This piece is part of a series of articles on the climate change crisis in Karamoja produced by the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC). In this article, however, we specifically reflect on the Presidential Press Unit (PPU) release of 9th September 2026, which stated that, “President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has unveiled a three-phase food stabilisation strategy for Karamoja aimed at helping households withstand recurrent droughts, strengthen food security and progressively reduce dependence on emergency food relief.”
As a team from the Department for Critical Thinking at KACC, we first analyse the President’s statement while also appreciating his consideration of a strategy aimed at reducing Karamoja’s dependence on emergency food relief (See PPU, 9th September 2026). The statement, made at the 11th edition of the Karamoja Cultural Event at Naitakwae Grounds in Moroto District, clearly indicates that Karamoja needs to transition from food relief towards building resilience and adaptive capacity in response to the climate change crisis.
In his speech, the President recommended the promotion of sorghum. However, our appeal is that sorghum production should be promoted intensively, while mechanisms for controlling sorghum sales should also be strengthened if the President’s recommendations are to effectively contribute to resilience and adaptive capacity in Karamoja.
Simon Levine, in his 2010 food security analysis titled “What to do about Karamoja,” argued that empirical evidence challenges some of the perceptions of Karamoja held within government, the civil service and among development partners. Indeed, President Museveni reinforced this argument when he stated that “Karamoja is a fertile area” and that what it needs is irrigation to transform the region’s vulnerability to prolonged drought.
Similarly, a 2023 study by Alex, Barakagira, and Isaiah Ndungo, titled “Watershed Management and Climate Change Adaptation Mechanisms Used by People Living in Dryland Areas of Lokere Catchment in Karamoja,” emphasised that initiatives aimed at addressing climate change effects have resulted in positive and significant benefits to agricultural production.
Therefore, as the President stated, developing large-scale water infrastructure, including dams, to support irrigation and reduce dependence on rainfall could significantly reduce vulnerability to drought.
Ayub Mukisa, PhD, writes from the Department for Critical Thinking and Alternative Analysis at the Karamoja Anti-Corruption Coalition (KACC).
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