By Stanley Ebele
Alebtong– Leaders in Alebtong have asked government to revert part of the land it owns in the district to the community to boost food production and household food security.
The leaders want an unspecified size of land to be returned to the community from the estimated 3,000 acres owned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries in Awei Sub County, Alebtong district.
The district Chairman, David Kennedy Odongo alias DK says due to pressure on land as a result of population growth, the community of Awei, which donated a chunk of land to the ministry of agriculture in early 60s, cannot produce enough food because of the small size of land left for the community.
Odongo says because of land fragmentation, families in Alebtong are unable to produce enough to eat and sell which promotes subsistence farming.
He was speaking in reference to the Awei Quarantine land that measures 2, 600 acres and 400 acres donated to the defunct Aloi Ongom Citrus farm both in Awei Sub County. Awei Quarantine land, which was a holding ground for traded cattle being transported by railway, has been idle since the breakdown of railway transport in the country.
However, the ministry of agriculture has temporarily handed over the land at Awei Quarantine and the Aloi Ongom Citrus Farm to Uganda Prisons Service following a cabinet resolution on August 1, 2022, to boost food production for food security in the country.
The Alebtong district leadership now wants the ministry to spare part of the land and allocate it to the community for the same purpose since there is pressure on the land which limits local production.
The request was presented to state minister for agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga during his visit to the district recently.
According to DK Odongo, the community hopes that when the government de-gazettes part of Awei Quarantine land for community use, the people of Alebtong will enhance food security and reduce poverty through commercial farming.
“We have requested the ministry to give back part of the land to the community who now have a very small size of land for crop production. We feel since the community donated a large chunk of land in Awei to the government, the government should revert part of it to the neighboring community who have limited land to grow crops on. This will improve the livelihood of the community,” DK told LBS Newsday in an interview.
Kenneth Olwaa Ongora, the district speaker of Alebtong agrees with the move. He says the neighboring community has been benefiting from the government land before it was given to the Uganda Prisons.
The state minister for agriculture Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, however, said the ministry cannot decide on the request on its own unless the it is backed by the cabinet. He promised to deliver the request by Alebtong to cabinet for a resolution.
“This is not a matter I can decide alone as minister. It should be a cabinet resolution,” he said of the request by Alebtong district.
