Uganda: ActionAid Calls for More Investment in Climate Adaptation As Northern Uganda Battles Prolonged Drought

ActionAid International Uganda has called for increased investment in climate change adaptation and resilience as rural communities in Northern Uganda continue to grapple with prolonged dry spells, declining agricultural productivity and environmental degradation.

The call was made during a community engagement at Pabali Regional CLC in Anaka Payira Sub-county, Nwoya District, as part of a week-long campaign aimed at promoting climate justice and strengthening community-led responses to the effects of climate change.

The campaign is being held as part of the Global Week of Climate Action, observed every September under the theme, "Our Communities. Our Climate. Our Future: Young People Leading Climate Justice."

The campaign seeks to bridge information gaps at community level while providing local people with a platform to discuss climate change, adaptation, environmental conservation and climate justice.

Robert Asiimwe, a Programme Officer at ActionAid International Uganda in Northern Uganda, said communities on the frontline of climate change were bearing some of the greatest impacts despite contributing relatively little to the crisis.

"Climate change impacts affect people at the frontline in rural communities like where we are here in Anaka. This community depends on land, natural resources and rain, but we see things are changing, which means their livelihoods are impacted," Asiimwe said.

He said changing rainfall patterns were making it increasingly difficult for farmers to determine when to plant, with implications for household food security.

"Currently, we cannot tell whether we are in a rainy season or a dry season. What does it mean for a person in rural Uganda? It means it will affect their planting seasons, which means that they will not have food in their homes," he said.

Asiimwe called on the government to increase resources for climate adaptation and invest in building the resilience of communities most affected by climate change.

"Government needs to invest adequate resources in building the resilience of communities to adapt to the crises caused by climate change," he said.

He also urged greater investment in locally led solutions, including agroecology, agroforestry and research that combines indigenous knowledge with scientific approaches.

"We have tested locally led interventions in climate change, like agroecology. Why can't we invest in agroecology? Why can't we invest in agroforestry? Why can't we invest in research that brings out traditional knowledge and test it against scientific knowledge to ensure that solutions are customised to the local context?" he said.

Asiimwe said ActionAid's campaign was also advocating for reforms to the global financial system, including debt cancellation for developing countries, arguing that resources that could otherwise be directed towards climate adaptation were being used to service debt.

"The campaign thus far comes in saying, can we cancel that debt for the Global South countries, such that the little resources they have are channelled to climate change?" he said.

He further called for grant-based climate financing that would enable affected communities to access resources without excessive restrictions.

"We need to have funds, grant-based funding that is just. When we talk of climate change, we talk of climate justice. It is understanding that the people who are affected most, the people at the frontline, have their voices heard. They are part of decision-making, and they are also part of the redistribution of resources, which are supposed to be just," he said.

Asiimwe said climate change should no longer be treated as an abstract subject discussed mainly at international conferences such as the Conference of the Parties (COP), arguing that its effects were already visible in communities.

"When you come on the ground, the impacts are not abstract. You will see crops drying in the gardens. You will see animals without water to drink. You will see children going to school being affected because floods have cut off a certain road," he said.

He said ActionAid was working to bring climate discussions closer to communities so that residents could understand the challenges and participate in demanding accountability from relevant institutions.

"When communities are informed about the issue and how it affects them, they design solutions that are at the forefront. You don't underestimate the voice of the people because it is the people who are affected, and if they are empowered, they will take charge," Asiimwe said.

Prolonged dry spell hits food production

Emmanuel Omara, the Nwoya District Forestry Officer, said the engagement had come at a critical time after the district experienced an unusually long dry spell.

"This engagement has come at the right time for our district local government, especially this year when we have experienced a very long period of drought compared to what we have experienced in this district before," Omara said.

He said the prolonged dry spell had affected crop production, with farmers who delayed planting after the early rains suffering significant losses.

"Those who attempted to plant during that time were able to harvest. But those who thought the rains might not be consistent and waited until April, as they used to, did not get enough rain, and this affected food production," he said.

Omara said maize and groundnut production had been particularly affected, while some areas were still waiting for sufficient rainfall for the second planting season.

"Crops are drying up, and this is posing a risk of hunger to our people. We are fearing the worst cases of hunger and famine," he said.

He warned that food shortages could also affect education if families were forced to withdraw children from school in search of alternative sources of income.

Omara said the district was promoting drought-resistant seed varieties, climate-smart agricultural technologies and fertiliser use as part of efforts to help farmers adapt to changing weather conditions.

He also linked the district's climate challenges to the loss of forest cover.

According to Omara, Nwoya had about 59,000 hectares of natural forest before 2010 but had lost about 15,000 hectares by 2025, although he noted that the figures could not be considered exact.

He said the loss represented a significant reduction in forest cover, with areas that previously had natural forests increasingly replaced by bare ground and grassland.

Omara added that the heavy dependence on firewood as a source of energy was putting further pressure on the district's forests.

He thanked ActionAid for organising the sensitisation campaign, saying it was helping communities understand the importance of environmental conservation.

Everline Acca, the Senior Environmental Officer in Nwoya District, identified deforestation, charcoal burning, wetland encroachment and poor waste management among the major environmental challenges facing the district.

"There is a lot of destruction of trees. In fact, we have very many commercial farmers within our district, and these people have cleared land massively for crop production," Acca said.

She said charcoal production was also contributing to the destruction of forests.

"We have very many charcoal dealers within the district. They have really cleared the land, and nowadays we see people planting, but there is not much coming out. That is all due to our activities of clearing the trees," she said.

Acca warned against the continued encroachment on wetlands, saying some communities were cultivating wetlands and using herbicides and pesticides that could contaminate the ecosystem.

"People are encroaching on wetlands. They are digging into the middle of the wetlands without respecting the buffer zones," she said.

She attributed some of the environmental degradation to poverty, saying people were sometimes forced to exploit natural resources in search of livelihoods.

"Some people, because of poverty, will still encroach on wetlands because they have nowhere else to go. If they do, they believe they will get something out of it," Acca said.

The district, she said, was promoting energy-saving cookstoves to reduce dependence on firewood while also implementing measures to protect and restore wetlands.

"We have introduced the construction of energy-saving cookstoves, including at individual farms and institutions," she said.

Acca said the district had also started demarcating sensitive ecosystems and restoring degraded areas.

She cited the demarcation of about four kilometres of sensitive ecosystems during the last financial year, including the Naga wetland, where boundary markers were installed to help protect the catchment area.

Acca credited ActionAid with supporting environmental initiatives, including tree planting and community sensitisation.

"We have done a lot with them, like planting trees at Gok Primary School. We participated because that area was really bare, but they helped us in greening the area," she said.

For farmers in Nwoya, however, the effects of changing weather patterns are already translating into significant financial losses.

Maurice Ochan, a farmer from the area, said he spent about Shs2 million cultivating six acres of groundnuts but failed to harvest anything because of prolonged heat and drought.

"I planted groundnuts on six acres, but I never harvested anything due to the temperature and the changes. The sun became too much, and I didn't harvest anything," Ochan said.

He said the failed harvest had left him questioning whether to continue farming despite depending on agriculture for his livelihood.

"In those six acres, I used Shs2 million, and I never even harvested anything from the garden. I made a great loss," he said.

Ochan said he had since begun diversifying his livelihood by planting fruit trees and rearing goats, pigs and poultry.

"I decided to plant some fruit trees because I know fruit can also bring money, and I also invested in other activities like rearing animals. I started rearing goats and pigs, as well as poultry," he said.

He said he was also interested in irrigation but hoped farmers could access irrigation schemes through groups because individual farmers might struggle to meet the cost of installing and maintaining irrigation systems.

"We have not yet used the irrigation scheme, but we have heard about it. I hope that if the projects come near us, we are willing to use the irrigation project. Even if it is expensive, I know we can do it as a group," Ochan said.

He credited ActionAid's community engagement with helping him better understand the causes and possible responses to the challenges facing farmers.

The community engagement was preceded by a general cleaning exercise in Anaka Town, which ActionAid said was intended to demonstrate community responsibility for environmental protection.

The campaign forms part of ActionAid's broader climate justice advocacy, which seeks to amplify the voices of communities affected by climate change and promote greater investment in adaptation, resilience and locally led solutions.

Read the original article on Nile Post.