From the editor...
Aug 23, 2010
THE rains are about to begin. Weather experts are predicting heavy rains in most parts of the country. This should be good news for farmers, who are still feeling the effects of the three-month dry spell.
THE rains are about to begin. Weather experts are predicting heavy rains in most parts of the country. This should be good news for farmers, who are still feeling the effects of the three-month dry spell.
This is the time to start planning for the next dry season by investing in rain water harvesting. It is a shame that irrespective of Uganda’s natural gifts, like receiving rain for six months a year, farmers still cry of hunger and famine when the rains disappear — even for a month. Irrigation is still very low, with only 1% of the farming population practising it.
Rain-fed agriculture has no future in Uganda and if the country is to truly call itself an agriculture hub, farmers should adopt systems that help them practise agriculture all year round. One of these systems is to have water even when the rains are gone. The best way of having this water is to harvest it and keep it.
Water can be harvested in both underground and upper ground tanks.
A farmer can then use gullies fixed on the houses and directed to the water ponds. The cost involved in constructing the tanks can be covered during the dry season when the prices of farm produce are higher.
The other method is to dig ponds or dams in lowly areas of your farm. When the rains come, these ponds will automatically be filled with water, which can remain there long after the rains have gone.
Andrew Ndawula Kalema
This is the time to start planning for the next dry season by investing in rain water harvesting. It is a shame that irrespective of Uganda’s natural gifts, like receiving rain for six months a year, farmers still cry of hunger and famine when the rains disappear — even for a month. Irrigation is still very low, with only 1% of the farming population practising it.
Rain-fed agriculture has no future in Uganda and if the country is to truly call itself an agriculture hub, farmers should adopt systems that help them practise agriculture all year round. One of these systems is to have water even when the rains are gone. The best way of having this water is to harvest it and keep it.
Water can be harvested in both underground and upper ground tanks.
A farmer can then use gullies fixed on the houses and directed to the water ponds. The cost involved in constructing the tanks can be covered during the dry season when the prices of farm produce are higher.
The other method is to dig ponds or dams in lowly areas of your farm. When the rains come, these ponds will automatically be filled with water, which can remain there long after the rains have gone.
Andrew Ndawula Kalema