The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Prisons services is seeking to secure at least 8,000 acres of farmland for commercial cotton growing in the newly created Karenga district.
This is part of Presidential directive on large scale cotton-growing throughout the country.
Karenga, bordering South Sudan from the North-Eastern part of Uganda was curved out of Kaabong on July 1, 2019 after a 2015 cabinet decision making it the ninth district in the Karamoja sub-region.
Crop production in Karamoja is strictly rain-fed and Karenga lies within the green belt with wetter zone of fertile and loamy soils in the south and west of the region, with average rainfall ranging from 800–1200 mm annually.
According to Dr John Byabashaija, the Commissioner-General of Prisons, the Karenga zone supports a wide variety of crops and can often accommodate a second and third planting of quick-maturing cash crops like cotton.
According to Dr Byabashaija, the prison services has prioritized growing of cotton as a strategic plan targeting 44,000 acres of annually from the current 6,000 across 30 prison farms in the country.
While talks have already started with Karenga district authorities, it is unclear where the plan will be implemented.
However, cotton is one important fibre and cash crop that plays dominant role in the industrial and agricultural economy of the country. Currently, among prominent prison farms carrying out large scale cotton farming include; Loro in Oyam, Tikau in Kitgum, Openjinji in Adjumani, Ragem and Mubuku.
In financial year 2015/16, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicated that agriculture generated 23.6% of Uganda’s GDP and employed over 68% of its population. Linters – the short fuzz on the seed – provide cellulose for making plastics and explosives.
Cotton seed oil is another important material obtained from cotton. It is edible and has many other industrial uses. The Cotton Development Organization – CDO ranked cotton as Uganda’s third-largest export crop after coffee and tea.
******
URN
