Uganda has warned that the persistent drought has placed over 7 million people at risk.
As experts meet in Morocco this week for the UN Climate Change summit, the East African country said climate change has worsened its food security to verging on crisis .
According to the ministry of relief and disaster preparedness, over 7 million people face starvation due to poor harvest caused by changes in weather patterns. The figure had been revised upwards from the earlier stated 1.3 million.
The dry spell this year picked up from the long spell last year. A recent weather report indicated that it is likely to spill into next year.
Musa Ecweru, minister of state for relief, disaster preparedness and refugees, attributes the changing weather patterns to the continued environmental degradation in the country.
According to environmentalists, Uganda has already lost two-thirds of its forests in the past 20 years and could have lost all of its forested land by 2050, which would have severe impacts on its poorest people.
“The current food security situation in the country ranges between minimal and crisis. A few parts of the country are in emergency phase of food insecurity, however, there is fear if individuals and families do not manage the available food stocks at household levels well, the situation can quickly deteriorate to the emergency and famine stages within the next two months,” said Christopher Kibazanga, minister of state for agriculture.
The government is urging individuals and families to desist from selling their harvests despite the current good prices offered by traders from neighboring countries.
Farmers are also encouraged to plant drought-resistant crops to take advantage of the little ongoing rains.
Kibazanga also urged the public to harvest, store and sparingly use water for both domestic and livestock, adding that the severely affected areas had started to receive relief food. Enditem
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(Via: NewsGhana)
