Millet could save north crisis
Sep 05, 2006
PEARL millet may be a solution for household food insecurity in northern Uganda, the Food Security Group has said.
By Alexis Okeowo
a solution for household food insecurity in northern Uganda, the Food Security Group has said.
The crop was discussed at a meeting recently at the offices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“Pearl millet can be rotated a number of times until it falls apart,†Warwick Thomson of the agriculture Sector programme Support-Danida said. The crop is more drought-tolerant and yields more grain than cereals such as maize.
Food insecurity in the north is related to drought, soil exhaustion and insufficient agricultural inputs, among other factors, the group said.
The Food Security Group consists of representatives from international organisations including FAO, the International Rescue Committee, World Vision, World Food Programme (WFP), USAID, Famine and Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) and the United Nations Development Programme.
“If it is still not raining enough in September, that’s when we should get really worried,†Andrew Mutengu of FEWSNET said, adding that the current rain pattern was normal and should not yet raise concern.
Mutengu also said with a kilogram of grain currently going for sh300, food prices had risen, particularly maize.
The internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda, Mutengu said, would need resettlement assistance until at least 2008.
The WFP Food Pipeline has undertaken resettlement assistance in Lira district, Matthew McIlvenna of WFP said.
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a solution for household food insecurity in northern Uganda, the Food Security Group has said.
The crop was discussed at a meeting recently at the offices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
“Pearl millet can be rotated a number of times until it falls apart,†Warwick Thomson of the agriculture Sector programme Support-Danida said. The crop is more drought-tolerant and yields more grain than cereals such as maize.
Food insecurity in the north is related to drought, soil exhaustion and insufficient agricultural inputs, among other factors, the group said.
The Food Security Group consists of representatives from international organisations including FAO, the International Rescue Committee, World Vision, World Food Programme (WFP), USAID, Famine and Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) and the United Nations Development Programme.
“If it is still not raining enough in September, that’s when we should get really worried,†Andrew Mutengu of FEWSNET said, adding that the current rain pattern was normal and should not yet raise concern.
Mutengu also said with a kilogram of grain currently going for sh300, food prices had risen, particularly maize.
The internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda, Mutengu said, would need resettlement assistance until at least 2008.
The WFP Food Pipeline has undertaken resettlement assistance in Lira district, Matthew McIlvenna of WFP said.
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