Climate change is real, and Uganda has no plan

For a long time, politicians, environmentalists and scholars have told rhetorical stories about climate change – depletion of the ozone layer, rising temperatures and extreme weather. Those stories are now our reality. We are seeing it in long dry spells (droughts) during unpredictable seasons, heavy rainfall causing floods, destructive winds, and what scientists now call El-Niño. Huge sums of money have been spent on global campaigns against climate change, but little has been achieved practically to avert or manage its dangers to society. In Uganda today, the normal rainfall season is no more. This year, 2026, both the first and second seasons have gone to waste. No serious planting has been done. The Uganda Meteorological Authority has been predicting 'hot air,' raising farmers' hopes and expectations, which continue to fall on deaf ears. The government is instead waiting to start ferrying at least 2 kg of maize and beans seeds, respectively, to give to households in Karamoja at the peak of famine, to avert a year-long famine due to drought. The distribution of the 2 kg of beans and maize will be done by the Prime Minister, Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Defence (OWC of Gen. Saleh and CDF), Ministry of Local Government, RDCs, DISOs, LCs, all state operatives, with the related administrative and bureaucratic costs. Also read: How Lango districts will share relief seeds Parliament will then tour the area to oversee the distribution of 2 kg of beans and maize in Karamoja, with no plan for farmers across the Country. What madness!? The usual second season rains have now failed. Crops planted by farmers in June, expecting heavy rains in August, have dried up in the gardens. The government is instead telling people to 'wait, rain is coming.' Nobody is bothered about the losses so far. There is absolutely no plan to help the farmers and the wider population who rely on rain-fed agriculture for food, employment and income. This FY 2026/27, the government appropriated shs738 billion towards irrigation technology through solar-powered systems. While this is a good initiative on paper, there is no strategic plan to implement this among ordinary peasant farmers who cannot afford to manage and maintain these facilities. There are fundamental questions that any sensible person must ask: Where is the implementation plan for shs738bn earmarked for solar irrigation? Which district and farmer has received this project? Won't it be merely the same project as OWC, meant for cadre political mobilisation of those in power? What is the plan for the farmer in Alidi whose maize has dried up today? Why do NARO and NAADS not have drought-resistant seeds ready before the season? Climate change cannot be managed by press conferences, Presidential addresses and workshops in Kampala by experts and politicians. It needs tractors, water, irrigation, granaries and insurance for our farmers. Our farmers also need aggressive capacity building on new irrigation technology and, indeed, adaptation to new farming technology to adapt to climate change. The author, Ishaa Otto Amiza, is a former MP and President of PIP. Recommended