Amuria farmers reversing climate change using nature-based solutions

The true nature of climate change is that it affects every facet of life on earth. Trees die, rivers overflow, wind damage worsens, eco systems collapse and the air becomes toxic. As the pendulum of destruction swings from one extreme to another, people’s livelihoods are left in gutters, chocking for survival. 

Of the livelihoods that end up getting wrecked, subsistence farming gets the biggest blows. 

Farmers in Amuria district in Eastern Uganda have experienced this first hand. Like all subsistence farmers, they are fully reliant on the predictable rainy and dry seasons. However, climate change disrupts them and makes them unpredictable. 

Havoc reigns

And in the absence of irrigation and other modern farming methods, it becomes hard to frustrating to farm. This is what has been happening to farmers in Amuria, in Soroti sub region. 

History

Amuria had historically been covered in thick vegetation comprising of swamps, shrubs, and large trees. Historically, the people depended on animas for income generation. 

But according to the locals, when their animals were lost due to cattle rustling in the 90s, the people resorted to burning charcoal as the new source of sustenance. 

Later, more trees were cut to build camps for internally displaced people due to the Lords Resistance Army war, further worsening the deforestation problem. In peacetime, swamps were cleared to pave way for rice farming and shrubs were cut to create space for crops. Of the trees that were cut for charcoal during that time, shea, tangerine, mango and avocado became the most endangered. This was problematic because the above are just trees. They are food and cutting worsened hunger problems. 

Nature based solutions

The decades of deforestation contributed to climate change and the repercussions became worse and worse until about ten years ago when farmers were compelled to act. 

Soils were unproductive, swamps were dry, rain was scarce while droughts raged on for months each year. 

Something needed to be done 

Justine Edonu from Odania village Morungatuny Sub-county was one of the farmers to try some farmer-managed natural regeneration techniques to try and reverse the impact of climate change. 

The 41-year-old father of six knew that without returning the land to the conditions he found as a child, his children would starve. 

“The wind was becoming stronger and the sun was becoming unbearable. Crop yields were becoming worse and worse. One day it dawned on me that our soils were better in the past probably because our farms were full of trees,” Edonu says. 

Leaving trees to sprout

So in 2013, Edonu started leaving indigenous trees to freely sprout all over his home and farm. Whenever they became too many, he cut some out to ensure that sunlight reached his crops. 

Tree saplings that he treated like weeds a few seasons past were now allowed to flourish.  As the trees grew taller and bigger, he pruned them and used the branches for firewood. 

Dry leaves from the trees improved his soil, resulting better yields. And because of the sufficient canopy, his soils became more and more moist, resulting in less heat-damage to crop.

People started paying attention. Because of the many trees he let grow all around his home, the breeze around his home became cooler and more inviting. 

“The first thing most people say upon arriving here is, ‘This place has changed. Why?’ Then they start saying, ‘Ah, this man must be a VHT’. They usually comment about the coolness of the air around my home. They keep saying that my home seems like a nice place to live because of the trees. That my home reminds them of the good old days when this land was beautiful, when mornings were misty and the trees were full of birds. You see that tall grass over there?” he points to the extreme of his land. 

“That’s the grass we use for thatching our houses but it has become extremely rare these days. You can travel for miles and fail to see it anywhere. So when they come here and see it, they can’t believe their eyes. But I let it regenerate and I look after it. Whenever I have any thatching needs, I use my own grass in my land,” he says.  
  
What is FMNR?

He says this technique that he has used to restore his land to its former glory is called farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR). It was introduced to Edonu and other farmers by organizations that work closely with farmers in Amuria such as World Vision and Farm Radio International. The technique is a low-cost, sustainable land restoration procedure that subsistence farmers can use to combat poverty and hunger by increasing food and timber production. FMNR helps in the fight against climate change. It involves the systematic regeneration of trees and shrubs from tree stumps, roots and seeds. 

Other than returning degraded soils and grazing lands to productivity, FMNR has been used in Amuria to restore degraded forests, thereby reversing biodiversity loss and reducing vulnerability to climate change. This technique can also be crucial in sustaining not-yet-degraded landscapes in a productive state.

Better yields

Edonu grows cassava, maize, potatoes, soya beans, sunflower, millet, sorghum, among other crops. He says he has seen a big difference in his farming since he decided to fight climate change. His domestic animals have enough to eat and his crops yield so much better. 

“For instance, that millet crop you see there, people see it and wonder what I put in the soil. It looks better than other millet crops in this village. I tell them that I put nothing in the soil, and many can’t believe it. The trick is just the trees. They help keep the soil moist and fertile and the millet crop yields better. At first people didn’t believe me but slowly, more and more people are getting it and they are also letting trees regenerate in their lands” he says.

Inspiration

One of the people that was inspired by Edonu’s new farming practices is William Ecadu. 

Five years ago, the 51-year old returned from Afghanistan where he served with the Americans forces there. Upon return, he bought a few acres of land so that he could live his retirement as a farmer. The one day he passed by Edonu’s home and he was inspired to practice FMNR. 

“When I saw how beautiful and special Edonu’s land looked, I was inspired. I wanted that for my land as well. He told me that all I needed to do was leave indigenous trees to sprout all over my farm. I did that and as you can see, my land is slowly gaining vegetation cover,” he says. 

He says that he was also inspired to plant trees as insurance for his retirement. He figured that trees don’t need much care yet they are a source of real income. 

“Trees beautify the environment. You live in a more liveable environment. Personally, I planted fruit trees and timber trees. The fruit trees give me regular income while trees are more long term. That is why you see a lot of pine trees, oranges, avocado, shear and jack fruit trees,” he says. 

He says that he’s not worried that timber trees will disrupt his crops because he has enough land. He designated one part for timber trees and another for crops. Ecadu says that some people criticize him for turning his land into a ‘bush’.

“They think that I am a mad person, wasting my land. They think that trees spoil the soil and take up space that could be used to grow crops. But I know that fighting climate change is a must, and trees make the soil better, not worse,” he says.

“Most people however see the point of leaving trees to grow. They often say that I will be rich in the future; that I have a good pension,” Ecadu says.

Those usually get inspired to do the same. 

Local government policy

Edonu and Ecadu are not the only farmers fighting climate change in Morungatuny Sub County. As the positive effects of nature-based solutions to climate change became more and more apparent, the local government woke up and instituted policies to help further the fight. 

Etol Jethro Tull, one of the trainers responsible for the uptake of the FMNR technique in Morungatuny says that he has trained over 500 farmers on FMNR yet, the number of farmers practicing the technique are over 10,000 in his estimation. 

“While it is probable that thousands of people were inspired by the 500 farmers we trained, much bigger numbers took up the technique because our local government came up with a policy to encourage and coax the people to save their land. You had to pay a fine of 100,000 Ugandan shillings or plant 100 seedlings if you were found burning charcoal. The policy was meant particularly to protect shea trees, tangerine, and mangoes trees,” he says. 

Etol says that the most visible change is that the land looks beautiful again. Vegetation cover has returned and the breeze is cool again. But even more importantly, farmers say that their soils are better now that they are letting trees grow.