Why irrigation must be first on development agenda

Oct 12, 2020

95% of the rainwater goes to waste! Yet, if it is harvested, it would be used to cover up during the dry months of December-February and June-August.

There is no reason for farmers around Mubuku to look for dark clouds in the skies in anticipation of rain.

They do not hold rituals for rain too. They have water running through swathes of their gardens, thanks to the imposing Mubuku Irrigation scheme.

Accompanied by her children carrying fresh beans and onions from the gardens, Jessica Muhindo beams with a smile. "We are happy because we always have fresh food unlike other areas," she says.

She is among the farmers who are benefiting from Mubuku Irrigation Scheme which has steered agriculture production in the western region since 1964.

The scheme lies 16km from Kasese town along river Mubuku. The other irrigation schemes that were started in the 1960s and 1970s include Doho, Olweny, Kige, Kibimba, and several others, that the government has recently rehabilitated.

"Without Mubuku, we would not be able to harvest anything," Vincent Muhindo, another farmer says.

There is no offseason because of the availability of water which facilitates the growth of different food and cash crops.

They include; rice, beans, onions, groundnuts, maize, pepper, mangoes, oranges on a large scale depending on the season. "Immediately after harvesting, we plant another crop since we are not worried about drought," Muhindo adds.

Uganda is gifted with water, compared to other regional countries. For instance, 18% of Uganda is open water, while 34% is wetlands.

There are at least 15 big lakes and 120 rivers in Uganda. There are also hundreds of water dams dug for various reasons including watering cattle around the winding cattle corridor.

The water sources are nearly proportionately shared by all regions of the country. Irrigation indicators for Uganda are negligible though. According to statistics, only 0.1% of farmers in Uganda practice any kind of irrigation. Comparatively, Uganda has lower irrigation levels, compared to Kenya at around 12% while Tanzania is at around 6%, according to the latest report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

WATER IS KEY

According to the National Development Plan (NDP II), increasing access to water for production will improve farmer's yields tremendously. In chapter five, table 5.3, the report calls for the completion of over 30 water irrigation schemes whose construction has been going on over many years.

"When these completed, agricultural production will improve," the plan says. The plan also calls for the development of solar-powered small irrigation schemes, developing large water storage facilities supported by water pumping systems.

THE RAIN

Meteorology records indicate that Uganda receives between 1,500- 2,500mm of rainfall every year. This is the largest rainfall in this region. Rain falls between MarchMay and September-November.

However, over 95% of the rainwater goes to waste! Yet, if it is harvested, it would be used to cover up during the dry months of December-February and June-August.

 

A well-irrigated field will produce more irrespective of rain patterns

Agriculture contributes 20% of the GDP of the entire Nile Basin. Agriculture dominates the Ugandan economy and society, contributing 44% of the total output and employing 80% of the labour force.

Despite being the main earner, the sector has grown at only 2.5% per annum over the last five years mainly due to the effects of climatic change such as lack of enough rains.

The sector is also dominated by small holder farmers who own on average one to two hectares of farmland, which slows agriculture growth.

The Economic Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change in Uganda report, 2015, indicates that drastic changes in weather patterns have altered crop, livestock, and fisheries performance, causing unpredictability and unreliability in agricultural output, particularly over the last decade.

The country has enormous freshwater endowments covering about 15% of the total area (37,000 sq. km out of the total area of 241,559 sq. km), thus providing great opportunity for increased agricultural production and productivity. This has led to wealth creation. 

The Ministry of Water and Environment further points out that of the renewable freshwater, only 1% is used for irrigation, yet worldwide, 70% of water is used for irrigation.

However, the renewable freshwater resources are declining, while in 1995 total water endowment was estimated at 66.6m3 (billion), it had declined to 43.3 m3 (billion) by 2013 on account of unsustainable human activities.

In the 2019/20 budget, the Government plans to continue rehabilitation works on major irrigation schemes across the country.

There are countries across Africa that are less gifted by nature, but produce more food than Uganda. One wonders why Egypt has got only the River Nile to lean on and yet produces more food and fruits than Uganda, the source of this river.

Egypt receives around 200mm300mm of rain every year. However, the country produces some of the best wheat and fruits in Africa. In areas like Fayoam, channels were dug off the great River Nile, and farmlands created for agriculture.

There are over 400,000 acres under irrigation. There is also the example of Israel, with its arid environment, yet thriving. "Israel is historically a desert country whose agriculture is thriving on creative and adaptive techniques.

Presently, Israel's agriculture is intensive and is driven using irrigation," Joshua Enyetu, an agricultural mechanisation and irrigation engineer, says.

An irrigation machine pumping water into irrigation channels

GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

As part of a program to improve water usage, the government continues to implement the national irrigation policy.

"The ministry will continue to partner with the water and environment ministry to implement large irrigation infrastructure," agriculture minister, Vincent Ssempijja said. Ssempijja said the irrigation schemes in Wadelai, Tochi, Mubuku, Doho and Ngege will be rehabilitated.

Two years ago, the Government, through the Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) ministry and the water and environment ministry undertook consultation with other key stakeholders and jointly developed the national irrigation policy, aimed at increasing efficient water use in irrigation so as to contribute to agricultural productivity.

WATER FOR PRODUCTION

The policy intends to increase water for agriculture usage by using both natural and artificial sources. According to John Magezi Ndamira, the national project coordinator, at the water and environment ministry, well-managed irrigation can mitigate effects of climate change.

For example, the long dry seasons can increase yields by two to five times for most crops. He says with developed and improved irrigation infrastructure and water management, on average, paddy rice yields an increase from 1.8 tonnes per hectare to 4.5 tonnes per hectare.

Overall, other crops increase yields by 30-40%, with the ability to grow them all year round.

"That is why the Government is undertaking this ambitious venture and will invest in both micro, medium and large scale irrigation systems public investments to mitigate challenges that are related to water shortages mainly as a result of prolonged droughts and provide much-needed relief to farmers," Magezi notes.

He says the aim of the project is to reach an irrigation capacity of 4,038 hectares for the five schemes, which will support and establish community-based institutional capacity that will sustain maintenance and management of the constructed schemes.

Out of the five schemes, Magezi singled out Tochi Irrigation Scheme, located in Acaba, Minakalu and Ngai sub-counties in Oyam district, that it will be utilizing water impounded by the construction of an earthen embankment on River Tochi. He stressed that river Tochi has a dependable annual yield of 124.2mm3 and a potential of 1000 hectares.

However initial target is for the development of 500 hectares. "With this scheme, using rainfed agriculture; farmers are currently cultivating cassava, beans, maize, sismsim, sweet potatoes, sunflower, soya bean, sorghum, groundnuts, and millet.

However, the proposed crops for cultivation after completion of the scheme include rice and horticultural crops (chilli, green pepper, onions and French beans because of their potential for a larger export market," he says.

COMFORT ZONE?

Although many farmers like Godfrey Kizito, whose farm sits in Busunju, near River Mayanja, practice farming near a river, amazingly, most of them still wait for the rains to practice farming. Kizito looks at the sky, east, and west and predicts that the rain will come soon.

"When those clouds gather in the east, then it is bound to rain soon," he says.

But why should he look in the sky when just a few meters away, there is water all year round? Kizito lives in that web of natural satisfaction. He has tethered in that comfort zone thanks to manna from the skies.

He says he needs at least a treadle pump to draw the water, and that he cannot afford to have it, but then the pump costs less than sh500,000.

One sees a bit of a static attitude towards the adoption of better farming methods in farmers like Kizito.

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