World food crisis: How is Katine coping?

Liz Ford

UK, guardian.co.uk - 19 Oct. 2008

Cassava, one of the staple foods of the Teso region, has more than doubled in price since the beginning of the year. In January, a bowl of dried cassava bought from Katine market would have cost around 4,000 shillings ($2.50), it now it stands at 10,000.

A report published today by Oxfam concluded that escalating food and fuel prices were "inflicting great suffering" on developing countries and called on the international community to invest more to avert a humanitarian crisis in some parts of the world.

The report, published to coincide with World Food Day today, claims that consistently misguided policies on agriculture, trade and domestic markets, made by politicians, and promoted and backed by international financial institutions and donor countries, has meant poor farmers, who should be reaping the benefits of rising prices for their goods, are instead facing further poverty.

According to figures from the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, in Uganda, the cost of maize, a staple crop, rose by 65% between January 2007 and April 2008.

The price of rice, sugar and beans, which used to be one of the cheapest foods in the country, have almost trebled, and the cost of oxen has more than doubled because of rising fuel prices, and their knock-on affect on transport and shipping costs, and increased demand.

Government ministers are trying to stabilise the price of oxen, which will at least be some good news for members of the Ojemorun Farmers United Group in Katine, a rural sub-county in north east Uganda, that is being supported by the Guardian and the work of the African Medical and Research Foundation and Farm-Africa.

The group claims the price of oxen has doubled in just six months, from 300,000 Ugandan shillings ($172) to 700,000 shillings.

The cost of rice in Soroti has also increased, and the local price of fuel is hugely inflated due to increased oil prices.

Cassava, one of the staple foods of the Teso region, has more than doubled in price since the beginning of the year. In January, a bowl of dried cassava bought from Katine market would have cost around 4,000 shillings ($2.50), it now it stands at 10,000.

In August, Katine's agricultural officer, James Odienyi, told farmers at a two-day training course on growing and managing new high-yielding varieties of cassava, the price of the crop is a major indicator of the state of food security in the region as it is used to feed households, as well as being a major source of income.

One of the five components of the Katine project is to improve people's livelihoods, and part of this process is growing groundnuts and new varieties of cassava. The approved varieties have been recommended by the National Agricultural Research Organisation as they are more resistant to disease and drought, and take less time to grow.

Otim Julius Moses, a member of the Ojemorun farmers group, said today that members were already seeing the benefits of the work.

"We have been trained on how to grow improved cassava, using disease free planting materials. We have also been given planting materials of an improved cassava variety, which is growing better than our old varieties," he said.

But while successful growth of these new varieties will provide some cushioning in the current economic climate, those without the money to store the crop until local prices increase will have difficulties.

At the moment, local produce is not commanding a high price in the market, as traders are seeking to buy as cheaply as possible.

The Village Savings and Loans Associations, which are being established across Katine, could help weather the storm, although there are borrowing limits and loans are usually short-term and come with high interest rates.

According to the Oxfam report, the Ugandan government recently increased its spending on agriculture to more than 10% of its national budget, but Katine is a region that has received little central investment. Ultimately, how well the sub-county, and others like it in Uganda, come through this crisis could come down to how the international community responds to the call for more investment and whether money filters down from government to the villages.