Dry spell wipes out crops, raises food insecurity fears in Kitgum

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What had promised to be a season of abundance is rapidly turning into a season of despair for hundreds of farmers across Kitgum district, as a prolonged dry spell continues to scorch crops and threaten household food supplies.

In several sub-counties, including Namokora, Orom Omiya, Anyima and Kiteny, farmers are watching helplessly as maize, groundnuts, millet and other crops wither under intense heat after rains abruptly stopped in early May.

For many families, the drying fields represent more than lost crops. They symbolise lost hopes, lost income and growing fears about the months ahead.

In Mulozi village, Namokora subcounty, farmer Ventorina Layet walks through what remains of her maize and groundnut garden. Just weeks ago, the crops were flourishing and were expected to be ready for harvest by July. Today, they are dry and lifeless.

Layet says the destruction of her crops has left her deeply worried about how she will feed and support her family in the coming months.

Another farmer, Quinto Onono, says he has already lost two acres of millet to the drought.

Onono says he now hopes to replant the garden with different crops should the rains return. Like many other farmers in the district, he has already begun preparing for the second planting season in a bid to recover from the losses.

The situation is equally grim in Jaipii village, where farmers who cultivated maize along the banks of Lumaruk Stream believed the nearby water source would shield them from the effects of drought.

But even there, the prolonged dry spell has taken its toll.

Among those counting their losses is Morish Amone, whose maize garden, visible from the roadside, has completely dried up. The crop appears beyond recovery, even if rainfall resumes.

As the crisis deepens, district leaders are acknowledging the scale of the challenge.

Kitgum district vice chairperson Smith Opon says the district's production, agriculture and disaster preparedness committees are aware of the situation and have directed extension workers to collect data on the affected communities.

According to Opon, the assessment will help determine the magnitude of the disaster and guide appropriate interventions.

He says the district is also encouraging farmers to embrace climate-smart agriculture to reduce future losses caused by increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.

Among the measures being promoted is irrigation farming through a co-funded government programme under which farmers contribute 30 percent of the cost while the government covers the remaining 70 percent.

Meanwhile, the district agriculture department is sensitising farmers to the importance of cultivating drought-resistant crops such as cassava, sorghum and millet, which are better able to withstand prolonged dry conditions.

For now, however, many farmers can only look to the skies and hope for rain.

As the dry spell persists, so too does the fear that if conditions do not improve soon, many households in Kitgum could face serious food shortages in the months ahead.