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Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Leaders from Acholi sub-region have asked the government to support their people with relief aid as the region grapples with famine.
The leaders say that while the government specifically plans to support the Karamoja region with relief aid, the region is also in dire need of food aid as many households are already sleeping hungry.
Gulu District Production Officer Jackson Lakor says that many families are now struggling to have three meals a day due to food shortages. He says poor rainfall performance in the past months greatly affected first season crop harvest adding that the little food stock that people harvested has been eaten already.
“We are seeing many families struggling to get what to eat, some are having just one meal a day because they have nothing or can’t afford to buy as prices are high,” says Lakor.
Lakor says the short-term remedy to the food crisis is for the government to send food relief to families affected to cushion them. He adds that there is also a need for the government to supply fast maturing seeds for farmers in the region in anticipation of the second season of rainfall.
In Gulu District, the areas witnessing food shortages are the sub-counties of Paicho, Paibona, and Palaro according to Lakor.
In Amuru district, the leaders say the altered weather pattern hasn’t spared farmers, leaving many grappling to sustain their families.
The Amuru LCV Chairperson Michael Lakony, notes there is an urgent need by the government to deliver relief food assistance to the locals who have been greatly affected.
Lakony says while the government has focused attention on the food crisis in Karamoja only, the region especially Amuru district is witnessing serious famine that will culminate into an emergency situation.
Anthony Akol, Kilak North MP also the Chairperson of Acholi Parliamentary Group, says the government must respond to the food crisis situation in Acholi before it escalates to the level of the Karamoja region.
Akol says as MPs from Acholi, they have met with the Prime Minister and presented their position on food security in the region adding that they will have another meeting soon along with legislators from Lango and West Nile regions.
Prices of food crops especially cereals in the region have since skyrocketed. At Gulu Main Market, a kilogram of maize seeds rose to 2,300 shillings from 1,200 shillings, while a kilogram of beans now cost 4,500 from 4,000 shillings and groundnuts shot up to 7,000 shillings from 6,000 shillings.
Julius Mucunguzi, the Head of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister says the government is aware of the food shortages around the country but responded to Karamoja based on the gravity of the situation.
He says Karamoja’s food crisis has been compounded by insecurity, cattle rustling, and failed crop yields.
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