Food Security & Livelihoods Assessment Kaabong & Moroto, Karamoja August – September 2008
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September 2008 Updated Version May 2009 Food Security & Livelihoods Assessment Kaabong & Moroto, Karamoja August – September 2008 CONTENTS 1. BACKGROUND ................................................................................ 9 2. OBJECTIVES & METHODOLOGY ......................................................... 11 2.1 Location ................................................................................. 11 2.2 Data Collection Methods .............................................................. 12 2.3 Data Analysis ............................................................................ 13 3. ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 13 3.1 Livelihood Systems ..................................................................... 13 3.2 Livestock Production .................................................................. 16 3.3 Crop Production ........................................................................ 19 3.4 Markets .................................................................................. 21 3.5 Wealth Groups .......................................................................... 23 3.6 Changes in Household Food Sources ................................................ 24 3.7 Changes in Household Income Sources ............................................. 25 3.8 Changes in Household Expenditure .................................................. 26 3.9 Changes in Household Coping Strategies ........................................... 27 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................. 29 APPENDIX FIGURES Figure 1. Karamoja Map and ACF Programme Areas ................................................ 9 Figure 2. Karamoja Ethnic Groupings ................................................................ 10 Figure 3. Assessment Locations ....................................................................... 12 Figure 4. Livelihood Zones of Uganda ................................................................ 13 Figure 5. Uganda Seasonality ......................................................................... 14 Figure 6. Land Tenure Terminology .................................................................. 16 Figure 7. Hazard Ranking .............................................................................. 16 Figure 8. Diseases Threatening Livestock Production ............................................. 18 Figure 9. Herd Migration Dynamics ................................................................... 18 Figure 10. Threats to Agricultural Production ...................................................... 20 Figure 11. Pests Threatening Agricultural Production ............................................ 20 Figure 12. Average Retail Prices of Commodities .................................................. 21 Figure 13. Average Retail Prices of Animal Products .............................................. 21 Figure 14. Average Retail Prices of Livestock ...................................................... 22 Figure 15. Reasons for Price Fluctuations ........................................................... 23 Figure 16. Market Access .............................................................................. 23 Figure 17. Wealth Group Breakdown ................................................................. 24 Figure 18. Changes in Food Sources by Wealth Group ............................................ 24 Figure 19. Changes in Income Sources by Wealth Group ......................................... 25 Figure 20. Changes in Expenditure by Wealth Group .............................................. 27 Figure 21. Changes in Coping Strategies by Wealth Group ....................................... 28 ACF Karamoja Assessment - 2 - August-September 2008 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Karamoja region is located in the Northeast corner of Uganda and administratively divided into five districts: Abim, Kaabong, Kotido, Moroto, and Nakapiripirit. Karamoja lies roughly between 1-40 latitude and 33-350 longitude, and covers an area of approximately 30,000 square kilometres. It is bordered in the East by Turkana and West Pokot districts of Kenya and in the North by Sudan. The total population of the region is estimated at around one million, which constitutes roughly 4% of the total Uganda population.1 Karamoja is the least populated area of Uganda, with only 35 people per square kilometre. The region is classified as semi-arid by Ugandan standards, and the high variability in temporal and spatial distribution of rain is the determining factor that influences livelihood strategies. Agro- pastoralism is the dominant livelihood system of the region. The livestock production system integrates seasonal movement of herds between wet and dry season grazing lands. Cereals such as sorghum, millet and maize are also cultivated during the wet season and contribute to the household production and economy. Due to its inherent risk minimisation, agro-pastoralism is an appropriate livelihood system in semi-arid lands, particularly livestock which are more resilient to seasonal inconsistencies than crops. Traditionally, livestock raiding with small handheld weapons like spears and sticks was practiced between (and usually not among) different clans for socioeconomic reasons such as asset creation, dowry, or expression of manhood. Raiding was sanctioned by elders and the intensity, frequency, and fatality were limited. The practice has however changed shape in the recent past and today is among the main reasons for disrupted household livelihoods. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) into the area from neighbouring Sudan, Kenya, and to a lesser extent Ethiopia and Somalia has fuelled the conflict.2 Armed Karamojong repeatedly raided these regions and planted the seed for today’s mistrust and animosity between these different ethnic groups. All human development indices show that Karamoja is one of the least developed parts of the country. Socioeconomic infrastructure and services such as schools, health centres, potable drinking water, roads, and production, processing, and marketing facilities are weak. Approximately 82% of the Karamoja population lives in poverty (defined as less than US$1/day), compared to the national average of 31%; global acute malnutrition (GAM) is 11% versus a national average of 6%.3 Many sources indicate historical marginalisation, misguided pastoral policies, and a lack of development programmes as the major causes of the region’s tenacious poverty and conflict. A number of humanitarian and development actors are implementing programmes in nutrition, food security, water and sanitation, and relief distribution; the World Food Programme (WFP) is distributing food aid for an estimated 700,000 people considered highly food insecure (of the roughly one million people in the region). ACF was first operational in Karamoja during the severe drought and emergency response of 1980- 1983. Following a needs assessment conducted in late 2007, ACF committed itself to continue feeding programmes formerly established by MSF Spain during their emergency response. Food security and livelihood (FSL) programming is also envisaged for 2009 to complement the core nutrition work in order to address underlying factors of malnutrition in Karamoja. Hence, a food security and livelihoods (FSL) assessment was initiated to define FSL priorities and provide guidance for subsequent responses. A total of thirteen sub-counties were assessed by ACF in Kaabong and Moroto districts within a two week period in August 2008. The assessment primarily focused on the status of household food security and livelihoods, with supplementary but limited data collection on nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene4 in Kaabong and Moroto districts of Karamoja. This resulting report attempts to elaborate shifts in household food and income sources, coping strategies, performance of crop and livestock production. 1 OCHA-OPM (Office of the Prime Minister) Joint Fact sheet on Karamoja: Humanitarian and Development Realities in the Region, 18 April 2008. 2 Mkutu (2008) Guns and Governance in the Rift Valley: pastoralist conflict and small arms. Indiana University Press. 3 The statistics in this paragraph are from UNOCHA (OPM) 2008, op cit. 4 Internal analysis of nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene data for which WASH findings are summarised in the Appendices. ACF Karamoja Assessment - 3 - August-September 2008 Primary and secondary data were collected at district, community, and household (wealth group) levels. Focus group discussions with community elders were conducted in two stages, first to establish specific wealth group criteria for households. Secondly, in-depth discussions were conducted regarding the various community based aspects, for example land tenure system, adaptive strategies, challenges and opportunities of different wealth groups, and priority areas of interventions. A total 190 household representative interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires. The interviews achieved fair representations of gender and age. Key informant interviews were conducted with officials from district and sub-county administrations, district agriculture, livestock, and fishery departments, staff of different NGOs and agro-pastoral civil society groups of Karamoja. In total 15 key informant interviews were conducted using checklists and semi-structured questionnaires. An additional 40 interviews