Farmers in Kagadi District, Bunyoro Sub-region are counting losses after a prolonged dry spell, lasting more than three months destroyed crops, disrupted household incomes and left many families uncertain about how to meet basic needs, including food and school fees.
The losses come as the rainy season sets in, raising hopes of a fresh planting season, but offering little relief to farmers whose crops have already dried up.
Farmers say the return of rain cannot revive the beans, groundnuts and sorghum that withered before maturity, leaving them to start afresh despite having invested heavily in the previous season.
Mr Gideon Bizimana, a resident of Wabinyama in Rubirizi Parish, Mpeefu Sub-county, invested in two acres of beans, but was forced to replant maize after the crop dried up.
He said many farmers began planting in July in anticipation of rains expected in early August. However, the anticipated rainfall did not materialise through September, exposing crops to prolonged sunshine and leaving gardens dry.
He added that some farmers had borrowed money to finance their gardens, increasing fears of debt, loss of property and further financial hardship after the failed harvest.
‘Previously, I had planted beans, but the dry spell destroyed the entire garden. I had no option but to replant maize that would catch up with the rains,’ he said.
Mr Bizimana said he spent about Shs720,000 on preparing the garden, buying seeds and paying labourers, but lost the investment when the beans failed.
Beans have been his main source of income for the past 10 years, but the latest loss has left him struggling to identify an alternative source of money.
He attributed the changing weather patterns partly to forest destruction, saying continued clearing of forest cover for farming and charcoal burning could be contributing to the worsening conditions.
He is now relying on coffee sales, although he says the crop has also been affected by prolonged sunshine and declining prices.
According to him, the price of dried coffee has fallen from Shs8,000 to Shs5,000, while processed coffee has dropped from Shs11,000 to Shs7,800.
Mr Biziimana had used funds from the Parish Development Model to establish his coffee enterprise and expected to begin repaying the money in the current financial year. However, the losses have complicated his repayment plans as he struggles to provide food, medical care and school fees for his family.
For Ms Chance Asiimwe Tusingwire, a farmer who invested in an acre of beans, the failed season has put her education plans at risk.
‘I expected the output to facilitate my first semester as I continued to plan, but the drought has left me stranded,’ she said.
Mr Peter Nzabonimpa, the chairperson of Rwensenene A in Rwabaranga Parish, Mpeefu Sub-county, said the prolonged dry spell also affected his fish farming enterprise after water levels in his four fish ponds almost dried.
‘When the dry spell lasted for about four months, water volumes reduced, causing the death of my fish,’ he said.
Mr Nzabonimpa said fish sales would normally generate about Shs800,000, money he uses to support the education of his three children and meet other household expenses.
He added that his bee-keeping enterprise has also suffered because bees struggle to find nectar during prolonged dry conditions, reducing honey production.
‘I would earn Shs600,000 from two jerrycans of honey in normal seasons. This would supplement my seasonal earnings. Now that I have only registered losses, life is tricky until the next season,’ he said.
Mr Desire Mpalana, the principal agricultural officer in Kagadi District, urged farmers to embrace small-scale irrigation systems to reduce their dependence on rainfall and protect their crops during prolonged dry periods.
He said the destruction of forests for charcoal burning and farming had contributed to environmental degradation, warning that farmers needed to reconsider their agricultural practices in response to changing weather patterns.