Ikumbania wa Bugwere His Royal Highness Geoffrey Wayabire II has called upon his subjects for long term rural development to recurring Food crises in the region and country as well.
In an exclusive interview with this publication, wayabire[Ikumbania ]said that food production will end hunger and poverty levels In the four districts of Budaka,Butebo,Kibuku , Pallisa which sometimes experience Acute food insecurity during dry seasons.
He highlighted that Food insecurity is one of the major challenges Uganda is still grappling with, according to Uganda Food Security Outlook Report for June 2022 to January 2023.
The reports indicates that season bimodal harvests in Bukedi and Teso Sub-region were delayed and expected to be below average due to below-average rainfall virtually across the year. As a result, most poor rural households had below-normal seasonal income from crop sales and had limited availability of food stocks.
"According to recent data also provided by the Food Rights Alliance [FRA], shows that at least 15 million people or beyond are threatened by food scarcity with many going without a meal, Over 66 percent of Ugandan children spend a whole day at school without a meal, while 29 percent of them under 5 are stunted, 3 percent are overweight and are obese,” Wayabire said.
The cultural leader stressed that Uganda is unique and should have no problem with food. We have a high altitude near the equator. Food grows easily on our soil and so Uganda can be the center for food production. If there is any problem in food production, it is due to lack of sensitization.
wayabire[Ikumbania ]further noted that there several challenges Ugandans faces in the food system chain and if solved, the country would be able to feed a large proportion of people in the world.
Ikumbania urged the government through mother ministry of Agricultural Animal and crop husbandry to support locals with more equipments for either micro or macro irrigation in order to improve production.
However he narrated that Ugandan farmers face several hardships like pests and parasites on crops, post-harvest/storage problems, lack of proper supervision enforcement, lack of sensitization, environmental degradation, land fragmentation, challenges of enabling infrastructure, lack of sufficient electricity, lack of enough water for irrigation, low access to telecommunication and a challenge of market for the produce.
“The government should collaborate with other countries around the globe to fight pests and parasites organically. The organic anti-tick vaccine was developed in Uganda, needs to be available and free for farmers. Let there be a free market for Agricultural produce . Ugandans should understand the issue of world African market ," Wayabire says.
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