Access to Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods - Natural Resources Institute

pastoralist households have also started to cultivate small plots for consumption, but in the
dry seasons the men and older boys still move with the herds, while the women and children
remain with the crops and a few milk cows. Between 1962 and 1994 there were also a large
number of Banyurwanda Batutsi pastoralists and their cattle in Rakai – their return to
Rwanda in recent years caused a significant drop in the size of the district herd 24 as well as in
tax revenue from the sale of cattle.
Livestock keeping is also undertaken on 17 ranches in Kabula County. These were part of the
former Masaka Ranching Scheme established on 67,000 acres (27,114 ha) in the 1960s to
promote the development of a modern livestock industry. However, there have been
problems ever since the scheme was established as a large number of pastoralists were
displaced, while those who were granted the large (up to 10,000 acres – 4,047 ha) ranches
were perceived to members of the political elite of the time. The ranches were largely
abandoned during the troubles of the 1970s and 80s, and in 1991 were invaded by “squatters”
– pastoralists and their cattle who simply occupied the land, in part a result of a promise by
Museveni during the bush war that the pastoralists would be granted land once he came to
power. However, the occupations have resulted in destruction of infrastructure such as valley
dams and dips, and contributed to the spread of disease, as well as to further reductions in tax
revenue as traditional pastoralism is less productive than modern ranching, and pastoralists
have different objectives 25 . Some restructuring of both the Masaka and Mbarara Ranching
Schemes has taken place – in Rakai the 17 large ranches have all been reduced in size to
3,000 acres (1,214 ha) or less, and numerous small plots of about 100 acres (41 ha) have been
created for pastoralist households. However, most of the large ranches belong to absentee
owners (“telephone managers”) who hire managers and cowmen to run them for them, and
who charge high fees for use of their dams, etc., so relations are still strained.
1.9.3 Fisheries
Within the district there are five officially gazetted permanent landing sites on Lake Victoria
and a total of nine on Lakes Kijanebalola and Kacheera. Landing fees are charged at each site
by a private contractor selected to run it on behalf of the district. Fishing boats must be
licensed, but can land their catch wherever they like, including on Lake Victoria at landing
sites in Masaka District – this depends on the demand for/price of fish, and the level of fees
charged, as well as the fishing grounds targeted, weather, etc., and the availability and price
of petrol for the outboard engines. On Lake Victoria the primary target is Nile perch (Lates
niloticus) 2.5 – 3.5 kg in weight which are suitable for factory processing. Other target
species include tilapia and Clupeids. Fishing boats on Lake Victoria tend to belong to
absentee owners who hire fishermen to work them. Although there are seasonal variations in
the catch, fishermen tend to get income daily. Andama (2000) cites studies indicating that
sons of poor farmers often opt to become fishermen, and notes that the landing sites also
attract women hoping to make independent lives for themselves through providing services
such as lodging and cooked food 26 . Fishing on the inland lakes is smaller in scale, but the fish
24 In 1991, just a few years after peace came to the area, over 227,000 head of cattle of local breeds were
enumerated in the district, in contrast to only 179,000 in 1999, despite continued in-migration of Banyankole
Bahima pastoralists during this period (cited in Andama, 2000).
25 Specifically household wellbeing through the continuous production of milk and blood for consumption, as
opposed to meat and milk for sale.
26 As well as the less salubrious aspects of fishing village life – locally produced alcoholic beers and spirits, and
prostitution.
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