Food Insecurity in Uganda

A Brief on Food and Nutrition Security in Uganda

Food insecurity

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States defines food security as a situation that exists when all the people at all times have both the physical and economic access to adequate or enough, safe and nutritious food which is culturally acceptable to maintain an active and healthy life.

Elements of food security

At individual level food security becomes nutritional security. At the national level there are several elements. The two major elements are: availability which can be translated into adequacy of food supplies. Accessibility which can be translated into access and stability of food supplies

At household level food security elements include food sufficiency, access and entitlements, time, security.

Categories of causes of food insecurity

The causes of food Insecurity in Uganda can be divided into five categories including political factors, social and cultural causes, economic causes, geographical factors and agricultural practices.

1.  Political causes

Corruption: Currently the Nation Agricultural and Advisory Services is the operating organization providing agricultural advice to the farmers. A lot of campaigns to discontinue its services are currently in debate. Masses are complaining that the NAADS committee is using funds for other private businesses, they don’t deliver the required services and that they supply poor quality seeds and equipment of low standard.

National policies: Some do not promote equal access to food as they lead to price fluctuation of various food products making them unavailable to the poor.

Community Conflicts: Most conflicts within communities are due to land disputes caused by a number of issues including; cattle crossing boundaries and encroaching on the neighbors crops, people growing crops on other people’s land. All these lead to disputes in societies and usually end with death of people or wasting money in courts of appeal.

Landlessness: Land is central to people’s livelihoods as it is a major factor in cultivation, animal rearing and settlement. Lack of land is seen as a major cause of food insecurity and helplessness in all sites. For example, people are evicted from fertile lands in a verge to establish the plantation for investors. In Bubanda (a village in Mubende district of central Uganda), leasing land has denied people access to land for grazing and cultivation and involuntary migrations have occurred.

Evictions: The evictions to give way to the foreign direct investment (the Kaweeri coffee plantation) affected all the social groups in Kitemba community. Due to evictions, property (houses, land and crops were lost). In addition, a school and a private drug shop were lost. There was loss of social support and in some cases loss of contacts with family members resulting into destitution for people who depended on others to earn a living.

2.  Social/cultural factors

Cultural insensitivities: In some households the order in which food is provided is as follows; the father, elders followed by the children and the women eat last that’s if no visitor turns up otherwise the women will give up their food.

Theft:  Many school dropouts especially the youths who end up with no employment and yet have to find a living resort to theft in order to survive. They end up making other people food insecure since they take on their food in the stores.  

Rural-urban migration: Movement of the able-bodied men who could till the land to urban centers leaving the elderly and young who cannot do much to ensure food availability.

Death of family head: His/her death leaves the household food insecure since the rest of family members do not earn income. Furthermore, whenever the house head dies, the relatives and clan members go ahead and claim for the assets of the deceased. In village households, mourning days are usually prolonged to weeks hence continued utilization of the resources that the remaining household members would mobilize into food.

Continuous land disputes: Recently, many Bakiga (a tribe in western Uganda) were allocated land in the remote regions of Mubende (a district in central Uganda) displacing the original inhabitants. This led to continued conflicts hence wasting of time in disputes other than cultivation. Some people also resorted to bewitching and claimed many lives of able-bodied men.

Social and gender inequality: Women and girls are still regarded as inferior in the Ugandan community and are deprived of some foods like eggs, chicken and milk which are the major protein containing foods. This is partially responsible for poor health of the female sex.

Low levels of education: Poverty levels are over 70% in Uganda; the poor lack most basic services and in particular education. Though most primary schools are under the universal primary education, most students drop out after primary seven due to lack of school fees. This indicates that the half-baked students can’t compete favorably for jobs in urban areas.

Population growth:  Due to low levels of education Uganda there is lack of family planning that has led to unplanned births and the family heads can’t afford the basic needs for the big families.

Community Conflicts: Most conflicts in Ugandan communities are due to land disputes caused by a number of issues including; cattle crossing boundaries and encroaching on the neighbor’s crops, people growing crops on other people’s land. All these lead to disputes in societies and usually end with death of people or wasting money in courts of appeal.

Drunkenness: Over-drinking by mostly men and male youths causes extravagant spending which reduces savings and affects productivity. In addition, cases of those who sell property to pay for alcohol are common.

Large family size: The size of the family above seven members is an indicator of poverty. According to the sub-county officials, a large family leads to food insecurity. Some people think that a large family reduces poverty because of labor allocated to the agricultural sector but also acknowledge that when the children are still young it’s a constraint because the returns are low and yet consumption is high.

Traditional ceremonies/functions: Clan meetings are identified in most villages, funeral rites, burials and other social functions are reported as causing poverty and hence food insecurity. These functions are almost obligatory indicated one woman, even if you don’t have money; you have to spend on these items. The male orphans have a practice of appeasing spirits using goats. In Bubanda (a tribe in Uganda), the introduction ceremonies are reported to cause poverty among the cultivars and hence food insecurity.

Bride price: The payment of bride price is a major concern particularly among the pastoral communities of Bubanda and Kitemba among the Bakiga. Bride price can go as high as three hundred thousand shillings, six cows, five goats, a jerrycan of local brew, five liters of waragi, and parents clothing. Sometimes the concerned persons end up selling property which could help in food security in times of scarcity.

Polygamy: large families increase the burden and drain resources since they are shared amongst wives and children.

Widow inheritance and property grabbing: In Mubende, if a widow refuses to be inherited by a male relative of the deceased she is chased out of the home. After the death of the husband, the widow is culturally expected to marry someone from the man’s family such as a brother -in –law often termed as “Mukuza” (caretaker of the children). Some other poverty causing practices are property grabbing by relatives and in some instances, the male heir refusing the mother to use the land.

3. Economical causes

Lack of startup capital: This problem is identified by women, male youth and without capital people are unable to startup businesses and hence lack of income.

Poverty: many people in the rural areas on wages and they do not have job security and this lives them at the risk of losing the job any time leaving them jobless. Being jobless, the house heads are in no position to purchase adequate food to satisfy the family members. 

Barriers to trade:  The poor feeder roads make it impossible to carry out efficient trade. Also the market structure in Uganda is also bad as the farmers are cheated by the middle men and thus the farmers decide to keep their food leaving the people in other parts with little food as farmers refuse to sale their food produces.

Unemployment:  Unemployment here means lack of or limited income and is numbered among the causes of poverty, among the male and female youths, but the impact is more on men who despise work and the married women who are denied opportunities to work by their husbands. However, most people are unemployed because they lack educational qualifications (low education). Many people are not employed thus the prevalence of poverty and its persistency. 

High taxation: Most people argue that their incomes do not correspond to the amount of tax paid. This causes poverty. In urban areas the very many taxes charged on daily basis on foodstuffs are high and reduce people’s income. In the tea plantations and coffee plantations of Uganda the PAYE, NSSF and union fees are among the poverty bringing taxes paid by permanent workers.

Low and lack of market for produce: The low prices and lack of market for produce are emphasized in almost all parts of Uganda. The farmers invest time and labor, but the returns are commensurate with the inputs. Currently in Uganda, maize is sold at 150shs a kg and coffee at 500. This automatically discourages farmers from continued garden expansion. People always have a saying that” if I have failed to market my produce when I use a hoe, how will I be able to market my produce if I use a tractor.”

Low wages: Most people in Uganda are wage earners working with the road construction and house construction sites which give low wages inadequate to meet individual and household demands. For example, in tea estates, the wages are also affected by seasonal weather changes; during the dry season, leaf production is very low, and one can pick less than 5kgs during the dry season and earn less than the usual amount. The workers are paid per kilo plucked and quantity plucked determines incomes.

Rural-urban migration: Many energetic men migrate from rural districts to Urban districts and expect to find better living. This lives the rural area with little food produce which can’t sustain the population thus leading to food insecurity as there is an increase in the labor shortage.

Death of household head: His/her death leaves the household food insecure since the rest of family members do not earn income. Furthermore, whenever the house head dies, the relatives and clan members go ahead and claim for the assets of the deceased. In village households, mourning days are usually prolonged to weeks hence continued utilization of the resources that the remaining household members would mobilize into food.

Poor planning: Especially in Buweekula (a sub-county in Mubende district), primary teachers and other government workers, if paid their salaries or pension fees, they misuse the money and end up in worse poverty to the extent of failure to afford the basic needs including food.

High expenditure: Especially in social services, high expenditures amidst low income cause poverty. Then people in urban areas spend money on almost all the basic needs within limited subsides. This situation is compounded by low wages; this affects the individual’s ability to save for future investment.

Micro-finance institutions (MFIS): while access to credit through MFIS was seen to uplift welfare by some individuals, to the others, it has led to poverty. Some people who fail to pay back the loans lose property to MFIS. Some MFIS, such as COWE and ACID, drain people’s resources as they try to raise up to 70,000 Ugsh before accessing a loan. Many MFIS are continuously de-registered and hence go with people’s money.

4. Geographical /environmental causes 

Natural disasters:  The unfavorable natural weather conditions affectiong the people include, strong winds, heavy rains and the dry spell. The dry spell leads to shortage of water for animals and pasture for animals often migrating to liver banks in search for water. During this time animals are sold cheaply which exacerbates poverty among pastoralists. The cultivators emphasize the strong winds, which destroy crops. The unpredictable weather conditions are compounded by ineffectiveness of the metrological department, which doesn’t provide information about the weather changes. The way it is now farmers continue to rely on early warning systems which are in case unreliable.

Environmental degradation: Deforestation and soil erosion degrade the soils by lowering their fertility which results in low yields of food that is inadequate for consumption by the household.

Soil exhaustion: The situation in Uganda is compounded by the high levels of land fragmentation because many people occupy small plots. Small patches of land are cultivated for long periods without being replenished. Many migrants have bought land and many are still buying. This also makes fallowing difficult to practice for the majority of the people.

5.  Agricultural practices

Crop failure due to pests and diseases: Recently the coffee plantations were attacked by the coffee wilt disease and yet coffee was the major cash crop in the region. This led to decline in the household income and hence inadequate capital to buy food. The bananas are still continuously attacked by the banana wilt disease and this has to food insecurity as bananas are the staple foods for the district.

Poor post-harvest handling practices: Most Food crops grown in Uganda are perishable or semi perishable, for example, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, bananas and there are no strategies for preservation of the crops for future use in times of scarcity. Groundnuts are usually dried on bare ground exposing the seeds to aflatoxin infection hence spoilage and loss of the groundnuts. Beans are also threshed on bare ground and much of the harvest is lost to the surrounding during threshing; all these factors lead to decline of food available for human consumption.

Lack of storage facilities: A lot of maize in particular is grown in Uganda and if not eaten at physiological maturity. The maize is left to dry and wasted in the field and if harvested there are only few households with storage structures. The maize is left to dry on verandas and is constantly hit by rain or eaten by birds, animals or stolen by thieves. This has led to absence of food in times of scarcity leading to food insecurity. 

Lack of knowledge and appropriate technologies to process food in times of glut: Fruits like mangoes are always in plenty in December and January but most are wasted since there is lack of preservation technologies like solar drying, or packaging. People also don’t see any monetary value in mangoes and so they are just left to rot on the ground or given to pigs.

Insufficient agricultural development: Most people in Uganda use the traditional technologies in growing crops and raring of livestock. For example, people still practice shifting cultivation, and bush furrowing instead of using fertilizers. This has led to low yields per hectare per season leading to low production levels for hum consumption and for sale to get money.

Nutrition security

Nutrition Security exists when every individual has the physical, social and economic access to adequate, safe and balanced diet, safe drinking water, sanitary and hygienic environment and health care to enable him or her live a healthy and productive life.

Elements of nutrition security 

1. Food security: is the starting point of nutrition security as one needs to first have the food for consumption.
2. Hygiene and sanitation: The access to safe drinking water, food safety and hygienic environment.
3. Consumption and utilization: the food must be consumed and actually utilized by the body, unlike in food security where if you have the food and you don’t consume it is still regarded as food security.
4. Access to adequate care refers mostly to vulnerable groups like children and mothers for example there may be adequate food and the child is healthy, but the mother may not care enough to feed the child. Access to health services for both preventive and curative purposes to ensure proper health at all times.

Causes of nutrition insecurity

• Poor health conditions 
• Poor hygiene and sanitation
• Food insecurity
• Inappropriate care
• Inappropriate feeding practices especially children
• Low levels of education
• Poverty
• Diseases, morbidity, mortality
• Death of sole provider
• Dependency on food aide
• Taboos 
• Religion

References 

1. WFP, 2006: Tesema, N., Jan, D. and Scott, R. Executive Brief: Uganda Comprehensive Food.
2. Security and Vulnerability Analysis http://www.wfp.org/odan/senac [23 September 2008].
3. FAO, 2005. Uganda food security warning. http://www.fews.net/docs/Publications/1000646.pdf. Accessed [12 0ctober 2008].
4. FAO, 2006. The State of Food Insecurity in the World. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/a0750e/a0750e00.pdf [15 February 2009].
5. Byaruhanga.Y. B. & Opedum. P. M. 2008. The impact of culture on food security in Uganda. Global knowledge 1:52-59.
6. Byaruhanga, Y. and Bambona, A., 2007. Planning food and nutrition intervention. In: A.
7. Namutebi, J. H. Muyonga and A.G. Tumuhimbise (Eds.). Food and Nutrition in Uganda. Kampala: Fountain Publishers.