By Frank Kamuntu
Today, Monday 16th October 2023, the Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF) Uganda joined the globe to commemorate World Food Day under the theme “Water is Life. Water is Food”.
The Day raises awareness about the importance of food security and eliminating hunger.
The World Food Day commemoration comes just a day after the International Day for Rural Women, which was commemorated under the theme DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality. Rural women’s role in preserving natural resources can’t be underestimated. On that note, ESAFF Uganda, through the ESAFF Women Forum, called for addressing all inequalities against women.
Baliraine Hakim the Chairperson ESAFF Uganda said that as small scale farmers they face numerous water challenges concerning availability, quality, and purity are encountered in Uganda.
”Climate change exacerbates water scarcity issues, with irregular rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, and flooding events threatening crop yields and food security,” said Hakim adding, ”Limited water sources are available to provide clean drinking water to the entire population. Surface water sources are often highly polluted, and infrastructure to pipe water from fresh, clean sources to arid areas is too costly.”
Hakim noted as small-scale farmers in Uganda, they also face several challenges that hinder their productivity and profitability. These challenges include limited access to finance, where they often struggle to access credit and other forms of finance to boost production.
”We, small-scale farmers, struggle to invest in their farms and improve their productivity without adequate financing. Many small-scale farmers often suffer from poor infrastructure as most live in rural areas with poor infrastructure, including inadequate roads and limited access to water for agricultural production,” he noted.
These farmers noted that there are alot of solutions to farming problems including use of agroecology to produce sustainably while protecting soil and the environment.
”We, small-scale farmers, are essential to maintaining biodiversity because we frequently cultivate a variety of crops, which helps to preserve genetic diversity and offers protection against crop failure. Additionally, we, small-scale farmers, frequently employ more environmentally friendly farming techniques like crop rotation and organic pest control, which can help maintain the health of the soil and lower the need for hazardous pesticides and fertilisers,” said Hakim.
ESAFF Uganda tabled a couple of recommendations to government and other concerned stakeholders among them including imposing a ban on toxic chemicals. See more recommendations below;
- The government should prioritise and protect our water resources, ensuring they are used wisely and equitably to feed a growing world population. Together, we can combat hunger, promote sustainability, and work towards a future where no one goes to bed hungry.
- The government and stakeholders should promote access to water for agricultural production so as to increase their production and profitability to provide food for future generations.
- The government should increase access to financial access, enhance infrastructure, improve information sharing, and create climate-resilient farming techniques by promoting sustainable agroecology.
- The government should block the importation and use of toxic chemicals that damage the quality of water resources.
- The government should promote agroecology in practice and policy because agroecology ensures that water is protected as a component of an agroecosystem.
