Agricultural land use change in Karamoja Region, Uganda

Nakalembe, Catherine; Dempewolf, Jan; Justice, C. O.

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.11.029

Cited by 37 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…These directly reduce the planted crop population and yield per unit area. In a survey which was carried out by Nakalembe et al (2017) in Moroto district, the farmers highlighted several causes of declining crop yield similar to the one mentioned by farmers in this study.…”

Section: Causes Of Crops Yields Declinesupporting

confidence: 67%

“…In the year 2010, the Government of Uganda embarked in an exercise to promote and extend sedentary agriculture to Karamoja pastoralists (MAAIF, 2010). This has resulted in conversion of expansive areas of the natural land cover into agriculture (Nakalembe et al, 2017). In the agro-pastoral zone the common crops grown which contribute 50% of household food and income include: sorghum (Sorghum bicolar L. Moench), maize (Zea mays L.), field peas (Vigna unguiculata L.) beans (Phaselous vulgaris L.), bulrush millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), finger millet (Eleucine caracana L.), pigeon peas (Cajanus cajana L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) (Jordaan, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sedentary Agriculture and Its Implications on Soil Quality in Agro-pastoral Semi-arid Karamoja, Uganda

Muwanga¹,

Onwonga²,

Keya³

et al. 2020

JAS

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Uganda Government embarked on promoting sedentary agriculture in Karamoja agro-pastoral semi-arid livelihood zone, which experience rapid environmental and high soil quality (SQ) decline. However, studies on sedentary agriculture’s impact on soil quality using farmer’s knowledge is limited. Consequently, a survey was carried out in Karamoja (Iriiri, Matany Sub-counties of Napak of districts and Rengen sub-county of Kotido) to determine the soil quality indicator parameters based on the farmers knowledge in order to build a local soil knowledge data base to better inform sustainable land use strategies. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, forty indigenous farmers per sub-county, were interviewed between August and September, 2015. The study took into account the social demographic characteristics of the people, farming enterprises, methods of crops production, crops yields trends, causes of the perceived yields trends and soil quality indicators. Prospects of developing Karamoja indigenous knowledge data base lies in visible feature that predict soil quality. Farmers used 36 parameters to determine SQ. The parameters were clustered into five categories; soil, crop, biological, environmental and management each category contributing to 42, 19,14,8 and 17% of the total indicators, respectively. The relationship between age group and the perceived indicators of soil fertility was statistically significant (p-value = 0.045) with the majority stating that they use either soil colour, soil depth or soil texture to express the fertility of soil. The farmer’s soil quality indicators assessed in this study, is important in establishing indigenous-scientific hybrid knowledge data base to enhance soil fertility maintenance and better inform policy makers and other stakeholders on development of sustainable land use strategies.

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Section: Causes Of Crops Yields Declinesupporting

confidence: 67%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedentary Agriculture and Its Implications on Soil Quality in Agro-pastoral Semi-arid Karamoja, Uganda

Muwanga¹,

Onwonga²,

Keya³

et al. 2020

JAS

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“…Similarly, Egeru et al (2014) found that cropland is replacing rangelands in north-eastern Uganda and cropland increased tenfold between 1986 and 2013. In a related study in the same area, Nakalembe et al (2017) found that cropland area had increased by 299% between 2000 and 2011 in Karamoja subregion especially in Moroto district. They estimated that cropland increased from 706 to 23, 328 hectares which is approxiamtely a thirty three fold increase.…”

Section: Rangeland Conversion To Alternative Land Usesmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Economic empowerment, improvement of household income through crop cultivation, ensuring food and energy security, and timber production, have been the underlying factors driving rangeland conversion in Uganda (Nakalembe et al 2017, Zziwa et al 2012. Rangelands in Uganda have been converted to other land uses partly because of government's policies emphasizing improved agricultural production.…”

Section: Rangeland Conversion Into Other Land Usesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…miles) as game reserves, (v) the 1960s was characterized by individuals, administration officials and local petty bourgeois fencing off land for personal enrichment, and (vi) the 1980s represented a period when several development assistance initiatives were introduced, such as promotion of crop cultivation through provision of agricultural subsidies in the form of seed and tractors to address food insecurity and encouragement of pastoralists to live a more sedentary lifestyle. These initiatives were brought by the Ugandan government with support from multilateral donor agencies, ostensibly to enhance economic productivity of this region and the wellbeing of the pastoral communities (Barber 1962, Egeru et al 2014, Mamdani 1982, Nakalembe et al 2017, Quam 1978.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Uganda’s rangeland policy: intentions, consequences and opportunities

et al. 2018

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This paper analyses Uganda's rangeland policies and their ecological and socio-economic consequences, beginning in pre-colonial times. The paper interrogates what informed these policies, their objectives and outcomes that have been realized. Policy actions are recommended to correct the deficiencies identified in the analysis. This analysis shows that policies were based on western European resource management, classical rangeland ecological and economic theory and marginalization narratives, rather than the socio-ecological realities of Uganda's rangelands. The unique attributes of Uganda's rangelands were largely unrecognized. Consequently, pastoralists, dependent on the rangeland resources and ecosystem services, were displaced and exposed to incremental risks, poverty and a breakdown of social networks and safety nets as well as decline in rangeland productivity. In the rangelands of north-eastern Uganda for example, the inflexibility and immobility and forms of exploitation dictated to the Karimojong pastoralists led to increased soil erosion and decline in land productivity. Similarly, with increased parcelization, individualization and sedentarization in central and south-western Uganda, pastoral communities became impoverished as rangeland resources became increasingly limited. This increased their exposure to the vagaries of extreme events such as droughts, floods and disease outbreaks, thereby increasing livestock mortality and recurrent food insecurity. Expansion of competing land uses has reduced the net availability of rangeland resources, often with the support of external incentives. Current policies promoting fire exclusion have led to increased bush encroachment, while other policies have undermined the centrality of commons' governance practices and institutions. Uganda's land use policies ought to emphasize a more balanced socio-ecological perspective (ensuring net gain especially in the interaction of resource use between humans and the environment) that supports the functionality and productivity of rangeland ecosystems and their ability to deliver socioeconomically important ecosystem services and address human needs. This can be through promotion of common property and consolidation of land for optimal utilization of ecological heterogeneity and enhancement of resilience. Mapping of transhumance corridors to determine ways through which mobility can increase herds' access to forage and water between and within years will be equally important to enhance pastoralists' resilience. Policy actions that provide payments for conservation stewardship of rangelands should be considered to incentivize land owners to maintain their land as rangelands. Assessment is required of the ecological and social impacts of fire, in order to determine optimal fire regimes and amendment of laws that ban the use of fires, so as to promote prescribed burning in rangelands. Achieving all these will require reforms that clearly delineate policy and legal frameworks for sustainable rangeland use and management.

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