Lira– Government has been urged to extend food relief to the entire Northern Uganda where the population is facing hunger.
Recently, Prime Minister Robinah Nabanja told parliament that government had dispatched 200 metric tonnes of relief food to alleviate suffering of the people in Karamoja where more than 500,000 are reported starving and about 40 have died.
She noted that distribution of relief food items had been halted in other areas to focus on the semi-arid and volatile Karamoja which also faces security challenges.
However, leaders in Lango say the sub region is equally badly off due to prolonged drought.
At least four people were reported to have lost the battle to hunger in Atuke district last week.
Eng. Dr. Michael Moses Odong Okune, the Tekwaro Lango Chief and former Uganda Road Fund boss wants the relief aid to be extended to the sub region and entire northern Uganda where drought has destroyed crops.
“While our people don’t really like handouts, the situation on the ground now dictates that the government must do something in the interim as it plans for medium term measures.” Okune said in an interview with LBS Newsday.
Meanwhile, Okune wants government to step up efforts to promote irrigation to address food insecurity in the country.
Okune says government needs to sensitize farmers on the need to embrace affordable irrigation technologies to deal with the challenge of intermittent weather patterns that has led to food shortage in communities.
Crops have withered in the Northern region with a small tuber of cassava now going for Shs2,000 while a kilogram of posho sells at Shs 4,000. The situation has been worsened by the delay of rains for the second season.
