destroyed the staple sorghum crop while other diseases killed thousands of cattle, goats and sheep, and food prices rose.
- Today many people in Karamoja are becoming part of the 'new face of hunger' as rising food prices make food unaffordable says Mr Ecweru.
- A recent survey report by the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs [OCHA] says Karamoja’s problems have been compounded by increasing impact of Climate change and present droughts coming every two to three years.
KAMPALA. The Karamoja sub-region is facing a humanitarian emergency due to widespread food shortages, with an expected 390,165 local people starving, government has said.
According to a statement from government’s Media Centre, although at national level, food will still be available to keep Ugandan population for the next two to three months, there will be no surplus.
The August 2016 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis report says that 83 percent of the Ugandan population [30,892, 131] could be food secure, 16 percent will be stressed [5, 958, 155] while 1 percent [390, 165] most of whom are from Karamoja sub-region will be faced with food crisis.
“The risk of hunger, malnutrition and poverty are projected to go very high if we do not invest in climate change mitigation interventions,” the report dated October 14 reads in part.
The Disaster preparedness state minister Musa Ecweru said some hunger-related deaths are already being reported in Karamoja sub-region and other people are living on one meal a day.
"Between 49 and 80 percent of the about one million people in Karamoja are already in acute food shortage and depend on relief supplies from WFP," Mr Ecweru said.
The report warns that the world today is experiencing a rise in temperature (1.3°c) a phenomenon called global warming that has led to Climate change worldwide.
The report adds that there will be frequent droughts resulting in crop failures and the loss of pasture grazing land for livestock, increased flooding, water logging, erosion, lightning and thunder and declining soil fertility.
“Crop yields are projected to fall by 30 percent, livestock 10 percent and fisheries 10 percent in many places and the most affected are the vulnerable poor households and small holder farmers,” the report warns.
President Yoweri Museveni in his speeches has highlighted some of the bottlenecks of agriculture as; low levels of commercial agriculture, lack of linkages between research and farmers, low use of fertilizers, low coverage of irrigation, land Fragmentation, low level of value addition, lack of agricultural machinery, vectors and diseases.
A joint survey by UN World Food Programme [WFP], the UN children’s fund [UNICEF] and Health ministry in February this year found acute malnutrition rates above emergency threshold in the two districts of Moroto [15.6 percent] and Nakapiripirit [15.1 percent] due to lack of food.
Ministry of Agriculture, Animal husbandry and Fisheries says as we celebrate Oct 14 World Food Day the world has 7.2 billion people and 850 million going to bed hungry and malnourished.
“The risk of hunger, malnutrition and poverty are projected to go very high if we do not invest in climate change mitigation interventions,” says the ministry of MAAIF.
The statement from the Media centre says because Climate is changing, the agricultural production must also change by adopting too irrigation.
Reports indicate that Uganda has an estimated 81,000ha under irrigation (less than 1% of land area under irrigation). The target is to increase this acreage to 10% under the Water resources development Plan for sustainable irrigation, water for livestock and aquaculture.
The report from media centre advises farmers to adopt to research generated drought tolerant, high yielding, pest and disease resistant crops and animal breed for better yields.
