Farmers in East Acholi say they have registered what they describe as unusually low crop yields during the second planting season.
They fear that many households could face food insecurity in the coming months as the dry spell sets in.
Similarly, Rogers Olila, a farmer in Kitgum district, hired six acres of land from Akwang Subcounty at 90,000 shillings per acre, and planted maize and simsim.
Olila says he spent close to 2 million shillings for hiring, ploughing, planting and weeding, but the simsim crops all died.
The scale of Olila’s loss is stark. Although the number of maize bags per acre depends on several factors, on average, a non-commercial maize farmer in Uganda gets 10 to 20 bags (100kg bags) per acre.
Olila harvested only five basins from three acres.
Margaret Adokorach, a maize farmer in Lacekocot in Pader district, says that although she got a good maize yield, several farmers suffered poor harvests because of “poor timing.”
According to Adokorach, all farmers who planted maize in September are devastated because there was little rain to support the crop’s proper growth.
In Agago, Abwono Korina says their problems are worsened by the striga weed and the late distribution of seed by the government.
Brian Maktunu, an agriculturalist in Agago district, blames the poor harvest on the ever-changing weather patterns and appealed to the government to subsidise irrigation equipment for farmers.
Currently, a kilogram of maize is being sold at 800 to 1,000 shillings. During bumper harvests, a kilogram goes for 500 shillings.
Leave a Reply