In western Uganda, many families are facing starvation

It is 3.26pm at Wilson Kangaaho’s household in Isingiro district in western Uganda. They are having their first and last meal of the day: Porridge.

In Uganda, maize flour porridge is considered breakfast for prisoners and school children, but this is all that Mr Kangaaho can afford for his family comprising a breastfeeding wife and two children.

The Kangaahos are among 69 per cent of Ugandan households that rely on rain-fed subsistence agriculture, which leaves them prone to food shortages in cases of rain failure.

Beatrice Byaruhanga, commissioner for crop protection in the Ministry of Agriculture, said that following a nine-month dry spell in Isingiro, banana plants have withered, leaving the local farmers without food and income.

The region has experienced inadequate rainfall in the past six rainy seasons, which has affected beans, maize, millet and groundnut yields. Without adequate harvests for three years, the locals face starvation.

Micheal Muhoozi, a maize miller who now leads a drive among those who can still afford two meals a day to donate food to the more desperate residents, told The EastAfrican that such a food shortage was last witnessed in the region in 1980.

But in many districts in northern Uganda, food shortages have been reported annually in recent years.

Data from the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness shows that the latest food crisis has affected 45 districts with 1.3 million vulnerable people.

Rose Nakabugo, commissioner for disaster preparedness, said that the food crisis is expected to get worse in January due to the poor rainfall in the September to December season.

A study done by the Economic Policy Research Centre on Water for agricultural production shows that Uganda has consistently suffered drought almost every decade since 1910. Over this period, the rainfall patterns have been erratic, with the north and eastern regions suffering crop failure. But the government has consistently underfunded these areas.

Between 2010 and 2015, the government spent Ush58.4 billion ($15.9 million) in water for irrigation. This is a quarter of what the government had provided for in its Development Strategy and Investment Plan.

Funding remains limited to livestock in a few parts of Uganda. In places where irrigation has been provided, a few crops like rice are produced.

Over the past five years, the government has spent Ush491.9 billion ($134.1 million) on the National Agricultural Advisory (NAADS) to distribute seeds and seedlings to farmers across the country.