CLIMATE CHANGE: A TURNING POINT FOR URBAN FARMING

Some of the tomatoes at Hope's farm planted in car tyres.

By Anslem Ojaru

Arua City

The unprecedented dry spell is both a danger, and opportunity for farmers as many now impress mini irrigation for the production of high valued crops creating high demand for them.
 
This high demand has given birth to a number of methods for farmers to continue farming despite the weather changes.
 
In the dry spell Hope Atizia deployed mini irrigation systems by drawing water from the nearby stream next to her farm.
 
This enables her to grow crops around in containers, car tires and sacks throughout the season.
 
Sharing her experience over the years, Atizia explains that it is a profitable venture though its capital demanding.
 
“This is dry season we are fighting through irrigation farming, we do mulching practices in the farm to retain water in the farm and then we supply water artificially, and we have water reservation around the farm, get the water from the nearby streams and we do aerial irrigation.”
 
The unpredictable weather patterns have hit hard the Agricultural sector thus affecting the food production and quality consequently increasing the demand for food.
 
Speaking about the earnings, Atizia says more sales are made in the dry season.
 
The crops we mainly grow here are the tomatoes Swiss chard, broccoli, green paper, chilly, water melon, lima beans cauliflower and people in the community and from the market, there is more income in the dry season.
 
The Arua district production and marketing officer Dr Willy Nguma says despite the benefits of climate smart Agriculture, few farmers are embracing the practice due to the high costs involved in accessing some of the tools and equipment.
 
“There is also micro scale irrigation technologies that is why the promotion of vegetables trended throughout the season but our challenge has been that, very few farmers get access to these technologies and the few people cannot produce adequate to feed the entire population.” 
 
To address the high costs involved, David Edaku a climate smart Agriculture expert advises farmers to embrace local methods in their farms.
 
“You should be able to Plant drought tolerant crops, these are new improved varieties and high yielding crops. Those tolerant to pests and diseases and use organic manure.”
 
As global warming continues to hit, the challenges associated with food security, livelihoods, and nutrition become increasingly pressing, therefore embracing Climate Smart Agriculture helps to promote sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint associated with food transportation.
 
 
 

Written by admin