Over 10 million Ugandans severely food insecure — report

About 23 per cent of Uganda’s population is severely food insecure, according to the 2022 Uganda-United Nations Country Results Report. 

Putting Uganda’s population at 44.2 million according to the report, means that over 10 million Ugandans are severely food insecure. 

Regionwise, the highest levels of food insecurity were observed in the poorest eastern and northern regions of the country.

According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), someone is severely food insecure when they have run out of food and gone a day or more without eating. In other words, they have most likely experienced hunger.

The Uganda-UN Country Results report highlights a myriad of climate-related emergencies and shocks that the country experienced in 2022, including COVID-19, floods, the Ebola outbreak, refugee influx from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Karamoja region most affected 

Since 2019, the Karamoja region has suffered from two consecutive seasons of increasing food insecurity characterised by less than normal crop and animal production attributed to drought, floods, livestock and crop disease, scarcity of water for human and animal consumption and price shocks.

As a result, the region has seen a significant increase in food-insecure. World Bank’s 2022 report indicates that during round nine of the survey conducted in August 2022, food insecurity measured by moderate and severe food insecurity indexes were at very high levels of 48 and 11 per cent, respectively.

Thi,s further indicates that the problem has escalated by 12 per cent. In June, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) working group comprising the agriculture ministry, Office of the Prime Minister, health ministry, World Food Programme, FAO and Unicef released a report that showed that over 40 per cent of the population in the nine districts of Karamoja were facing crisis levels of food insecurity or worse.

This, according to the IPC report, was a 10th higher than the percentage of people facing high levels of food insecurity around the same period in 2021 which was at 30 per cent. This meant that the situation had worsened.

Tackling the problem

Agnes Kirabo, the Executive Director of the Food Rights Alliance, said they agree with the UN report, however, she said it is slightly away from the actual figures.

She said the food crisis is a systemic issue that needs to be tackled from the leadership aspect. 

“The problem is rooted in the country’s food governance system. Uganda does not know how much food is needed to feed its people in a year. There are no sufficient food reserves in the country. How then do we expect to combat this challenge?” Kirabo said.

“If we only spend about nine per cent of our budget on productive programmes, how do we expect to increase food production?” she added.

“Let the Government be intentional on this issue, know how much food is needed in the country, work on food reserves and drive investments in areas that spur productivity in the agriculture sector,” Kirabo said.

According to the Minister of State for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Anyakun Esther, Karamoja region faced a prolonged dry spell that affected food security leaving behind 25% of the population (about 315,000 people) experiencing acute food insecurity between June and August 2022.

However, Anyakun said Karamoja region was in April allocated 2,260,000kg of Maize Flour and 1,130,000kg of beans to cover 115 administrative areas, including all sub-counties and town councils in the region.

She said together with the agriculture ministry, they have embarked on initiatives to improve food production through the deployment of tractors aimed at opening and ploughing substantial land for sustainable food production.

Anyakun said 15 tractors have been deployed in the districts of Nabiiatuk and Kaabong, two tractors based in Napak, a fuel tanker, a mobile workshop, and 30 walking tractors.

Agriculture state minister Fred Bwiino Kyakulaga, said the Government is working in conjunction with the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa and the National Agricultural Research Organisation to support scientists to fight Cassava Brown Streak Disease that damaged the cassava crop, causing losses to farmers.

“Through the partnership, we are working to promote proven and cost-effective measures against the diseases that threatened to wipe out various crops, including banana crop, maize, and cassava among others,” he said.