Bushfires threaten plantation agriculture in Acholi
GULU CITY, 10 March 2025 – Lillian Wanican, a coffee nursery bed operator and trainer, has highlighted that bushfires pose a significant threat to plantation agriculture, such as coffee, in the Acholi Subregion.
Bush burning is a common practice in the region during the long dry season [between December and March, as locals often burn bushes either to hunt edible rats or to regenerate grass.
“Farmers in Acholi Subregion have recently begun engaging in plantation agriculture, including the cultivation of coffee, cocoa, and bananas. We must put an end to the practice of bushburning and pastoralism if these crops are to thrive,” said Wanican, who was speaking at this year’s Agroecology Coffee Conference, held at Elephante Commons in Gulu City on Friday.
She explained that districts and subcounties should implement punitive measures against anyone caught setting bush fires, arguing that this would deter others from continuing the harmful practice.
“We need to pass by-laws to protect plantation crops. A coffee plantation has the potential to produce for over 50 years. The losses incurred from such a plantation should be assessed based on the amount of money a farmer has invested, the annual turnover of the crop, the money they would have earned from the crop over the 50 years, and the prevailing market price of the crop,” said Wanican.
Wanican also urged residents of Acholi Subregion to be more responsible and less envious of their neighbours.
“Allowing livestock to roam freely and destroy your neighbours’ crops must stop. It’s only in Acholi Subregion where people still let animals roam at will, and that’s not right,” she said.
Wanican’s comments were in response to concerns from farmers, who have expressed that wild bush fires are making it increasingly difficult to maintain their coffee plants.
Meanwhile, Betty Anek, a coffee farmer who has maintained an acre of coffee for the past eight years in Koch Goma Subcounty, Nwoya district, said her coffee plants are no longer susceptible to bush fires because she maintains moisture in the plantation through shade trees.
“Even during the dry season, you will not find my coffee plantation dry. I have maintained local trees in the plantation, and I also mulch my coffee, which prevents fire from crossing into the plantation, as the mulch keeps the soil moist throughout the year,” Anek explained.
Derrick Komakech, an agronomist with Ribbo Coffee, a social enterprise based in Gulu City, advised farmers to prioritise irrigation for their coffee plantations to maintain moisture.
“You can harvest rainwater and use it during the dry season to irrigate your coffee crops. This can be done by collecting rainwater in holes, trenches, dams, or water tanks, depending on what is affordable. Irrigation during the dry season can increase coffee plant flowering by between 45 percent and 57 percent,” said Komakech.
Bush burning is used as a land management practice to clear land for cultivation, especially in Northern Uganda, and coincides with the first rains of the season. This is also the time when hunting, especially of rodents, is common among the local communities.
Although there are existing laws in the country like the Prohibition of Burning of Grass Act (1974), which restricts intentional burning without proper authorisation, enforcement remains weak because local leaders do not have incentives or alternative methods for land management, which makes changing entrenched practices a challenge.
There is a need to promote awareness about the dangers of bush burning and educate farmers on sustainable agricultural practices as alternatives, such as leaving vegetation to decompose naturally in the soil to enhance fertility and adopting rotational farming techniques to mitigate the risk of wildfires that threaten both agriculture and biodiversity.
https://thecooperator.news/fires-threaten-atiak-sugarcane-farmers/
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