President Yoweri Museveni has unveiled a three-phase food stabilisation strategy for Karamoja to reduce the region’s recurring dependence on emergency food relief amid prolonged drought and changing weather patterns.
The strategy will focus on providing households with climate-resilient seed varieties and livestock in the short-term, before transitioning them to irrigation-supported and commercial agriculture in the medium and long term.
Museveni announced the plan on Wednesday while officiating at the 11th Karamoja Cultural Event at Naitakwae Grounds in Moroto District, under the theme: “Unity in Culture, Strength in Peace, Prosperity through Tourism and Natural Resources.”
The President said the strategy was prompted by repeated effects of drought and climate change, which have forced government to repeatedly intervene with relief.
He said government is currently distributing food relief worth about Shs45 billion to drought-affected areas.
“The immediate phase would focus on crops capable of producing food within a relatively short period,” he said, citing sorghum, green gram and white peas as crops that can mature within the region’s short and unpredictable seasons.
He cautioned residents against excessive dependence on maize, which he said takes relatively longer to mature and is less suited to Karamoja’s dry conditions.
The President also encouraged households to take up goat rearing and beekeeping as alternative sources of food and income, saying goats can survive on the shrubs and vegetation available in the region. Cassava and bananas, he added, could be grown in wetter parts.
Irrigation push
Museveni said the medium and long-term phases would seek to move households from subsistence to modern commercial agriculture, with irrigation at the centre.
He called for large-scale water infrastructure, including dams.
“Therefore, Karamoja is a fertile area, but it’s because of water body encroachment. Therefore, we are going to put up big projects to support irrigation in Karamoja, like big dams,” he said.
He warned against wetland encroachment, saying wetlands should be protected as part of the country’s water systems rather than converted into farmland.
The President tasked Karamoja Affairs Minister John Baptist Lokii to explain the Cabinet decision and how the three-phase strategy will be implemented.
Lokii welcomed the strategy, saying it would complement wealth-creation programmes such as the Parish Development Model and Emyooga.
However, he appealed to the President to delay recovery of PDM funds from beneficiaries in Karamoja because of prolonged drought.
“Let us allow Karamojongs to recover properly from this strong drought,” Lokii said.
Peace and development
Museveni also linked the region’s prospects for economic transformation to improved security following the disarmament programme. He said government had recovered about 41,000 illegal guns from Karamoja.
He credited women for their role in the initial disarmament exercise and commended individuals who helped expose cattle raiding networks. He also praised efforts to support former Karacunas to abandon violence.
Vice President Jessica Alupo thanked the people of Karamoja for supporting the NRM in the recently concluded elections, saying restoration of peace had opened opportunities for development.
NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong congratulated the people of Karamoja for supporting the NRM and urged them to use cultural heritage as an asset in addressing household poverty.
The President urged the Karamojong to conduct what he termed a “cultural audit” to identify practices that should be retained and those that undermine development.
“I think you should do a cultural audit. There are some things in your culture which are good and others which are not good. Keep the good ones and abandon the bad ones,” he said.
The week-long event has attracted an estimated 15,000 participants from the wider Ateker cluster, including the Karamojong, Iteso, Ethur, Ik and Tepeth communities, as well as the Turkana and Pokot from Kenya, the Toposa from South Sudan and the Nyangatom from Ethiopia.