| dc.description.abstract | The study aimed at assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Food Security in Sironko
District; A case study of Buwalasi Sub County. The Specific Objectives included; To find
out the state of Food Security, to assess climate variability, to establish the Impact of Climate
Change on Food Security and to determine the strategies to mitigate against Climate Change
in Buwalasi Sub-county.
The study used a descriptive design which involved observing and describing things the way
they are without influencing it in any way, where both quantitative and qualitative approaches
were used with case study as a strategy. The study employed simple random sampling and
purposive sampling techniques to select the samples. The study used survey and interview
methods to obtain data from key informants who included the Sub-County Chief, Community
Development Officers and Agricultural Officers, and farmers in Buwalasi Sub County
respectively.
The study found out that: The respondents understood food as something eaten and edible
for growth and health. The common food crops grown were Matooke and Beans. Most
families ate one meal per day because they do not have enough food. Their food is always
stored in homes. Farmers understood food security as food which is kept in stocks and the
food available for people to eat. The study also found out that climate variability is the
change of weather conditions from dry to wet and vice versa. Another finding was that
climate change is the long term weather condition that leads to mudslides and soil erosion.
And rain is experienced in the communities in the months of March to July where farmers are
fully engaged in several agricultural activities and the rest is dry. This affects or impacts on
the harvests negatively. The most appropriate and deserving measures to mitigate climate
changes are carrying out inter-cropping method of farming as well as do crop rotation so that
farmers do not get affected by the weather changes.
The study concludes that climate change negatively leads to increase in mudslides and loss of
soils due to soil erosion, causing poor harvests and poor food production that leaves farmers
with nothing in the stocks, hence affecting their food security. This situation is not good for
household farmers. The farmers were not always prepared for any seasons due to changes in
weather. However, the Sub-county had a population that had potential to produce enough
food, as many of them were in the productive age. They only required capacity building or
sensitizations on good farming methods like inter-cropping and crop rotation so as to manage
situations of climate change as they arise.
The study recommends that the government carries out training for farmers at household
level so that they are able to plan for their seasons. Farmers need to be advised to stock food
outside their homes. The study recommends that government avails farmers with faster
growing and genuine resilient seeds that can resist climate change. There is need for
government to identify poor households to get support programs such as Wealth Creation so
that they can improve their livelihood. Farmers need to be encouraged to grow indigenous
crops and there is need for farmers to diversify from crop production to include animal
production. There is need to implement policies and programs that promote small farm level
adaptation strategies to be practiced by farmers across the region and employ more
agricultural extension workers. | en_US |
