FAO, EU and Uganda government commission Water for Production Facilities in the Central Cattle Corridor Districts to help farmers cope with climate change
Mubende -The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Union delegation in Uganda together with the Government of Uganda have commissioned the newly constructed Water for Production facilities for better access to water for livestock in the central cattle corridor districts of Mubende, Sembabule, Kiboga, Luwero, Nakasekke and Nakasongola.
The initiative, funded to a tune of Euro 4 million, involved the construction of 15 new valley tanks and rehabilitation of 5 old valley tanks, each with a capacity of Ten million litres (10,000,000 litres).
The initiative is part of the Euro 11 million project “Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) – Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change in Uganda” project funded by the European Union, with financial contribution of the Irish government, implemented by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), farmer groups and district local governments of the respective districts
According to the FAO Country Representative in Uganda, Mr. Alhaji Jallow, the commissioned water facilities will directly benefit close to 40,000 heads of cattle with year round access to water. “This will positively impact the resilience of agriculture production system in the cattle corridor and help in abating the predicted consequences of climate change like a 50% reduction in livestock and reduction in milk and beef production by over 42% by 2080 if there are no efforts to improve water and pasture availability.” He said.
Currently, it is estimated that 60% of the pastoral households in the Cattle Corridor, which stretches from the South Western to the North Eastern regions of Uganda lack water for domestic and household use as well as for crop production. In response to these challenges, the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) project was adopted by the Government of Uganda (GoU) through the Climate Change Department and Water for Production (WfP) Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment in order to strengthen the resilience of rural populations, cattle keepers and agricultural production systems and build the capacities of the communities and commercial farmers to cope with climate change.
The acting Head of Cooperation of the European Union to Uganda, Mr Cédric Merel, speaking at the commissioning, reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to combatting the effects of Climate change. “Addressing climate change provides countless opportunities to invent new and better ways to produce and consume sustainably, invest and trade, protect lives, jobs assets and livelihood opportunities for the benefit of the planet and the people living on it.”
Climate change in Uganda has been manifested through unpredictable, intense and at times extreme weather events such as drought, floods and landslides. Recent drought and prevalent siltation of the valley dams and tanks have contributed to increased water stress in the livestock sector, increasing travel distances to water resources and overgrazing around the few water sources. The “cattle corridor” is the most affected part of the country with inherent water and pasture scarcity, yet it accommodates over 80% of the ruminant livestock population in Uganda.
Speaking at the commissioning, Honourable Minister of Water and Environment, Mr. Sam Cheptoris said that the valley tanks will provide improved access to water, allowing communities to generate more income and reduce poverty, as well as saving time and labour for children and women in watering animals and fetching water. “The cattle corridor districts experience endemic water scarcity which not only limits livestock production but also encourages nomadic pastoralism leading to spread of diseases and impacting negatively on the environment and peoples’ livelihoods.” He added
The facilities were officially commissioned by the Honourable Minister of Water and Environment, Mr. Sam Cheptoris; Honourable Minister of Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Mr. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja; the acting Head of Cooperation of the European Union to Uganda, Mr Cédric Merel, and the Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, H.E Mr. Alhaji M.
The 52 months GCCA project, whose implementation started in 2012, builds on existing initiatives in the area of climate change. It was organized around three results; 1. Strengthening knowledge for climate change and adaptation capacity; 2. Better access of livestock and crops to water through water for production investments; and 3. Improving resilience of agricultural production systems in the “cattle corridor”.
About the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA
The Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) is an initiative of the European Union launched in 2007. The overall global objective is to build a new alliance on climate change between the European Union and the poor developing countries that are most affected and that have the least capacity to deal with climate change.FAO, in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE), implemented a four-year and six-month project of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) – Agriculture Adaptation to Climate Change from July 2012 to January 2017, funded by the European Union (EU), with financial support from the Government of Ireland. The purpose of the project is to strengthen the resilience of rural populations and agricultural production systems in the central part of the cattle corridor, and build the capacities of communities, commercial farmers and the Government of Uganda to cope with climate change.