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Topic for discussion
| Bidco wants more forest land hosted by Administrator |
| Should government give away part of Bugala forests on Sese Islands, Kalangala to BIDCO for oil Palm growing? |
| (11 posts) Post your opinion View Latest Posts |
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Posts (Latest First)
| Madhvani to invest in new sugar plantation authored by king on 1. March 2010 at 21:20 |
Madhvani, keep on dreaming. We do not need your pet project to develop us. No body has died for lack of sugar, but many people die for lack of food.
Acholi will again multiply and replenish their ravaged population. Where will they get the land to feed their people? If Museveni wants to give away land let him start with Rwakitura or you go to India for that matter. This is re-colonization. The white man knew not to mess with Acholiland like they did elsewhere (Kenya Highlands, Rhodesia etc).
They stole the Murchison Falls Game Park under the pretences of Tsetse Fly and Sleeping Sickness – we need to recover our title to that land. Now we have white squatters on the same land masquerading under all kinds of guises.
The sugarcane project benefits only one man and his African appendages. The project will not eradicate poverty. Give the locals ploughs and they can produce food for sale to the Sudan, Kenya, Rwanda and beyond. This is development and empowerment. Don’t bring foreigners in our midst because foreigners have done Africa no good – be they European Colonialists, Religious peddlers, Indians, Arabs or Chinese. Read your true history books.
Acholiland is already under environmental threat from oil exploration which to date does not employ any locals and has brought no benefits whatsoever. Sugarcane growing is a polluter.
Sugar Production Damages the Environment
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), roughly 145 million tons of sugars are produced in 121 countries each year. And sugar production does indeed take its toll on surrounding soil, water and air, especially in threatened tropical ecosystems near the equator.
A 2004 report by WWF, titled “Sugar and the Environment,” shows that sugar may be responsible for more biodiversity loss than any other crop, due to its destruction of habitat to make way for plantations, its intensive use of water for irrigation, its heavy use of agricultural chemicals, and the polluted wastewater that is routinely discharged in the sugar production process.
Meanwhile, in Papua New Guinea, soil fertility has declined by about 40 percent over the last three decades in heavy sugar cane cultivation regions. And some of the world’s mightiest rivers—including the Niger in West Africa, the Zambezi in Southern Africa, the Indus River in Pakistan, and the Mekong River in Southeast Asia—have nearly dried up as a result of thirsty, water-intensive sugar production.
So, before our effete leadership come up with knee jerk one-track ideas of land give-aways to foreigner as development they should realize that certain parts of Uganda were not colonized through defeat by the colonialists neither did these parts enter into any agreement with the British. There fore these lands do not belong to Uganda but to the indigenous tribal groups. I see eager thieves trying to steal Karamoja and itchy fingers are eyeing Acholiland. Land Bill cannot apply to Acholiland, if you don’t agree put it to a referendum.
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| A parent can only guide you but the decission remains yours to make: authored by Titus Wambede Tommy on 5. February 2010 at 17:41 |
| Like the Chinese saying goes, "even a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." It seems much more to me that none of us is listening to the footsteps that our very own country is trailing. First, it was Namanve, second it was Mabira and now its Bugala. Who knows if it won't be Kampala next on the list. Let us Ugandans not only look at the present but focus more on the generations to come because what was once known as "the pearl of Africa" is sinking into a deep ocean day by day. Let those who have eyes visualize what happened in Teso and those with ears hear the cries of the dry January season that has left many living a life in which the next meal is a matter of life and death. I'm just urging my fellow Ugandans not to think money will save our country For it were brains that built money so let us begin to think before it's too late. |
| Utilization of the resources for development and poverty Alleviation authored by Ann Turinayo on 3. February 2010 at 16:09 |
There is a direct link between Development and the utilization of the natural resources a country has. I refer to the post by Rogers Mataka ‘Forests vs Development’. The countries we now call developed have got where they are by making use of the available resources to create better living conditions for their people. The advantage that we have as an under developed country is that while having the natural resources, we also have the experiences of the developed world to learn from. As such, we have every reason to responsibly utilize our resources for development, rather than negative exploitation. With this in mind, let us objectively understand the facts about the development focus of promoting oil palm growing in Kalangala, consider the short and long term benefits of the project vis-à-vis not utilizing the land, and then provide constructive criticism to make the project better.
How has the project benefited kalangala so far?
Kalangala district is more accessible now than before, with two operational ferries, and more expected to beef up transport to the islands
•On the Bugala Island, there is a road network that was not there previously; hence farmers can easily transport their produce
•The population on the island has increased as the project has attracted job seekers
•The oil palm crushing factory has already been made operational, and it is providing employment opportunities for the islanders, in addition to those that work on the farms
•The small holder farmers who joined the project earlier on have already commenced harvesting, and are thus going to earn consistent household incomes for the next twenty five years.
The infrastructural and socio-economic development in Kalangala since the commencement of the project is worthwhile.
The question for discussion “Should government give away part of Bugala forests on Sese Islands, Kalangala to BIDCO for oil Palm growing?” arises from a recent headline “BIDCO wants more forest land”. The connotation is that government has been giving forest land to BIDCO, which is serious misinformation. The government has not given out land to BIDCO previously, and is definitely not planning to do so. Here are the facts, for the information of those that would know the truth about Oil Palm growing by the BIDCO-Government of Uganda partnership:
Giving out of natural forests
•The land that BIDCO has used for the plantation of oil palm was private, acquired through a willing seller willing buyer basis.
•No forest reserve land has been given out for the growing of oil palm – you can verify this from the National Forestry Authority information desk
•The forests in Kalangala are secondary, not primary forests. Previously the islands were heavily populated with scarce forest cover. The forests flourished after the tse tse invasion that left many people dead saw most of the survivors desert the island.
•Kalangala is largely a grassland area, and it is these grass lands that the oil palm project has targeted, to increase the forest cover on the island. More than 60% of the land used for oil palm development was previously grasslands.
Environmental Concerns
Controversial Information has been reported about how the project has ignored environment conservation measures in a bid to promote oil palm growing. However, the truth of the matter is that;
•The required Environmental Impact Assessment Studies have been conducted before launching into the project. The planting of oil palm in Kalangala has thus been cleared by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). These reports are available for public viewing at the Vegetable Oil Development (VODP) Offices. Contact vodp@imul.com .
•The necessary measures to safe guard the environment are in place such as: continuous assessment of the lake Victoria waters for any negative impacts, ensuring that forest reserves are not encroached on, transforming the largely originally grassland areas into oil palm forests, as well as promoting tree planting on the private small holder estates, as well as promoting modern agricultural practices on the islands. Others include, use of cover crop to control soil erosion and enrich the soils, maintenance of the 200 metre buffer zone along the lake Victoria Shores and minimum tillage where the grasslands are predominant.
•Oil palm being a tree, will lead to increased forest cover on the Island. In terms of Biodiversity, the project is only utilizing one third of one island. The other 83 islands have similar biodiversity.
Concern for the environment is key to each of us as Ugandans, hence the need to ensure that while promoting development and poverty alleviation, our natural resources are utilized responsibly. The number one enemy for environment is poverty. We can only protect the environment if we show the populace how to earn an income.
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| Government should stop giving away our forests authored by Ellady Muyambi on 31. January 2010 at 18:31 |
The Government should not give away part of Bugala Islands, Kalangala to BIDCO for palm oil growing because;-
1. The local communities have not benefited from the previous forest give away. At first, the communities expected BIDCO to give them employment but their suprise, the biggest percentage of the BIDCO workers come from far distances and they have ended up becoming an insecurity to the local communities.
2. Giving away part of this forest will exerbate the problem of climate change which has already been witnessed by reduced fish yields in Kalangala. Most of the fishermen in Kalangala are now redudant and languishing in absolute poverty due to reduced rains which has greatly affected the population and quality of fish.
3. Palm oil growing is part of a global agenda aiming at increasing food insecurity in the African Continent and Uganda in partricular. As Ugandansm we should take kin of these agrofuels. We should first evaluate their impact on our environment
4. Lastly but not least, BIDCO should look for alternative areas. Why are they more interested in our forests and more-over our natural forests which are essential to the survival of Uganda's eco-system? |
| Weigh authored by gitahi on 31. January 2010 at 13:04 |
How as the previous investment in kalangala benefited Uganda and he local communities? They have previously cultivated large pieces what do tey have to show, what is the harm caused?
Tis will be the moral and fair compaison, if the pevious forest land they were not enviroment considerate they will not even now impove.
Who is employed there, where do they invest their profit, do they have social corporate reponcibility? are they Fair Trade?..
BIDCO? |
| Why always forest authored by Regina Nandala on 31. January 2010 at 11:55 |
There´s enough land that Bidco could grow their pal trees,must it be the forests? We are in global warming and that means we should save the forests that we have and not let some oil farms who not satisfied with what they have steal them away.I´m so sick and tired of hearing always that some company wants a part of the forest to grow something when there´s enough plain land somewere else.These forests give us rain.I say no to the give away otherwise our politicians have gone crazy.There are many things they should do for country as giving away every forest...We have enough oil in uganda and giving away the forest won´t mean that we can buy oil cheaper.
regina |
| Forests vs. Development authored by Rogers Mataka on 27. January 2010 at 09:42 |
I think we are stuck between a rock and a very hard place. The question that all Ugandans must carefully weigh before taking any action is whether we can develop while still retaining all our forests or whether we must forego some forests in order to achieve development.
Of course we could ask why Bidco is not looking for land elsewhere other than encroaching on more forest land. Another discussant wondered why Bidco does not engage outgrowers instead of insisting on growing the palm trees themselves. He talked of empowering the locals to become outgrowers who would grow the palm trees on their plots of land instead of going for the forest.
All these proposals have their merits and demerits but all rotate around one thing: whether Bidco would be able to turn a profit on their investments! We should remember that Bidco is not a charitable organization that is here for philanthropic reasons. These are investors who are here to make money and any decision they take is governed by whether their business would break even under that decision.
Outgrowers: what is the Ugandan experience?
It seems that outgrower schemes have had limited success in certain sectors of our agrictural industry. SCOUL at Lugazi wanted more land to grow more sugarcane themselves because their outgrowers are not doing very well. The outgrowers on the other hand were complaining that SCOUL was not paying them enough for their cane and so many abandoned the business. Now, both of these assertions could be true. But as businessmen, could SCOUL afford to pay the outgrowers more than they were paying them and still be competitive? Is using outgrowers a cheaper alternative to cultivating the cane for themselves? My instinct tells me that if using outgrowers was cheaper, SCOUL would have gone that way a long time ago.
There is another catch. Can SCOUL be confident that they will always have the cane to satisfy their demand when dealing with capricious outgrowers? Now that we have a number of cane sugar factories, can SCOUL ensure that they can outcompete the others for the outgrowers and yet maintain profitability?
These questions apply to SCOUL as well as Bidco. Can Bidco profitably use outgrowers to grow palms of the right quantity and quality? Does Bidco have enough faith in the work ethics, integrity, and capacity of Ugandan farmers to rely on them for the bulk of the palm fruits they need for their factory? This is the question.
Of course this question should be evaluated in the context of the existence of an alternative i.e. virgin forests than can be farmed by Bidco. If this alternative was not existing, then either Bidco would not have come to Uganda or it would have to put its faith in Ugandan outgrowers.
The Crisis of Development
I have already posted here that the government of Uganda has a huge judgment call. If the country does not industrialise either by increasing the goods produced or by increasing the services or both, Uganda will remain backward and most people will still depend directly on the land for subsistence. Jobs must be provided in urban and peri-urban places to suck away and reduce the people who directly depend on land for their sustenance. If this is not done, at the rate at which the population is increasing, it will be a matter of time for people to encroach and turn all forests in Uganda into farm land. This will happen whether the government likes it or not. There will come a time when government will be absolutely helpless to prevent the encroachment on the forests.
Those who have played a game of chess or draughts will agree with me that in most winning strategies, the player accepts to lose certain pieces on his board with the strategic plan to beat his/her opponent. In many cases, those who play games where they do not want to lose anything and yet they want to win, usually end up losing the game. A sagacious has his eyes fixed on the final prize: the defeat of the opponent.
Similarly in Uganda, in order to develop, we may need to make some strategic decisions to lose some parts of natural heritage like forests and swamps in order to overcome in the final analysis. When Europe and America were developing, lots of forests and other natural habitats were destroyed. However, now after achieving development, they now have the luxury to rebuild what they lost. Without poverty, it is possible for the country to be made green again. With poverty staring one in the eye, keeping green spaces is the last thing on the poor man's mind.
Conclusion
In my opinion, if we want to develop and save nature in the final analysis, we cannot avoid ceding some of these natural heritages. The most important thing is for the planners to carefully evaluate the game and know exactly what to lose and what to retain in order to win the final battle against poverty. With the limited information I have now, I cannot make this important judgment call i.e. on whether to give more forest to Bidco for palm tree growing or not.
God Bless Uganda |
| JUST A HOPELESS NATION. authored by jumbwike sam on 27. January 2010 at 09:21 |
| I take it that everybody in government knows the implications of doing away with the very few forests we are left with, i just cannot understand why we are driven by current monetary gains at the expense of our environment.Tomorrow these blind politicians will be out of office and leave us to grapple with problems of their making,my only advice to BIDCO is,be satisfied with what you have,you have already done enough damage to our environment,we can do without your oil,but we cant do without our prized forests |
| USE OUTGROWERS authored by beneth tibaijuka on 24. January 2010 at 13:25 |
I am aware there are locals who grow different crops at the islands, within a stone throw from bidco gardens. Why doesn't Bidco go in for outgrowers scheme, empower the locals by buying from them the produce other than wanting to acquire more and more public land? Is it land they are looking for or is it the product?
beneth |
| Investment is a good way to go for Uganda, However...... authored by Apollo Namalu on 23. January 2010 at 06:59 |
| I am really intrigued by the growing level of investment in the Ugandan economy. Forests as we all know have deep, well drained soils to support cultivation, a point in case is palm growing which among others boosts Uganda's GDP. Investment is a good way to go for Uganda; however, the aftermaths should be anticipated before making decisions! Folks should take a moment and think, what state we would be in if "Bugala forests" was given to a "BIDCO" a few generations ago! Would the Bugala forest that BIDCO is craving for still exist? Why forests? These are the reason to our survival! All in all, let's not only care bout getting satisfy today but also put tomorrow into account (for our children and grandchildren in the coming generations). |
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