Floods destroy rice gardens in Butaleja

Dec 05, 2011

Floods have destroyed over 2,000 acres of rice in Butaleja district

By Daniel Edyegu 

Floods have destroyed over 2,000 acres of rice in Butaleja district and affected yields as well as causing losses to farmers.
 
At Doho rice scheme with a total of 2,500 acres of which 2,380 are presently under rice cultivation, the floods have destroyed more than 2,000 acres while over 2,500 acres of the total 3,000 acres belonging to rice out growers in the scheme have also been swept.
 
Wilberforce Segula, the Doho rice scheme irrigation officer explained that whereas the total acreage under cultivation at the scheme usually yields 6,000 tons of milled rice per annum, the output is expect to drop by half or more this year.
 
“The rice scheme is divided in to ten blocks that contain about 200 to 500 acres of rice. The floods have submerged eight blocks at stages of harvesting, flowering, and those that had just been planted. When rice is covered by water for three days, it dies,” Segula explained.
Lowland rice has two seasons that stretch from April to August and October to February. However, due to ready availability of water at the scheme that is adjacent to River Manafwa, the out growers and the scheme cultivated the crop throughout the year.
The rice from the scheme is sold locally to traders from mainly from Mbale, Kampala and other busy towns in eastern regions.
Though Butaleja district has been receiving moderate rains, heavier rains that have pounded the Mt. Elgon area for the last three weeks caused River Manafwa to bursts its banks. Despite the low yields that have dwindled supply, prices of milled rice in the district have dropped drastically.
 
Milled rice has dropped from sh2200 per kilogram last month to sh1500 to 1700, depending on the quality.
 
“Ordinarily, we would expect the low supply to trigger a rise in prices. But the floods have affected the quality of rice we are harvesting at the moment and this is bound to go on for some time. The floods have turned the colour of milled rice from white into yellowish. Even in the process of milling, rice grains that has been submerged in floods for long tend to break easily that translates in to poor quality milled rice,” Segula stressed.
 

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