Business

16 die of starvation, but regenerative agriculture saves others

16 people have died of starvation in Uganda’s impoverished northeast due to a drought:

Farmers say they’ve lost crops because the area received little or no rain since April – the beginning of the planting season….the region’s recurring shortages are caused by climate change, poor rainfall, deforestation, overgrazing and crop pests. Together, they leave communities increasingly vulnerable to hunger.

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja says thousands of families have been left without food as the dry spell has destroyed crops, and her office is to seek cabinet approval on Monday to buy more supplies for affected areas.

The government says it has started distributing emergency food aid.

Large areas of maize, sorghum and soybeans have withered, shattering hopes of a bumper harvest.

Experts are calling for better forecasting, investment in irrigation and drought‑resistant crops.

Uganda’s semi-arid north-east has been struck by catastrophic food shortages before.

But other parts of Uganda are coping better with rainfall problems, and avoiding starvation.

Uganda’s central coffee-growing region is defying drought thanks to improving agricultural techniques. “Uganda ranks among Africa’s biggest exporters” — at least $2.4 billion annually — “and it grows mostly robusta,” a staple variety used by Folgers and Maxwell House. In “the hilly Masaka region, robusta coffee is showing some encouraging signs in exactly the place” where the climate has gotten worse:

(Coffee protects against some major diseases, reports the Washington Post).

GreenMe magazine reports that in the coffee-growing region of Uganda, “Off-season rains, longer dry spells, depleted soils — all of this has turned into a very concrete problem for the people who live off coffee, one of the country’s most important crops and a major piece of its agricultural exports.” But “a regenerative agriculture project” is helping “change how coffee gets grown, starting with fairly hands-on work: covering the soil, protecting it from erosion, planting drought-resistant varieties, using shade trees, letting the ground hold onto water and organic matter again.” “Mulching covers the ground with organic material, which cuts down evaporation and shields roots from heat. Cover crops limit erosion and help fertility along. Shade trees lower heat stress on the coffee plants and add organic matter back through their fallen leaves,” resulting in “more microbial activity, more capacity to hold moisture, less nutrient loss when the rains get heavy.”

Climate change has made life better in some African countries over the last 30 years. The arid nation of Niger has much more forest today than it did at independence in 1960. In 2004, “Niger’s Zinder Valley had 50 times more trees than it did in 1975.” Mainly, that’s because Niger changed the law so that farmers — not the government — own the trees on their land. That gave farmers an incentive to plant and take care of trees, which proliferated as a result. But increasing rainfall since the 1990s also helped.

Kenyan farmers are using artificial intelligence tools to produce much more food.

The impoverished African nation of Zambia has used artificial intelligence to find new mineral wealth.

Niger recently became the first nation in Africa to eliminate river blindness, a disease spread by flies that breed near rivers. Those flies carry long thin parasitic worms that burrow in a victim’s skin.

In other good news, the African nation of Guinea recently eradicated sleeping sickness, a parasitic disease carried by the tsetse fly that causes irreversible brain damage, aggressiveness, psychosis, and then death, if left untreated.

Hans Bader

Hans Bader practices law in Washington, D.C. After studying economics and history at the University of Virginia and law at Harvard, he practiced civil-rights, international-trade, and constitutional law. He also once worked in the Education Department. Hans writes for CNSNews.com and has appeared on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” Contact him at hfb138@yahoo.com

Related Articles

96 Comments

  1. Wonderful work! This is the type of info that should be shared around the web. Shame on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my website . Thanks =)

  2. This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!

  3. My brother recommended I would possibly like this website. He was once totally right. This post actually made my day. You can not imagine just how so much time I had spent for this information! Thank you!

  4. I want to convey my love for your generosity in support of men who absolutely need help on this particular theme. Your very own dedication to passing the solution up and down came to be particularly important and has constantly made associates much like me to arrive at their aims. This useful report denotes a great deal a person like me and somewhat more to my fellow workers. Warm regards; from all of us.

  5. Hi , I do believe this is an excellent blog. I stumbled upon it on Yahoo , i will come back once again. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and help other people.

  6. great points altogether, you just gained a new reader. What would you recommend in regards to your post that you made some days ago? Any positive?

  7. Howdy very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your site and take the feeds additionally?KI am glad to search out a lot of useful info right here in the submit, we’d like develop more strategies on this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .

  8. I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your sites really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back in the future. All the best

  9. Thanks, I’ve just been looking for info about this topic for a long time and yours is the greatest I have came upon till now. But, what about the conclusion? Are you sure concerning the supply?

  10. An attention-grabbing dialogue is worth comment. I think that it is best to write more on this topic, it may not be a taboo topic however usually individuals are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers

  11. Merely wanna remark on few general things, The website pattern is perfect, the subject matter is really fantastic. “To establish oneself in the world, one has to do all one can to appear established.” by Francois de La Rochefoucauld.

  12. An impressive share, I simply given this onto a colleague who was doing a bit analysis on this. And he in actual fact purchased me breakfast because I found it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the deal with! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to debate this, I really feel strongly about it and love studying extra on this topic. If attainable, as you turn out to be experience, would you thoughts updating your blog with extra particulars? It’s extremely helpful for me. Big thumb up for this weblog publish!

  13. Hey very cool website!! Guy .. Excellent .. Wonderful .. I will bookmark your website and take the feeds also?KI’m satisfied to find so many helpful info right here within the post, we’d like develop extra techniques on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .

  14. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually something that I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

  15. Perfectly composed subject matter, appreciate it for selective information. “The last time I saw him he was walking down Lover’s Lane holding his own hand.” by Fred Allen.

  16. A powerful share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing somewhat analysis on this. And he in truth bought me breakfast as a result of I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I really feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If potential, as you change into expertise, would you thoughts updating your blog with extra particulars? It’s highly helpful for me. Huge thumb up for this weblog post!

  17. This is very attention-grabbing, You are an excessively professional blogger. I have joined your feed and look ahead to in quest of more of your excellent post. Additionally, I have shared your web site in my social networks!

  18. Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam remarks? If so how do you stop it, any plugin or anything you can recommend? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any assistance is very much appreciated.

  19. I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post.

  20. Excellent blog you have here but I was curious if you knew of any discussion boards that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get opinions from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Thanks!

  21. Hmm is anyone else having problems with the images on this blog loading? I’m trying to figure out if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any feed-back would be greatly appreciated.

  22. Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it, you’re a great author.I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back in the future. I want to encourage continue your great writing, have a nice morning!

  23. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different browsers and both show the same outcome.

  24. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be actually something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

  25. What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve found It positively helpful and it has aided me out loads. I’m hoping to contribute & assist different customers like its helped me. Good job.

  26. Does your site have a contact page? I’m having problems locating it but, I’d like to shoot you an email. I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.

  27. I do not even know how I stopped up here, however I believed this submit used to be great. I don’t know who you’re but certainly you’re going to a famous blogger if you happen to are not already 😉 Cheers!

  28. hello!,I like your writing very so much! proportion we be in contact extra approximately your post on AOL? I need an expert in this house to solve my problem. May be that is you! Looking ahead to see you.

  29. Superb post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Many thanks!

  30. Heya i’m for the primary time here. I came across this board and I to find It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I’m hoping to offer one thing back and help others such as you aided me.

  31. excellent post, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector do not notice this. You must continue your writing. I’m sure, you’ve a great readers’ base already!

  32. I have learn several just right stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how a lot effort you place to create the sort of fantastic informative web site.

  33. It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d without a doubt donate to this fantastic blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will share this site with my Facebook group. Talk soon!

  34. Thank you for another informative web site. Where else could I get that type of info written in such an ideal way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I’ve been on the look out for such information.

  35. I have been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  36. Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.

  37. Thank you for another informative site. Where else could I get that kind of information written in such an ideal way? I have a project that I’m just now working on, and I have been on the look out for such info.

  38. I do agree with all the ideas you’ve presented in your post. They’re very convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are too short for novices. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

  39. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is great blog. A great read. I’ll definitely be back.

  40. Someone necessarily assist to make critically articles I might state. That is the first time I frequented your website page and up to now? I surprised with the research you made to make this particular publish incredible. Wonderful job!

  41. hello!,I really like your writing so so much! share we be in contact extra about your post on AOL? I need a specialist in this space to unravel my problem. May be that’s you! Taking a look forward to look you.

  42. Hello! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Kudos!

  43. Good day I am so grateful I found your weblog, I really found you by mistake, while I was searching on Bing for something else, Anyhow I am here now and would just like to say cheers for a incredible post and a all round interesting blog (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it all at the moment but I have saved it and also added your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the excellent job.

  44. Together with the whole thing which seems to be developing inside this specific area, a significant percentage of viewpoints tend to be quite exciting. However, I appologize, but I do not subscribe to your whole plan, all be it radical none the less. It appears to everybody that your comments are not completely validated and in fact you are generally your self not even entirely convinced of your argument. In any event I did appreciate looking at it.

  45. I have been exploring for a little bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts in this sort of space . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website. Studying this info So i am happy to convey that I’ve a very excellent uncanny feeling I came upon just what I needed. I most without a doubt will make sure to do not overlook this website and give it a look on a continuing basis.

  46. I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more useful than ever before.

  47. Attractive part of content. I simply stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to say that I get actually loved account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing in your augment and even I fulfillment you get entry to persistently fast.

  48. There are actually a whole lot of particulars like that to take into consideration. That may be a nice level to convey up. I offer the ideas above as common inspiration however clearly there are questions just like the one you deliver up the place an important thing might be working in sincere good faith. I don?t know if greatest practices have emerged round things like that, however I am certain that your job is clearly recognized as a fair game. Each girls and boys feel the influence of just a second’s pleasure, for the remainder of their lives.

  49. Fantastic goods from you, man. I have remember your stuff previous to and you’re just too great. I really like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which you are saying it. You are making it enjoyable and you continue to take care of to keep it smart. I can’t wait to read much more from you. That is really a wonderful site.

  50. Hi, just required you to know I he added your site to my Google bookmarks due to your layout. But seriously, I believe your internet site has 1 in the freshest theme I??ve came across. It extremely helps make reading your blog significantly easier.

  51. Hey! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

  52. I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The sketch is tasteful, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again as exactly the same nearly a lot often inside case you shield this hike.

  53. After research a few of the weblog posts on your web site now, and I truly like your manner of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website listing and will be checking back soon. Pls try my web page as well and let me know what you think.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Sponsored
Our Privacy Policy has been updated to support the latest regulations.Click to learn more.×