Balaalo farmers are of no benefit to the people of Nwoya
Aug 24, 2011
I commend Bosco Ocira for his advice on how the Balaalo should have been handled in his article in the New Vision of Thursday, August 18, titled: “Nwoya Selfish decision exposes us to poverty.â€
By Lilly Adong
I commend Bosco Ocira for his advice on how the Balaalo should have been handled in his article in the New Vision of Thursday, August 18, titled: “Nwoya Selfish decision exposes us to poverty.â€
In the article, Ocira said, chased from wherever they try to settle, the Balaalo pastoralists have become a national issue.
In 2004, a prominent politician of Eastern Uganda spearheaded their eviction from the swamps of Teso, Lango and West Nile. Most recently, it took an army general to chase them out of Buliisa district. The people of Nwoya have now done the same.
Ocira and other like-minded people should know that pastoralism is a primitive way of farming which cannot co-exist with crop cultivation where such cultures have not evolved over time.
The Acholi are very receptive to visitors. The Alur, Bagisu, Baganda, and even Sudanese, have co-existed with the Acholi over the decades, practising common farming and livelihood activities.
The Balaalo started settling in Nwoya in 2008. They rented land from individual farmers, but they failed to integrate and often defied even their landlords.
Despite the agreed number of animals to be grazed on the land, the Balaalo would ferry in more cattle at night and sub-rent the land to other fellow Balaalo. Often, they grazed their animals on neighbouring farmland, destroying people’s crops which they arrogantly referred to as pastures. Recently a farmer lost five acres of rice to Balaalo cattle and was not compensated.
Some were claiming any Ankole cattle in the area as theirs yet residents acquired them through restocking.
Some residents say the Balaalo herdsmen are armed. By the time eviction started, there were between 5,000 to 7,000 herds of cattle in the district. Can Ochira tell us how many jobs the Balaalo investors have created in Nwoya? How have the locals benefited from the invasion?
There are many individuals engaged in modern commercial farming in Nwoya, including MPs from other parts of the country. They have been employing our local people so they have never been disturbed.
The people of Nwoya are just starting to rebuild their lives after the war and clearly Ochira is out of touch with Nwoya.
The writer is the Nwoya District Woman Member of Parliament
I commend Bosco Ocira for his advice on how the Balaalo should have been handled in his article in the New Vision of Thursday, August 18, titled: “Nwoya Selfish decision exposes us to poverty.â€
In the article, Ocira said, chased from wherever they try to settle, the Balaalo pastoralists have become a national issue.
In 2004, a prominent politician of Eastern Uganda spearheaded their eviction from the swamps of Teso, Lango and West Nile. Most recently, it took an army general to chase them out of Buliisa district. The people of Nwoya have now done the same.
Ocira and other like-minded people should know that pastoralism is a primitive way of farming which cannot co-exist with crop cultivation where such cultures have not evolved over time.
The Acholi are very receptive to visitors. The Alur, Bagisu, Baganda, and even Sudanese, have co-existed with the Acholi over the decades, practising common farming and livelihood activities.
The Balaalo started settling in Nwoya in 2008. They rented land from individual farmers, but they failed to integrate and often defied even their landlords.
Despite the agreed number of animals to be grazed on the land, the Balaalo would ferry in more cattle at night and sub-rent the land to other fellow Balaalo. Often, they grazed their animals on neighbouring farmland, destroying people’s crops which they arrogantly referred to as pastures. Recently a farmer lost five acres of rice to Balaalo cattle and was not compensated.
Some were claiming any Ankole cattle in the area as theirs yet residents acquired them through restocking.
Some residents say the Balaalo herdsmen are armed. By the time eviction started, there were between 5,000 to 7,000 herds of cattle in the district. Can Ochira tell us how many jobs the Balaalo investors have created in Nwoya? How have the locals benefited from the invasion?
There are many individuals engaged in modern commercial farming in Nwoya, including MPs from other parts of the country. They have been employing our local people so they have never been disturbed.
The people of Nwoya are just starting to rebuild their lives after the war and clearly Ochira is out of touch with Nwoya.
The writer is the Nwoya District Woman Member of Parliament