Karamoja embraces vegetable farming
Feb 27, 2011
A four-acre vegetable irrigation project aimed at supporting 62 households has been launched in drought-hit Karamoja.
By Olandason Wanyama
A four-acre vegetable irrigation project aimed at supporting 62 households has been launched in drought-hit Karamoja.
Under the pilot project, the villages of Nacelle, Nakambi, Chokoria and Naligoi in Moroto district will benefit from the sh64m venture established in November last year by the World Food Programme (WFP).
One of the beneficiaries, Anna Amodoi, said the project would help them sustain their families.
“I have been burning charcoal to sustain my home. However, when the mountain became insecure, I just sat at home,†she said.
The WFP boss in Karamoja, Bai Mankay Sankoh, on Saturday said the scheme would help vulnerable families.
“We expect them to eat during this long dry spell and sell the surplus produce to earn some money,†he noted.
Although vegetable farming is new to the pastoral communities in Karamoja, several villages now boast a large variety of green vegetables, including okra, cow peas and sukuma wiki.
According to Sankoh, the pilot plan seeks to minimise women’s suffering and abuses associated with migration to the neighbouring districts.
“These people have been crossing to Teso and Acholi areas looking for vegetables and food,†he added.
Sankoh said families would now earn their basic living by avoiding the risks associated with economic migration.
To irrigate the gardens, WFP has tapped water from the surrounding hills of Mt. Moroto by way of a gravity flow system.
Sankoh said WFP had identified more areas with a permanent water flow in Napak, Kotido and Kaabong districts for such projects.
A four-acre vegetable irrigation project aimed at supporting 62 households has been launched in drought-hit Karamoja.
Under the pilot project, the villages of Nacelle, Nakambi, Chokoria and Naligoi in Moroto district will benefit from the sh64m venture established in November last year by the World Food Programme (WFP).
One of the beneficiaries, Anna Amodoi, said the project would help them sustain their families.
“I have been burning charcoal to sustain my home. However, when the mountain became insecure, I just sat at home,†she said.
The WFP boss in Karamoja, Bai Mankay Sankoh, on Saturday said the scheme would help vulnerable families.
“We expect them to eat during this long dry spell and sell the surplus produce to earn some money,†he noted.
Although vegetable farming is new to the pastoral communities in Karamoja, several villages now boast a large variety of green vegetables, including okra, cow peas and sukuma wiki.
According to Sankoh, the pilot plan seeks to minimise women’s suffering and abuses associated with migration to the neighbouring districts.
“These people have been crossing to Teso and Acholi areas looking for vegetables and food,†he added.
Sankoh said families would now earn their basic living by avoiding the risks associated with economic migration.
To irrigate the gardens, WFP has tapped water from the surrounding hills of Mt. Moroto by way of a gravity flow system.
Sankoh said WFP had identified more areas with a permanent water flow in Napak, Kotido and Kaabong districts for such projects.