Other main crops grown in Uganda:

Cotton.

Cotton is a fibre crop used in textile industries. It is grown in places with high amounts of rainfall. It is grown from seeds and takes six months to be harvested. It is taken to the ginnery for ginning. Ginning is the removing of cotton seeds from lint. Lint is turned into thread. This is called spinning. The threads are woven into Cloths. This is called weaving. Cotton in Uganda is grown in districts such as Kumi, Tororo, Kamuli, Gulu, Pallisa, Iganga, Jinja, Lira, Apac and Kasese.

              

Irrigation Farming

You have learnt that some places in Uganda experience dry climate. Crops are grown in such places using the method of irrigation. Irrigation is the watering of crops in the garden. This is mainly carried out in dry seasons and in areas that receive little rainfall.

Types of Irrigation.

In Uganda, the overhead sprinkler, drip and surface irrigation systems are commonly used. Overhead sprinkler involves using pipes to supply water to crops in gardens as shown in the diagram below.

Overhead sprinkler

Surface irrigation involves digging channels from a water source to lead water to the gardens. The water sources may include dams, rivers, lakes, swamps and streams. Examples of crops grown in Uganda using irrigation method include, sugar canes at Kakira in Jinja district, rice at Tilda Irrigation scheme in Bugiri and rice, maize and beans at Mobuku scheme and Kyamuhunga tea estate in Bushenyi.

Problems faced by crop farmers in Uganda

(i) Presence of crop pests and diseases. For example coffee wilt, cassava mosaic and cotton stainer reduce the quality and quantity of produce. 

(ii) Poor transport facilities. Due to poor road net work, it is difficult for farmers to transport their produce to the market on time. 

(iii) Inadequate capital to buy farm implements and improved seeds. 

(iv) Some farmers can not afford to buy the required tools, pesticides and seed varieties. 

(v) Poor farming methods. Some farmers still use traditional methods of farming. This affects the production of high yields and products which are of high quality and quantity. 

(vi) Poor storage facilities. Some farmers can not afford to use modern storage facilities for their produce due to limited capital.

Solutions to problems faced by crop farmers in Uganda.

(i) They should form co-operative societies. Societies once formed, they can help farmer to access short term loans and farm supplies.

(ii) Reduction of taxes on imported pesticides and farm implements. Once taxes are relatively low, people can easily afford the required pesticides to use on their farms.

(iii) Farmers should be sensitised on new farming methods.

(iv) There is need to teach farmers ways in which their farm produce can be improved. . 

(v) Government should give soft loans to farmers. Loans can help them to meet the requirements on their farms.

(vi) Government should monitor National Agricultural Advisory services programmes (NAADS), so that farmers can easily manage farm inputs provided.

(vii) They should also help them to learn how to keep records on their farms.

Problems associated with wet and warm areas to living things. .

These areas encourage easy growth of weeds which reduce Farmer’s yields. These areas are breeding places for disease vectors; such as tsetse flies and ticks. Vectors are organisms that carry disease causing germs which attack both human being and animals. 

Mosquitoes breed in places with stagnant water. They transmit malaria to people. Tsetse flies breed in the forests that grow in these places. 

Tsetse flies transmit sleep sickness to people and Nagana to animals. Animal diseases caused by viruses are usually very hard to treat. They lead to death of animals and human beings if not treated properly. 

When crops are destroyed by viral diseases such as the leaf mosaic and fungal such as potato blight, the amount of food produced reduces which results into famine.

Solutions to problems associated with warm and wet areas to living things.

(i) Use of herbicides to destroy weeds. Weeds usually reduce the amount of yields, so there is need to get rid of them.

(ii) Destroy breeding places for mosquitoes by draining stagnant water and clearing bushes near homes.

(iii) Spraying breeding places for mosquitoes and tsetse flies. This helps to reduce the rate at which they multiply.

(iv) Vaccinating people and animals against some diseases. Prevention is better than cure, vaccination increases the immunity of people against some killer diseases.

(v) Sleeping under treated nets. Nets reduce the access of mosquitoes to human beings especially at night when they are sleeping.

(vi) Laying net traps for tsetse flies. Traps are used to net the tsetse flies. This method reduces the number of these flies which are very harmful to human life and animals.

(vii) Promoting food security by encouraging people to grow more crops.

(viii) Government should enforce a policy on food storage which can help people to avoid famine during the dry periods.