Lessons from the Isingiro district drought

Nov 16, 2016

The hills of Isingiro were green grass covered and rolling and getting their replenishment from River Kagera

By Dr. Myers Lugemwa

Reminiscent of the old Isingiro County now district for over a couple of years, are three things. One, that the district has been a refuge settlement camp at Nakivale since the sixties.

Two, that there was a eucalyptus tree a few kilometers from Mbarara town on Kikagate road, planted at the turn of the 19th century to symbolize  the point where Kaciiramincence ( Speke, the explorer) met with the king of Ankole.

The name Kaciiramincence was the epithet conferred by the locals then on Speke because the man was taller than the type of elephant grass (Orucence) that grew abundantly in the area.

This eucalyptus tree, if it is still there, bears scratches of a lion which was trying to maul a man who had travelled all the way from Rugaga and was caught up by dusk around this tree and being a loner, became target for this lion.

However, Isingiro having no tree climbing lions at the time, this man survived by climbing the said tree. The third thing reminiscent of the old Isingiro, is that just when you cross the River Rwizi and head for the district on the newly tarmacked Mbarara-Kikagate road, was the head offices of the Banyankore Kweterana Cooperative Union.

This union was the central point where all the coffee, beans, ground nuts and maize from Isingiro used to be stored before being sold by the Union. The only food crop that was not stored here was matooke which matooke, till a few months ago, was making its way to Kampala and beyond, including Southern Sudan via Rakai, without putting similar quantum to Mbarara Municipality and surrounding area. I have not put in oblivion cows, goats in this treatise.

Till yesterday, the hills of Isingiro were green grass covered and rolling and getting their replenishment from River Kagera and some small rivulets and swamps.

But Lo and behold! The pictures that showed on TV and live narrations from the people of Isingiro are rib-breaking! The hills are now bald headed. Some families take a quarter meal if at all, a day.

The water in some ponds is dregs of mud. Cows are bones, while human beings are moribund! Simply put, there is severe drought in a once food rich area!  Two fundamental questions Ugandans should ask are why is this happening? And that is it possible that what has befallen the Banyisingiro can befall any other district?

In my opinion, the answer to question number two is yes. The plausible answers to question number one are that: In the olden days and up to not long ago, wananchi were obliged by By-Laws to have three granaries per household and were by law, supposed to preserve any harvest in all the three; one granary for the head of the household, the second for the family members and the third for the Sub-County Chief.

Not that the Sub-County Chief would partake of the reverses from this granary, but that the head of the household had to seek person to pick  certain amounts of  grain or whatever foods that were being preserved  if he had a special function such as wedding, funeral  among others. This implied that households had a backup in food reserves for any rainy day.

Today, that system is long gone; people harvest and immediately sell their produce and only keep little for consumption. In some unfortunate incidents the monies accruing from this sale is taken by the man to go and imbibe if not to play pool and bet at the nearest joint. Silos, like that one that was at Kyazanga on Mbarara-Masaka road are nowhere to be seen.

These used to keep produce for wanachi, without weevils and other vermin encroaching on the foods therein, therefore guaranteeing no possibility of toxins such as "aflatoxin".

Recalling that almost every district had a district farm, and for Isingiro, then part of Mbarara, Mbarara Stock Farm acted as a demonstration farm for this area. Also tractors existed at some counties. These were German made tractors called Deutz and green colour. 

With the increasing population of over 3.2% per annum, the old methods of using muscle power to till an acre of land is no long viable especially so when the youth with youthful energy are roaming urban areas or engaged in boda boda, leaving the elderly to till  and eke for a living .

Driving along all highways in the country and not only the Isingiro-Mbarara road, hoards of sacks of charcoal cut from trees that once made Isingiro a Savannah now turned semi-arid district litre the road shoulders . So how do we pro-actively pre-empt future catastrophes like has befallen the Banyisingiro?

I wish, as a way forward, to opine thus:

That Government enacts /reinvigorates the old law of having each household have a food reserve as one way of food security.

That government reinstates Silos monitored by the local chiefs where wananchi can store their produce and only the chief gives permission to the owner of the produce when there is good reason to take out some.

That Government procures at least one tractor for each county in the country to be hired at reasonable costs to wananchi in order to increase acreage for food production.

That Agricultural and Veterinary Assistants are facilitated to guide wananchi on farming and other methods geared at improving food security.

The President has taken lead on the irrigation question, all we need is to implement what He has demonstrated and extrapolate the same. Thank you Mr. President.

That a By-Law is put in place to ensure that any tree that is cut for whatever reason, three other trees are planted.

That all redundant local district land is turned into demonstration farms like was the case in the past.

That the rich should tell their children that food and milk do not come from the fridge but from this motherland, Uganda-The Pearl of Africa. 

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