The Future of Smallholder Farming in Eastern Africa - Uganda ...

to have covered 30,000 ha. During the 1990’s expansion and reclamation were increasing at a
rate of 3,200 ha per year (NEMA 1996 p. 20). Observers have noted the drying up of many of the
smaller seasonal swamps (which have since been converted back into graze land when they are
no longer wet enough to support paddy production). This phenomenon is pushing cultivation
deeper into the larger seasonal swamps, where farmers are increasingly using the transplant
method so that they can cultivate areas that are too flooded to make broadcasting feasible. The
heart of the permanent swamps is not yet cultivated due to the excessive depth of the water.
More recently, the Olweny Swamp Rice Irrigation Project (OSRIP) was established in Lira
District, funded by the African Development Bank. It aims at conducting research in rice
production, seed multiplication, training of farmers and extension workers on wetland
management and carrying out demonstrations on the use of wetlands. They have also carried out
work on the short and long-term impacts of land use, rice cultivation and soil management
practices on soil properties of various soil types in the wetlands, and have formulated guidelines
on the sustainable use of wetlands. (NARO/DFID, 1999.)
In 1996 NEMA conducted a study on the impact of rice production in Tororo and Pallisa. The
study noted a worrying trend toward soil acidification and declining yields (with increasing
salinity in some areas), increased flooding of roads due to unguided construction of water
channels, increased sedimentation of rivers, disruption of the water balance affecting downstream
water users, loss of vegetative cover and habitat for rare and endemic species, reduction of
diversity of flora and fauna, increased bilharzia and malaria exposure, loss of grazing areas, and
loss of organic matter in the soils with continued cultivation. These are the negative impacts of
continued rice production.
Concern about soil degradation led NEMA to commission a study of the impact of continuous
rice production on soil conditions. To everyone’s surprise, the study concluded that the
cultivation of rice does not cause significant changes in the soil PH, contrary to common opinion.
Their assessment was that the valley fringes were generally unsuitable for rice production. The
widely reported decline in rice yields in the valley bottoms seemed to indicate that continuous
monocultural rice production was not sustainable without “significant changes in current
technologies and management practices.” They speculated that improved water control and
adoption of high yielding production packages could easily double current yields (which average
about 1.5 mt/ha of unhusked rice compared to research station small plot trial yields exceeding 7
mt/ha) (Ssali, 1998). Excessive flooding is the major constraint in the permanently water logged
swamps, while low organic matter and sandy soil textures are major constraints on the valley
fringes. Other constraints to rice production include: lack of improved varieties, poor weed
control, bird damage, rodent damage, drought stress, stem borers, rice blast, poor soils and
inefficient water management (Tiley, 1970; NARO 1991, Ssali 1998).
Rice production makes a very important contribution to the economy in Pallisa and Tororo and to
the livelihoods of thousands of small farmers. It is politically impossible at this time to ban
paddy rice production, or to reverse the impact such production has had on the seasonal swamps
of the area. The challenge is to learn valuable lessons from this uncontrolled expansion that will
allow other wetland communities to capture the potential benefits of more intensive irrigated
agriculture, without suffering the wetland degradation and loss of biodiversity that resulted in
Kumi and Pallisa. Recommended mitigation practices (NEMA 1996) include:
• Leave a 10-meter wide strip of uncultivated land along river and main water courses as a
conservation of habitat and sedimentation barrier.