Food secuirty: Will the late rains affect food production in Teso?

Okello lay under the verandah motionless and weak.

He had not eaten for the last two days. On the third day, neighbours donated an old blanket to keep his old tired bones warm, a plate of atap and boiled eboo to ignite hope in his stomach.

This was the plight of Okello, 81, an old man in Amuria district abandoned by relatives not because they hated him but they too had nothing to offer.

The neighbors said, the relatives too were starving and surviving on wild plants and dregs (adakai). Okello lay down helpless as if waiting for the day of reckoning as camera flaxes disturbed his already tired eyes.

This was 2009, when the famine was threatening households in Teso. The famine was a result of the long drought that destroyed most crops in the region.

At that time, local leaders were busy accusing each other for abandoning people and denying the existence of famine in the region.

As the situation worsened, president Museveni flew to Malera sub-county one of the hard hit regions in Bukedea district.

After meeting local leaders and inspecting gardens of communities, Museveni said government will not let people starve.

Government through the ministry of disaster preparedness quickly donated food items to most households. Even opposition political extremists agreed government had done something and local leaders for the first time cooled down and united against famine.

Today there are signs that, this might again repeat in the region. “The rains have stubbornly delayed,” said Okurut a local farmer from Bukedea.

“We prepared our gardens on time, but the rains have failed us. Even as the rains are coming back, we don’t think the harvest will be good,” he said.

Okurut is one of the many farmers in Teso, who had ploughed their gardens early in December 2010 with the hope that, in January, they would be able to sow millet and rice.

“We have been told the rains are returning for a short time. I hope, we shall be able to plant something,” Okurut says. He is not really optimistic.

Okurut said most farmers were affected by the prolonged drought hence ate up their seedlings.

“The drought forced many to eat up their seedlings. Now we have nothing,” Okurut said.

This has forced the prices of food crops to rise. A kilo of sorghum has risen to shs 1,000 from shs 300, maize to shs 700 from 150 a kilo and bag of groundnuts goes at shs 90,000 from 40,000.

“Now I can not even afford to buy a bag of sorghum for planting. I had ten bags of sorghum in 2010 and sold it at 20,000 each. If I had known the situation would be terrible, I would have waited, ” Amulen a local farmer in Serere said.

The prolonged drought left many springs dry in most parts in Teso. Swampy areas that were once water logged have dried up. Farmers, who attempted to plant rice in wetlands have lost.

The Environmental experts here say that, the effects of destroying wetlands are now affecting the water system in the region.

“The rains were common here in February every year but that is no more. We told farmers not to plough the wetlands. They did not listen. What we are experiencing are the effects of climatic change.” One environmental expert here said.

He added that, the situation can only be reversed, if the farmers listen to advise and desist from destroying wetlands.

Even as rains are expected to fall here heavily in April, there is fear famine will hit the region hard.

Local leaders here say farmers have not prepared the gardens early enough.

“Our people are used to planting very many crops at once. This means therefore that, they will attempt to grow many types of crops and fail to weed. We want to advise them to concentrate on few crops and manage well,” said one local leader.

The biggest challenges facing farmers in Teso is water, insecurity and funding.

One leader said the problem of water can be solved if irrigation system is put in place. There are quite enough water bodies like Awoja, Opeta and kyoga for that purpose.

Local leaders admit tapping water for irrigation has not been done here.


President Museveni while campaigning in Teso recently said, there is need to tap water for irrigation to help farmers in the region. It is not clear, whether the issue was captured in the National Agricultural Plan.

At least government solved the problem of insecurity. The Kony rebels who attempted to destabilize the region in 2003 are no more. The common cattle rustling in parts of Katakwi are slowly being weeded out.


Although government sent billions of shillings under Naads programmes, farmers are still not convinced how the funds were utilized.

Probably as Naads restructures its operations will farmers have hope in it.

“Iam moving around registering all household heads and their dependants to benefit from Naads programme,” said Amuriat local council chairperson in Bukedea, Tamula ward.

If the programme is well handled, Amuriat hopes that more than ten groups in his ward will benefit at least two bags of ground nut seeds.

Amuriat and his group are optimistic. He said nature is on their side. Adding that, their prosperity this time around will come from farming and famine will be history.

Indeed, history will judge whether they will prosper this time around amidst late rains and other challenges.