The Karimojong blame the spell of calamities like drought and disease to the "angry gods". Little do they know that their area is suffering the consequences of a larger problem, climate change.

On the rough and bumpy ride from Sironko District to Moroto town in Karamoja sub-region, the road is full of signs of life.

Trucks laden with merchandise from neighbouring districts such as Mbale and Soroti, head in the opposite direction to town. Young men can be seen by the road sides rearing cattle, goats and sheep as women work in their puerile gardens. UPDF soldiers in their garb, walk the road to reassure the kind of peace the area has not seen for long.

A Karimojong woman weeding her sorghum garden. PHOTO BY JOSEPH MITI

"For a moment, we are able to sneak in our gardens and farm. We pray that the place stays peaceful," Ms Margaret Naduku, who was found weeding her one and half acre sorghum plantation in Lokwakwa Village, Nadunget Sub-county in Moroto District, says.

But unfortunately, the crops Ms Naduku was weeding looked stunted and part of the garden had actually dried up due to a delay in rainfall.

Ms Naduku says she has no option but weed the garden as she waits for rains.

"God should have mercy on us otherwise our efforts will be wasted," the mother of five says.

"We had great hope in this year's season. We expected to harvest more food to fend for ourselves rather than depending on handouts from the government and relief agencies," she adds.

Though Ms Naduku had expected to harvest about five-100kg bags of sorghum, she would sell off to get school fees and other home needs, the conditions show she is far from her dream.

Moreover, a walk through other sub-counties like Rupa and Katikakile, best describes that drought has gone cataclysmic again in the region that is embattled by warriors.

Crops like maize, millet, beans, groundnuts and sorghum that were supplied to residents for growing to avert hunger have been choked by the searing sun.

This has left everybody including humanitarian organisations that issued them seeds confused.

Mr Patrick Nyeko, the Programme Manager of Samaritan Purse, one of the organisations that distributed seeds under the Regional Drought Decision programme (RDD), says people had this time round tried to grow food but have been frustrated by the drought.

He says his organisation alone distributed over 339,800kg of seeds to 62,250 households in Nakapiripit and Moroto Districts, but half of the seeds failed to germinate. And, those (seeds) which braved the high temperatures have been killed by the drought.

Under the blanket distribution, each household was supposed to plant 1.25 acres, which was supposed to meet 20 per cent of the household food, he explains.

"If it doesn't rain soon, I predict drought will hit the region again," Mr Nyeko says.

Like Samaritan Purse, the government, Oxfam GB and other organisations supplied seeds and other farm inputs under the same programme but all succumbed to bad weather. Over the years, Karamoja has been plunged into insecurity, hunger, human rights abuses and extreme poverty.

According to Mr Richard Ofwono, Fao livestock consultant, climate change has turned Karamoja into an area with frequent emergences.

This year alone, the region has experienced very scanty rains, water shortage and two livestock disease out-breaks, he says.

"The re-occurrence of such calamities has greatly reduced the number of animals and caused conflicts among pastoralists as they fight for available natural resources like water and pasture," Mr Ofwono says.

In January 2008, the European Commission Humanitarian Organisation (Echo) approved the RDD, regional support programme for the coordination and capacity strengthening for drought preparedness in the horn of African. In Uganda this emergency programme covered the Karamoja region and benefited the pastoral and agro-pastoral people.

Under this programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation (Fao)Uganda together with other partners namely; Danish Church Aid consortium (Karamoja Agro-Pastoral Development Programme, Cooperation and Development and ACTED), VsFB, Oxfam, Medair and International Rescue Committee implemented programmes geared towards strengthening the capacity of communities in the Karamoja region to be more resilient to droughts and their effects.

However, though the 18 months programme mainly focused on pastoralism the main source of income in the region, Fao under the emergency fund managed to get some funds for seeds to cater for those who have embraced farming.

Mr Lokinei Laboligira, a pastoralist in Rengen Sub-County in Kotido District explains that they are now witnessing harsh weather conditions that cannot allow them grow food to supplement their traditional pastoralist and livestock, yet diseases are now on the rise.

According Laboligira, the Karimojong must have angered God, who is in return punishing them through calamities.

He says in the past, diseases were not as many as they are today because people respected each other and there were less raids.

"People, especially the youth are misbehaving a lot. They raid and steal people's animals. We are not united anymore. Even when we want to appease God, we don't agree, so our problems just multiply," Mr Laboligira said.

"When people don't have food, they raid and sell animals to get money to buy food. Whenever they raid, they bring along sick animals with strange diseases that affect the rest of the livestock," he adds. Mr Tengel Mario Lokut, Nakapiripirit District Agriculture Officer says the enormous havoc in the region has left people discouraged.

People have showed the will to farm. They are now farming year in and year out though in most cases they don't harvest. They try to diversify but their efforts are preyed on, Mr Lokut says.

Mr Paul Opio, also a livestock specialist, says since the region lacks water and pasture, people are experiencing a low output from their livestock.

"Most cows now produce a quarter a litre of milk each," Mr Opio says.

However, under the RDD programme, which ended on June 30, millions of animals have been immunised against CBPP and PPR among others diseases.

The programme also saw water dams and boreholes constructed to increase accessibility of water and limit animal movements.

The 4,500 cubic metre capacity rock catchments dam at Musas village Katikakile Sub-County, according to Mr John Baptist Lokii, of VSF-Belgium, an organisation that constructed one of the dams, harvesting water would reduce regular movement and crashes.

He adds that if little rains received in the region were forced to stay in the soil, some crops would at least brave it till the harvest season.

"Water is a major challenge that wreaks most of that havoc. We think that harvesting water and positioning dams between the two or more violent tribes would install peace.

"By sharing the same source, they will learn to live in harmony," he says.

He says the move would as well reduce pressure on other grazing areas where animals are driven during dry seasons.

It is said that people drive their animals as far as 15km to 20km in search for water.

Karamoja region, which is formed by six districts, Abim, Kotido, Moroto, Kaabong, Nakapiripirit and the newly created Amudat, remains the most underdeveloped region in Uganda, with 80 per cent illiteracy rate and 82 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. Despite the provision of free primary education by the Government, over 50 per cent of school going age in Karamoja are not in schools.

Mr Lokut however predicted that Karamoja's problems would last until government introduces irrigation systems.