Farmers in the rangelands of Buyende and Kamuli build resilience to fight climate change by planting trees, pasture and food crops

Across Uganda, rangelands are the backbone of pastoralist and agro-pastoralist livelihoods.

But in Buyende and Kamuli districts, these rangelands are under serious threat — prolonged droughts, poor soils, and shrinking pastures have made life difficult for both animals and people. Today, I will get to know how communities in the two rangeland districts of Kamuli and Buyende-in the Busoga region of eastern Uganda, are responding by planting indigenous tree species, grass and setting up seed banks, ensuring their animals and families can withstand the harsh climatic conditions. We will speak with four special guests engaged in activities aimed at building resilience through the planting of trees, pasture, and yet they are setting up seedbanks so as to withstand the conditions in the rangelands. We are also joined by Ms. Jessica Nairuba, a farmer and Chairperson of the Kyebaja Tobona Farmers’ Group, based in Kagulu Sub-county, Nsomba Parish-Busalwa in Buyende District. On the panel, we also have a gentleman who is a farmer based in Nambaale village, Kagumba parish, Kagumba sub-county, Kamuli District. Joining them is Ms. Bridget Babirye, who is a Forestry Officer for the Kamuli District Local Government and Dr. Brian Owoyesigire. Dr. Owoyesigire is the Program Leader of Animal Resources Research at the National Agriculture Research Organization based at Buginyanya Zonal Agriculture Research and Development Institute in Bugisu, eastern Uganda. Warm welcome to our guests. I’m _____, the host.

The topic to discuss is: Farmers in the Rangelands of Buyende and Kamuli build resilience to fight climate change by planting trees, pasture and food crops.

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURE TUNE.

Let me begin with you Jessica-can you please introduce yourself for purposes of clarity?

 

My name is Jessica Nairuba. I come from Kagulu Sub-county, Nsomba Parish, Busalwa village in Buyende District. I am a farmer and also the Chairperson of the Kyebaja Tobona Farmers’ Group here in Kagulu-Busalwa. Our group was formed by local farmers in our community. We are more than 30 smallholder farmers, and most of us are women — about twenty. We grow food crops such as potatoes, maize, and cassava. Some members also rear goats, cows, and poultry. But for me, I mainly grow pastures for livestock. I use it to feed my animals, and I also sell some to earn extra income. Thank you for including me in this programme.

 

Thank you for being here with us! You mentioned that you plant pastures for your animals. What types of pastures do you grow, and how would you describe them?

They are in types: there is a type called Napier, a type which is Gayana, and we also plant Bracheria. Locally, Napier tends to grow tall to almost the height of reeds. We call Napier grass E’bigada. And Gayana is like finger millet plants. Bracheria is very short and does not grow higher from the ground. By description, that is how they look.

Thank you very much for this explanation. I would like to ask you now: which challenges did you face before the interventions of planting grass in your area?

We are in a very dry area that experiences a lot of sunshine. Rain takes a long time to come, and at times we get only one planting season a year. Yet, we used to have two planting seasons before. Some parts here are so dry that crops like bananas, leafy vegetables, and fruits such as watermelon and passion fruit do not grow well.

Long ago, we used to receive sufficient rainfall, but over the years, prolonged dry spells lasting more than four months have become common. Famine has been striking our area due to lack of food, as we cannot plant when it is too dry. Animals also die because of a shortage of pasture and water, and diseases have become rampant, killing many of them.

Before we started planting pastures in Kagulu, we faced all these challenges. But when a new project came in and mobilized us to attend training sessions on how to become resilient to climate change, we welcomed the idea. Since we were already organized as a community, we embraced the opportunity.

After being trained by researchers, the district technical teams, and their partners, I decided to start planting pastures—though I also grow food crops for home consumption. When I had just started, some of my fellow farmers mocked me, saying, “It’s just mere grass!” But now, I earn income by selling pasture to those who have animals, and many of them are now realizing its value and joining in these activities.

 

Thank you Jessica. I will come back to you for more information regarding the changes you realize in your life and family after adopting the methods to fight climate change and how you are helping fellow women to become resilient too. Next, I wish to take our listeners to Kamuli district. From Kamuli we have Mr. Simon Nduhura, a cattle keeper in Nambaale village, Kagumba Parish, Kagumba sub-county, Kamuli District. Mr. Nduhura, welcome and thank you for sparing your time to join in.

Thank you, moderator, for inviting me to the program.

: Mr. Ndahura, we spoke some time back when you had just started taking part in activities to build resilience against climate change. As a cattle keeper, can you please share what change you are realizing since you started getting involved in the activities aimed at fighting climate change?

 

Well, you know, this project started when we, as cattle keepers, had already begun organizing ourselves into a group. Some officials from Kamuli District had earlier mobilized us and taught us how best we could survive during dry spells, how to protect our animals from hardship and guard them against rampant diseases like foot-and-mouth disease, which kills many cows. This was over ten years ago. As you know, this area is part of the cattle corridor, and for a long time, many herdsmen have used this land for grazing their animals. I used to walk long distances in search of pasture and water for my animals. We often lost some along the way because of the long distances and the risk of disease. Even we, the herdsmen, would get exhausted from moving with the animals from one area to another. We were advised to keep a manageable number of animals within our home compounds so that we could care for them properly and still get plenty of milk. With this project on building resilience, we have been trained on how to grow good pastures (like E’bigada) in our gardens or near our homes to feed our animals. Now, we can feed them right at home instead of struggling with large herds of poor-quality animals that we used to take long distances for grazing. This approach requires commitment, but it has made our lives much easier.

 

Thank you for this answer and the details, Mr Ndahura. You mentioned that this approach requires commitment. Can you say a little more about this?

What I mean is that, for us to truly benefit from these activities — like better farming, keeping animals, and using our land sustainably — we must dedicate our time and energy, and put into practice what we are taught. Because sometimes, people are given advice on how to survive in these dry areas, but they don’t take it seriously.

 

That’s true! When advice isn’t taken seriously, it can affect even those who are willing to try. So, as a cattle keeper, what would you say are the main challenges you face when dealing with hardships you experience in your activities?

 

As I have already said, these activities require commitment. We have been affected because many of our members left the group in search of survival elsewhere. At first, we were twenty-eight in the group, but now only fourteen members remain active. And when I say, in order to achieve this, we need to put in effort and implement the activities aimed at saving ourselves, our animals, and our gardens; I mean we should not expect everything to be given to us for free—it cannot work that way. We currently have a water tank at Nambale, but we need a solar-powered pump to draw water from it. We are trying to raise money to buy one. We need one million and seven hundred thousand shillings (663.36 CAD) to acquire the solar pump, and we are still contributing towards its purchase. If we had more members, we could have raised the money more easily. If we can get a sponsor or government support to provide the pump, it would be a great relief for us.

: It is encouraging to learn that when you come together, you jointly pull efforts to work around a cause. Thank you Simon for those insights. At this point, I would like to turn to Ms. Bridget Babirye. She is Kamuli District Environment Officer. Welcome to the programme, Ms. Babirye. You work closely with researchers and partners to help smallholder farmers and livestock keepers in rangeland areas adapt to climate change. Can you tell us what your role has been in this work, and how farmers are benefiting from it?

 

ET: Our role is to give technical advice while working hand in hand with the researchers and other partners putting the pastoral community and farmers at the center of all what we do. We advise on the best practices to implement but of course by guiding the farmers on their choices of tree species, food crops and other environmental knowledge that we give.

 

Kamuli district is not different from Buyende district being in the cattle corridor. Farmers and cattle keepers have and continue to face challenges of climate change being that this area is so dry. Could you please tell us some of these challenges and the advice that you give?

 

Kamuli district in particular, has challenges of deforestation which affects both the farmers and animal keepers- because animals depend on grass and leaves of trees like chariandra and ficus. These species have been providing fodder, the cows, goats and sheep eat them. Now we are challenged with a high population which comes with a high demand for land for construction and land for cultivation and other activities. We have another challenge of increased charcoal burning for fuel or energy. For example, in Kagumba and Namasagali sub-counties, most of the trees have been cut down for brick burning, leaving the area almost bare.

 

It is indeed alarming to see the environment degraded to the point where it is almost becoming a semi-desert. What would you advise farmers and livestock keepers to do in this situation?

 

: We have been sensitizing them on the best practices like planting trees and maintaining them on their land. Trees act as wind breakers, they rejuvenate the land and give a cool environment. We have worked with partners, including research institutes and civil society organizations, and engaged directly with farmers. This project on building resilience is one of the projects that we have worked with to empower the community. It has been covering a lot of components of trees as well as fodder. The farmers are building their resilience to adapt to climate change.

It covers key components such as tree planting and fodder development. This intervention is helping farmers improve in many ways: if trees increase, we expect good yield from the animals and from the farms, because these trees work as wind breakers like I said. We experienced a heavy hailstorm which affected Kagumba, Magogo and Nawanyago sub-counties, which happened due to massive tree cutting that takes place in these areas. This affected the crop yields as well as animals. Farmers lost their crops and animals due to the heavy storm. So with this intervention, we expect the trees to increase to act as preventive measures to such calamities.

 

: Thank you Bridget! It is anticipated that there will be increased farm yields if the calamities are curtailed. But Ms. Bridget, before we move on to another person, what role do you the technical people at the local government level play to ensure this becomes a reality and sustainable?

 

Well, Kamuli district for example is playing a very big role. It is championing environmental conservation. It is also providing technical support to the project. The environment and natural resources offices are working hand- in- hand with the researchers and other partners to ensure the success of this particular project. It is creating a bridge between the political teams and the community members to influence the sustainability of conservation and more so to lead tree planting in the area. We have attracted the political leaders to give any necessary support and participate in ensuring that community members plant trees. We are grateful for this unique project to operate in this cattle corridor range. So we pledge to continue with activities aimed at mitigating climate change. We appreciate seeing the farmers learning and becoming resilient to impacts of climate change, especially learning and participating in Farmer Field Schools where they have learned how to raise tree nurseries, pruning and grafting. This has been established by the farmers themselves with guidance of the technical teams. These activities will continue even when the partners end their projects. We shall continue sensitizing the farmers in this area on climate mitigation and adaptation.

 

Yes, sustainability is key in any development related activity. As the district technical team, you really have a role to play to ensure that the activities of mitigating climate change are sustained. Thank you! It is now time to hear from the researcher who has really come up with ideas and products for making farmers and pastoralists resilient to climate change in the cattle corridor. This is Dr. Brian Owoyesigire; he is the Team Leader and Head of the building resilience project based at the Buginyanya Zonal Agriculture Research Development Institute. What Dr. Oweyesigire implements in as far as building resilience for farmer and pastoral livelihoods is anchored on research conducted at the Institute. Welcome, Dr. Brian!

 

: Thank you!

 

We often hear about building climate resilience. In your work, what does this mean in practice, and how is it being implemented through the project you’re leading?

 

: This is a project called Integrating climate resilience into agriculture and pastoral production in Uganda through Farmer agro pastoralist farmer Field School Approach. It has been supported by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The main objective of this project is to build climate resilience into the agricultural sector as an effective means of reducing vulnerability and dissemination of community level adaptation measures. The project is being implemented in the rangelands districts of Kaberamaido, Amuria, Katakwi, Buyende and Kamuli. It is a four year project that is expected to end around the end of December 2025 with hopes of extending it for another two years. We work with the district technical teams of the selected rangeland districts, the food and agriculture organization, Ministry of Agriculture, animal Industry and Fisheries, and other partners while putting the pastoralists and farmers at the centre.

 

When you talk about building resilience, we hear farmers and pastoralists; could you perhaps explain this?

 

Yes, these areas are mainly cattle or pastoral areas. The areas have been heavily impacted by climate change, as observed in severe drought periods, scarcity and scarcity of pastures, among others. And as such, survival of pastoral livelihoods is under serious threat. This project is therefore promoting agro biodiversity. It emphasizes not only the tree species but also crop and pasture species which have attributes of resilience to climate extremes such as droughts. By encouraging farmers in their field schools to diversify production, this will offer alternatives to tap opportunities that promote both food security and enhanced livelihoods. This is promoting deliberate actions using farmers’ preferred fruit and woodland tree species in their communities, to build resilience to climate change. Trees like ficus and fruit trees like mango, jack fruit and oranges are promoted by the farmers and community members. The farmer field schools are being supported to establish functional community seedbanks and tree nurseries. These are meant to be a source of quality planting materials for the rangeland areas. The project is also supporting these targeted districts to establish tree nurseries for farmers.

 

You mentioned Farmer Field School. What does it mean and why is it a good approach?

 

A farmer field school is a mimic of a school setting, with the structures of a head, trainers or facilitators, and the trainees or learners who have different roles in learning a particular adaptation strategy. The farmer field school helps the pastoralists and farmers to organize themselves into this kind of a school. In these rangelands, we are targeting pastoralists who are transitioning into agro-pastoralists. Those who are quick learners become facilitators and are capacitated to teach others, and the cycle continues.

 

 

This sounds like a very important approach! Thank you. Now, I would like to go back to Jessica. You are a leader of your group that is participating in these activities. As a woman, how do you ensure that women get to participate in such activities since issues of climate change affect women more and differently.

 

It is true that we women play the biggest role when it comes to fending for the family. In this group that I am heading, the majority are women, like I said earlier. We want that, as women, we increase the number so that we are able to have a strong voice and share knowledge on how we can fight climate change. Many women are running homes like they do not have husbands. Some men have even abandoned their families and run away from poverty and lack of basic necessities for their families. Many homes have been struck by poverty as a result of climate change. Land is no longer productive. Those with animals like cows and goats have reduced in number, and some even lost them due to harsh climate change. So as women, we have been sticking to groups through which we get trained on the best farming practice. We also access yielding seeds like maize, potato vines, and cassava varieties that we are now planting and manage to get food for the family. We also work with men, although women are the majority in this. We attracted women to join the group and they are more committed. Still more women are encouraged to join us. We are now realizing the benefits.

 

That is important to note! Women strive more since they play many roles of providing for the family and in the community. So how has the availability of pasture and food production changed your livelihood as women?

 

It has really changed my life—and that of some of my fellow group members. The pasture species we were trained to grow have become a source of income for me. I plant Napier, Guyana, and Brachiaria pasture species. Locally, we call Brachiaria “Ekiryama” and Napier “E’bigada Byente.” I sell the pasture to fellow farmers who also keep animals. I pack it in sacks, each of which I sell for 30,000 Ugandan shillings (11.75 CAD). In addition, we were trained on proper planting methods for food crops. For example, when planting maize, we now place only two seeds per hole, unlike before. As a result, we have food throughout the seasons and no longer experience famine.

We also use improved seed varieties. Even the pasture seeds we multiply in our tree nurseries come from the research institute, developed and supplied by scientists.

 

It is encouraging now that more women are getting empowered to work for an income and are fighting food insecurity! Thank you, Jessica! Then Simon, you talked about some challenges that may not only affect the planting of trees and grass as a herdsman? What would you suggest as a way forward?

 

We ask the district to take up this project for sustainability reasons. Let the district get involved so much so that even if the research organization stops community engagements, the district continues the momentum. Also, we require support to be able to tap water using a solar powered pump. We remain a few committed members in our group, we are facing a challenge to raise resources to get the water for our animals and other farming activities because we cannot pull it, and it requires a solar powered pump.

 

Thank you for your answer, Simon. Now, Dr. Brian, as an expert and researcher behind building resilience for the rangeland communities, what long-term goal is it for the activities in the rangelands and the communities?

 

The National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) together with the identified Districts (District Local governments), identifies progressive farmers who have been given seeds, trained in all aspects of pasture agronomy and in pasture conservation like hay and silage making. Seedbanks have been established by the farmers. These are fields prepared and raised particularly for seed generation for farmers. They consist of interventions geared at ensuring food security and income security. The pasture component is among them since these farmers dwell in rangelands where livestock is key. We also include interventions like use of high yielding groundnuts varieties (NAROCAS1) and cassava. And together with NARO sister institutes, high yielding seed varieties are being developed for the rangelands. There, we are ensuring that this is sustained.

 

What are the agronomic practices emphasized in this?

 

These entail all aspects of land preparation, proper seed spacing, weeding, pests and disease control and seed harvesting, among others.

 

Very important to note that the approaches to adapt to climate change in the cattle range areas takes on a wide range of interventions. These include planting of trees, pasture and high yielding seeds. Thank you, Dr. Brian Oweyesigire for the technical insights you have given. Thank you Mr. Simon Nduhura and Madam Jessica Nairuba for sharing your experiences. And not forgetting the district technical team represented by Ms. Bridget Babirye who has guided on how it would best be done to ensure the rangelands are revitalized.

 

In today’s program, we have learned about combining trees, pasture and crops to guarantee sustainability in the dry rangeland ecosystems. In Kamuli and Buyende, the two districts we have engaged are representative of the rest of the districts where such activities are implemented. This is also a strategy for tackling the challenges shared here. After all, impact has been realized since the activities started being implemented about five years ago.

Until next time, I am ______. Goodbye!