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Hunger in Karamoja: Adhere to the First Lady’s teachings
While we commend the timely intervention by the OPM and further assurances from government on addressing the situation, Ugandans must be reminded that the issue of recurring hunger in Karamoja would have been largely overcome if every stakeholder had adhered to the wise guidance the First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni, relentlessly articulated during her days as Minister of State for Karamoja and later full Minister for Karamoja.
Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye. (File)
By: Admin ., Journalist @New Vision
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OPINION
By Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye
The Weekend Vision of July 25-26 published a pictorial captioned: “The Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, Esther Anyakun (right); the Minister of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Sam Engola (second-right) and other officials distributing relief food to the people of Karamoja sub-region. This was at Katome Primary School in Kaabong district on Wednesday as the Government commenced the distribution of emergency food relief to households. This is part of the intervention following a prolonged dry spell that triggered severe hunger across Karamoja sub-region.”
The event followed a statement dated July 9, issued by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Alex Kakooza, confirming that about 16 people had died from hunger-related causes in Karamoja sub-region due to a prolonged dry spell that has devastated crops and plunged many households into acute food insecurity. Kakooza assured the country that a consignment, comprising 13 tonnes of maize flour and 9 tonnes of beans, had been delivered to the worst-hit sub-counties of Loduku and Loyoru in Kaabong district. He further assured that a second consignment was also at hand to cover the severely affected districts, including Kaabong, Kotido, Amudat, Napak and Moroto.
While we commend the timely intervention by the OPM and further assurances from government on addressing the situation, Ugandans must be reminded that the issue of recurring hunger in Karamoja would have been largely overcome if every stakeholder had adhered to the wise guidance the First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni, relentlessly articulated during her days as Minister of State for Karamoja and later full Minister for Karamoja.
It will be recalled that Maama was named Minister of State for Karamoja in February
2009, when she was also the MP for Ruhama.
In one of her first speeches as minister, Maama pledged: “I am going to focus on increasing food production. If the people of Karamoja can produce their own food and even have surplus, then most of the other challenges can be overcome.” Mindful that Karamoja is a semi-arid area that depends on a single rainy season, Maama, in April 2009, addressed MPs and underscored: “Our most urgent priority is water for Karamoja.” Such need informed her gracing the launch of the Dry Lands Initiative in Kenya on July 23, 2010. The Dry Lands Initiative aims at increasing income and reducing poverty among the pastoral people. Also, in view of water shortage in Karamoja, Maama commissioned the sh650m water project in Kangole in Moroto district, which resulted in benefiting over 100,000 people.
While we commend the timely intervention by the OPM and further assurances from government on addressing the situation, Ugandans must be reminded that the issue of recurring hunger in Karamoja would have been largely overcome if every stakeholder had adhered to the wise guidance the First Lady, Mrs Janet Museveni, relentlessly articulated during her days as Minister of State for Karamoja and later full Minister for Karamoja.
It will be recalled that Maama was named Minister of State for Karamoja in February
2009, when she was also the MP for Ruhama.
In one of her first speeches as minister, Maama pledged: “I am going to focus on increasing food production. If the people of Karamoja can produce their own food and even have surplus, then most of the other challenges can be overcome.” Mindful that Karamoja is a semi-arid area that depends on a single rainy season, Maama, in April 2009, addressed MPs and underscored: “Our most urgent priority is water for Karamoja.” Such need informed her gracing the launch of the Dry Lands Initiative in Kenya on July 23, 2010. The Dry Lands Initiative aims at increasing income and reducing poverty among the pastoral people. Also, in view of water shortage in Karamoja, Maama commissioned the sh650m water project in Kangole in Moroto district, which resulted in benefiting over 100,000 people.
In addition, she oversaw the construction of 80 water dams and five large water reservoirs in Karamoja. While making field visits to programmes implemented by the Dry Lands Integrated Development Project in 2015, Maama guided that the issue of dry spells in Karamoja should be an eye-opener to the Karamojong, to start planning for their families and livestock to avoid starvation. She, therefore, advised the communities to use the rainy season to produce and preserve food and pasture. She also cautioned that depending on nature alone would keep Karamoja exposed to hunger and the death of animals.
She led by example by setting up gardens of beans and sorghum in Moroto and cautioned Karimojong men against using the harvested sorghum to brew alcohol known as Kutukutu. And because of Maama’s hands-on approach, the results were enormous.
Can you imagine that Maama became state minister for Karamoja in 2009 when over 75% of the households in Karamoja were dependent on food aid for survival, but by 2013, she had reduced the number of dependants on food aid to only 10%. Then, in 2014, she initiated a feeding programme for school children in Karamoja. In partnership with the Uganda Prison Service, maize was grown at Namalu prison farm. As a result, Maama handed over 355 metric tonnes of maize flour to schools in Karamoja to feed children in 2014/2015. Also, under the same arrangement, Maama handed 403 metric tonnes of maize flour to Karamoja schools in April 2016.
Maama’s guidance was that, after security, food production in Karamoja remains the top priority, calling for the need to open more land for production, diversifying into food crops and better livestock farming, harvesting water for production and boosting the school feeding programme.
The writer has keen interest in food security
She led by example by setting up gardens of beans and sorghum in Moroto and cautioned Karimojong men against using the harvested sorghum to brew alcohol known as Kutukutu. And because of Maama’s hands-on approach, the results were enormous.
Can you imagine that Maama became state minister for Karamoja in 2009 when over 75% of the households in Karamoja were dependent on food aid for survival, but by 2013, she had reduced the number of dependants on food aid to only 10%. Then, in 2014, she initiated a feeding programme for school children in Karamoja. In partnership with the Uganda Prison Service, maize was grown at Namalu prison farm. As a result, Maama handed over 355 metric tonnes of maize flour to schools in Karamoja to feed children in 2014/2015. Also, under the same arrangement, Maama handed 403 metric tonnes of maize flour to Karamoja schools in April 2016.
Maama’s guidance was that, after security, food production in Karamoja remains the top priority, calling for the need to open more land for production, diversifying into food crops and better livestock farming, harvesting water for production and boosting the school feeding programme.
The writer has keen interest in food security