Doho Rice Scheme, a new life after renovations

By Moses Nampala in Butaleja      

If there is a critical social challenge that a sh19bn committed to facilitate rehabilitation of Doho rice scheme in Butaleja district has solved out right, then it’s the calamity of floods.

Over 10,000 people living in the vicinity of 25,000 square mile rice scheme have heaved a huge sigh of relief after Summit Project Uganda Ltd, completed rehabilitation of the irrigation scheme.

Until rehabilitation of the rice scheme was started 4 years ago by government, flooding was a ritual whenever it rained.  Blocked water canals that drained irrigation water in the scheme from River Manafa, were the major causes of the flooding.

Huge volumes of water burst the banks of River Manafa, straying into homesteads of the over 10,000 people, living in the low lying areas, in the sub counties of Kachonga, Himutu, Butaleja, and Nawanjovu.

Death from floods

Ahemed Hasacha (59), Mabira village, Kachonga Sub County, one of the worst causalities, can’t bear to remember the agony that his family endured for a period of a decade.

“I lost a daughter to the flood calamity,” says Hasacha staring in space.

His face clouds, as he unfolds the sad tale. The little girl, then aged 5 years old, drowned a decade ago.

It rained heavily, on the fateful night, prompting the banks of River

Manafa to burst

The flooding water is reported to have sipped, through submerging his house to almost window level.

The deceased and two other surviving elder siblings, shared a bed that they usually made on the floor.

“Normally when the floods struck, the unfolding of events used to be fast. Virtually everything in the house would get submerged under water, in just a matter of seconds,” narrates Hasacha.

He sounds both resigned and grieved.

“I don’t blame her death on negligence of her elder sisters because it was indeed a difficult moment. The poor girls didn’t have time for their sibling as they too had to fight had to fend for their lives,” says Hasacha.

However the calamity of floods, in Butaleja may seem to be a matter of the past.

According to Sagula, the contractual term between government and SUMMIT PROJEKT (U) LTD spelt out, among others rehabilitation of the administration block and fencing.

The scope of work also compelled the contractor to unblock the canal system of the scheme as well as installing 54 new water gates.

Water gates are devices used to control the flow of water in the scheme.

The contractor was also compelled to procure the necessary new machinery equipment that included excavator, tractor that the farmers would use in the routine rehabilitation.

The scope of work also compelled the contractor to grade 54Km of the road network around the scheme, including fixing bridges.

More rice to come

The officer in charge Doho rice scheme Wilberforce Sagula also the scheme irrigation Engineer says with the revamping of the scheme almost complete, paddy rice production is set to double from 6500-13,000 Kg of milled rice per annum.

“Until the rehabilitation, the scheme was operating below capacity as only 11,000 out of the total 25,000 square miles could access irrigation water,” explains Sagula.

The 14,000 square miles had been abandoned by the community as past experience had proven a treacherous venture.

“Unpredictable weather patterns, especially droughts would drive farmers who braved the idea to immeasurable loses,” explains Butaleja.

Butaleja District Agricultural officer Amina Dugo, said they are applying a multi-faceted approach to realize the dream of doubling production.

Better seed varieties to be adopted

“Scrutiny of the seed material by both my office with experts from the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) revealed that for years the rice seed material that the farmers used was not only impure, but a combination invariable low yielding type of rice like K5 and K85,” explains Dugo.

Evaluation of the quality of the seed materials had also shown that lately the varieties were fast succumbing to diseases, resulting into poor yields.

Yet repeated ploughing of the soil without proper soil management and fertility conservation practices were other key factors.

But arrangement in the offing to scale up production, will see pure varieties of K5 and K85 availed to the farmers.

Other new varieties to be introduced will include K95, WITA, and NERICA.

Dugo further observes that apart from introducing resistant varieties on the scheme, farmers on the scheme would be discouraged from applying the conventional rice transplanting system technically referred to as RANDOM METHOD.

The RANDOM METHOD, explains Dugo, a farmer transplants the rice seedlings from the bed then plants it randomly without being mindful of space.

“The problem with the method, is that the rice plantain gets too crowded that there is limited room for it to comfortably to thrive, enough air not Withstanding, ” Explain Dugo.

All farmers engaged in paddy rice on the scheme would be introduced to the LINING TRANSPLANTING METHOD.

Farmers would be compelled to use strings while transplanting the seedling to the field from the bed.

“We are emphasizing seed rate and spacing system during transplanting,” stress Dugo.

All the farmers will have to conform with the standard spacing measurement of 3Ocmx15cm or 20cmx20cm.

LINE TRANSPLANTING a farmer uses a string to accurately the recommended spacing.

“The LINE TRANSPLANTING METHOD,  not only saves wastage of planting materials, but doubles if not tripling the yields from the same piece of land where a RANDOM METHOD is used,” explains Dugo.

In the effort to restore fertility of the soil, sections of the soil, that have become unproductive, will have their fertility enhanced by application of fertilizer.

Butaleja district Lc.5 chairperson Joseph Muyonjo, is delighted that revamping the scheme is bound to register a positive household effect.

“I’m reliably informed by my technical staff that the number of the local community that earn a living from the scheme has more than doubled from previously 10,000 to 25,000,” explains Muyonjo.

The chairperson Rice Farmers Cooperative Society Dr. John Mudusu says they have just concluded the exercise of officially registering the farmers cooperative organization.

“Among the roles of the cooperative would be to ensure that all members adhere to the new changes, particularly the plan improve on the quality, ” stresses Dr. Mudusu.

Happy community

“When the floods struck we used to flee out of our home together with livestock seeking refugee on highland in the neighbouring sub counties,” recalls Kulumba.

Business in the district would get  paralyzed as the floods would submerge the main access roads joining the district and other neibhouring districts. The cost of living hiked as supply of essential commodities let alone transport fares would astronomically hiked.

George Magamo 49, remmembers the havoc that the calamity would cause, including contaminating nearly all their water source points.

“The entire environment would get horribly polluted as fecal matter would come afloat as the floods submerged the pit latrine,” explains

Magamo

Aggrey Mukasa an environmental expert says besides the long standing constrains of blocked channels of Doho rice scheme, Butaleja district was geographically disadvantaged, as it was a long land area that neighboured the mountaneous Bugisu region, which was also the source of the violent natural feature like River Manafa.

A huge dam, meant to act as irrigation water reservoir to serve as source of water during a drought had to be constructed.

“The contractor has almost finished 80% percent of the work, what is remaining can hardly take a month to be completed,” stresses Sagula.

The rice scheme was originally run by Chinese in the 1970,s up to 2003 when they quit. in 2003, the government surrendered management of the scheme to the local rice farmers  to date.