District officers to popularise climate-smart agriculture in Acholi

GULU, March 10, 2026 — District officials heading the departments of production, agriculture, natural resources and environment in the Acholi Sub-region are set to receive support to popularise climate-smart agricultural practices in communities as part of efforts to mitigate climate change.

During an engagement meeting organised on Thursday by Mercy Corps, a non-profit organisation, at Bomah Hotel in Gulu City, agriculture and environment experts identified several interventions to help communities adapt to changing weather patterns. These include sensitising the public against encroaching on wetlands, demarcating wetlands, promoting proper wetland use, digging trenches and ditches to harvest water in gardens, and encouraging mulching.

In Omoro District, the Natural Resources Officer, Patrick Nyeko, said there is a need to sensitise farmers against encroaching on wetlands.

“People in Omoro have ventured into growing rice and vegetables in wetlands. They also use chemicals on those crops. They cut trees found along river banks. We need to sensitise them against this and also demarcate the wetlands. We need to teach them the land use practices supported in wetlands like fish ponds because some people don’t know. We should not begin arresting them before sensitisation,” Nyeko explained.

Simon Peter Komakech, the Amuru District Production Officer, said Northern Uganda has the potential to emulate Ethiopia, which is thriving on irrigation farming.

“We should show our farmers water harvesting techniques that work. Many of them have grass-thatched roofs that cannot support harvesting of rainwater, but we can teach them to dig trenches and ditches to harvest water during the rainy season which they can then use during the dry season,” Komakech said.

Farmers in the Acholi Sub-region are currently still reeling from losses incurred when the dry season began as early as November instead of mid-December, which had been the norm.

Komakech noted that the Acholi Sub-region is endowed with numerous rivers and reliable rainfall which, if utilised well, could transform smallholder farming.

“Our climate has changed. The only way to address it is to embrace climate-smart farming such as irrigation. We should work to ensure that smallholder farmers are supported to produce productively to address food security and improve household incomes,” Komakech said.

Joyce Ocen, a resident of Boke Cell in Laroo-Pece Division in Gulu City who has embraced climate-smart farming, told the meeting that Mercy Corps has helped her fully utilise her two acres of land, where she grows vegetables throughout the year.

“I grow cabbages and tomatoes throughout the year. On a small scale I also grow eggplants and green peppers. It is helping me sustain myself. I am over 60 years old, so I pay youth to help me do some of the heavy work,” Ocen explained.

She added that access to solar irrigation pumps, with the support of Mercy Corps and Tulima Solar, has enabled her to remain active in farming.

“In one week’s time, I will be transplanting my cabbage and tomato seedlings to the main garden. I trust that the solar irrigation will help me in case the rains stop early,” Ocen said.

Lawrence Otim, the Programme Manager for the Powering the Uptake of Climate Change Mitigating Pumps [PUMP-UP] project, noted that rainwater harvesting and soil conservation practices and technologies are key to improving smallholder farming.

Otim said agricultural and environment experts will be supported to train farmers on these practices in order to improve productivity and livelihoods.

“These district leaders are mandated to train farmers. We are complementing one another to ensure that smallholder farmers grow and transition to market-oriented farming. We cannot leave our smallholder farmers behind. Mercy Corps is ready to support the district production teams to ensure that this information reaches the farmers,” he explained.

He added that the organisation is deploying extension workers and role model farmers to ensure that more farmers are reached and supported over the next six months.

The PUMP-UP project, funded by DANIDA and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is being implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Tulima Solar and Simu Solar, which provide solar irrigation pumps to farmers at subsidised rates and on loan repayable after farmers harvest their crops.

https://thecooperator.news/comesa-calls-for-bold-action-to-boost-climate-smart-agriculture/

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