Otuke District Local Government has appealed to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) for urgent intervention after a prolonged drought ravaged crops across the district, leaving more than 34,000 households facing severe food insecurity.
In a letter dated July 6, 2026, written by Onyek Patrick on behalf of the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the district said the prolonged dry spell experienced during the first planting season in May destroyed almost all crops, leaving thousands of farming households without harvests exposing communities to risk of hunger and loss of livelihoods unless immediate support is provided.
The district, which comprises eight sub-counties and six town councils, reported that all its 34,030 households across 54 parishes and wards were affected. It has requested the government to provide emergency food relief alongside maize and bean seeds to enable farmers resume cultivation during the second planting season.
According to the district’s assessment, key food and cash crops, including cassava, maize, beans, groundnuts, coffee, and rice, suffered extensive damage due to the prolonged dry spell.
The worst-hit areas include Ogwette Sub-county with 6,065 affected households, followed by Olilim (3,534), Orum (2,656), Barjobi (2,596), and Alango and Okwang sub-counties, each recording 2,553 affected households.
The appeal comes barely three weeks after similar concerns were raised in neighbouring Dokolo District, where a prolonged dry spell, declining soil fertility, and limited adoption of modern farming practices severely reduced crop production.
In Dokolo, farmer Ocen Isaac of Acangweno Village in Amwoma Sub-county said erratic rainfall wiped out his maize, groundnuts and simsim fields, reducing his anticipated income from more than Shs2 million to less than Shs300,000. Beatrice Ajok, another farmer, blamed poor maize and sunflower yields on delayed planting caused by limited access to farm mechanisation, warning that many families would struggle to meet basic needs such as food, school fees and healthcare.
Agricultural extension worker Alex Omara has since urged farmers to adopt climate-smart agriculture, including drought-tolerant seed varieties, improved soil fertility management, and crop rotation to enhance resilience against climate change.
Ejang Cindrella, a commercial agent in Kangai Sub-county, said the WIIGOT ecosystem is helping farmers access quality farm inputs, technical advisory services and reliable markets, while successful Amolatar farmer Ronald Alele Ongwech encouraged farmers to embrace modern farming technologies to improve productivity and withstand increasingly unpredictable weather patterns.