1 January 2009
Kampala — INTERNALLY Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the north who returned to their villages may suffer food shortage following the dry season which started in October write Chris Ocowun and Cornes Lubangakene.
Gulu's agricultural officer Jackson Lakor said: "The rainy season ended abruptly in October when the IDPs, who were planting crops like maize and groundnuts were expecting it to go until the end of November."
"The yield of crops like sim-sim, cassava and potatoes has been fairly good and many IDPs have started harvesting and preserving them," he explained.
"But the the dry spell has affected crops like groundnuts and maize. There is going to be a short-fall in crop output that may end up into food shortage for the people," he said.
Lakor appealed to the IDPs to consume their food sparingly and advised farmers to plant crops that mature faster during the next rainy season.
He said the situation would be assessed and the necessary supportwould be provided to the farmers.
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