Buyende and Kamuli districts in Busoga region of eastern Uganda, are part of the country’s rangelands, also known as the cattle corridor, where the agro-pastoral communities are adapting strategies to sustain their livelihoods. They learn through the Farmer Field Schools, grow pasture species, invest in water sources, and adopt improved seed varieties.
Part of Uganda Map showing Buyende and Kamuli districts in Uganda
Across the eastern region of Uganda, something is changing to restore the rangeland for sustainable livelihoods. The districts of Buyende and Kamuli form part of the strategic rangeland restoration. For years, farmers in these districts relied solely on predictable seasons, grazing lands, and mixed farming systems to sustain their families. Today, those systems are under pressure. Rainfall is unreliable. Pastures are shrinking. Yields are falling. But amid these challenges, communities are finding new ways to adapt and survive.
Farmers who once planted twice a year are down to a single season. Crop diversity has reduced. Livestock are weaker during droughts, and milk production has declined. Land clearing for charcoal and farming has worsened soil erosion and reduced vegetation cover.
Enhancing livelihood sustainability: community-led solutions take root
Farmers learn and train others on the practical ways to build resilience: Photo by FAO team
The agro-pastoral community adopted practical solutions to restore the area after experiencing vulnerability. By adopting a practical, community-based approach, they learn by doing, then teach others. Since 2020, groups across eastern Uganda have been trained through this model, supported by agricultural experts and local government teams.
Farmers learn in a Farmer Field School in Buyende. Photo credit: FAO Team
Farmer and agro-pastoral groups in Buyende, Kamuli, Amuria, Katakwi, and Kaberamaido in eastern Uganda, have adopted measures through the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Local Government Technical Teams and the National Agriculture Research Organization.
The farmers learn to grow drought-resistant crops like cassava, maize and sweet potatoes. They restore degraded grazing land, plant improved pasture species, and establish community seed banks.
Farmers show a technical team a maze garden of improved seed in Buyende: Photo by FAO team
The Buginyanya Zonal Agriculture Research Development Institute, working with the District Technical Teams provides technical validation of pasture and crop varieties suited to semi-arid conditions.
Dr. Brian Owoyesigire, is the Lead Researcher and an expert on pasture improvement at the Buginyanya Zonal Agriculture Research Development Institute. He said the improved pasture species are very palatable to cattle and goats and highly nutritious. “They have higher dry matter (when dried as hay), can yield an average of 25 tons per hectare and offer high protein content suitable for dairy production, yet highly tolerant to drought conditions,” he noted.
Improved pasture species such as Brachiaria mulato, Chloris gayana, and Pennisetum purpureum were selected for their high dry matter yield and drought tolerance. When integrated with leguminous trees like Calliandra and Leucaena, the system improves nitrogen fixation and protein content in feed. The grasses are integrated with Calliandra and Leucaena pasture trees to provide additional protein, improved soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, and strengthen year-round livestock feed availability, Dr. Oweyesigire further explained.
Farmers having a close look at the planted Bracheria pasture in Mutali Kagulu. Photo by Joshua Waigolo
Dr. Oweyesigire equates Farmer Field Schools (FFS) to real schools, with facilitators and learners. “Fast learners are trained to become facilitators, ensuring knowledge spreads sustainably within communities” he affirms.
The already pre-existing initiatives of self-help groups have been made formalized learning. Over 2,100 farmers (around 70 percent women) have been trained in planting indigenous tree species and fodder, rejuvenating degraded grazing land and establishing seed banks among others.
The farmers are supported to grow climate-resilient food crops such as sweet potatoes, cassava, beans, and maize to ensure household food and nutrition security, while reducing pressure on fragile rangelands.
The intervention is contributing to better ecological restoration, livestock productivity with reduced livestock mobility, improved feeds, and reduced pressure on the grazing lands as well as nutrition aspects.
Women at the Center of Resilience
A woman demonstrates her tree nursery. Some of the tree leaves are fodder for animals. Photo by Sarah Mawerere
Of the 2,100 farmers, most of them women, have already taken part. Women are traditionally responsible for food production and small livestock like goats, sheep and chickens. However, the female-headed households (widows, divorced women, single mothers, women whose husbands migrated) experience heavy climate vulnerability. They cannot invest in irrigation, soil conservation, or tree planting. The investment in pasture production reduces the extensive open grazing; pastoralists can manage to balance pasture production with herds of animals.
In Kagulu sub-county, Buyende District, the women have gone against the odds, and have joined efforts to adapt to the climate variations. Over five years ago, they formed Kyebaja-Tobona Self Help Farmer Field School initiative composed of thirty (30) members; twenty-three (23) happen to be women while seven (7) are men.
Jessica Nairuba- Chairperson of the Farmer Field School, reported that bananas, vegetables, watermelon and passion fruit stopped thriving. “Even maize and groundnuts struggled and livestock productivity declined sharply," she noted. Nairuba added, “we are in a very dry area. Rain delays, and sometimes we only get one planting season instead of two”. Nairuba now earns income by selling her pasture, from which she earns an income to support herself and family, noting that women, especially widows, play the roles of both husband and wife.
Populations exert pressure on the already exhausted ecosystem
Due to pressures on resources in the rangeland or cattle corridor, driven by population increase, there are unsustainable land use practices. Uganda's population has historically been one of the world's fastest growing, between 2.7%-3.2% compared to the global average of 1.1%.
These characteristics make dryland residents highly vulnerable to climate change and unsustainable poor land use practices. Traditional coping strategies are lost and unsustainable land management practices, including overgrazing, over-cultivation, and excessive wood collection among other practices have become prevalent (UNDP, UNEP & UNCCD 2009). Uganda's drylands are a dry belt stretching between the country's northeastern and southwestern borders encompassing 84,000 km.
Source: Land use change in Uganda’s drylands, impacts, and opportunities for enhancing livelihood sustainability report
From moving cattle to managing farms
In Kagumba sub-county, Kamuli District, Simon Nduhura a pastoralist, previously relied on seasonal livestock movement in search of pasture and water. A lot of mobility however resulted in animal losses and strain. After forming Bugaga-Nambaale Farmer Field School, he adopted home grazing whereby, he now keeps his animals nearby home. He is able to establish pasture and herd-size control.
“I can now feed my cows at home. I no longer have strain to move from place to place in search of water and feed for my cows. We get more milk from fewer animals,” said Nduhura.
However, he cited the challenges of lack of water accessibility for the animals and farming. He said the long anticipated borehole is still not yet achieved, as his fellow members have not fulfilled their efforts of contributing towards the construction of the borehole.
Restoring soil, restoring hope
Through training, farmers have learned to make Organic Manure by mixing cow dung with chicken and goat droppings. Applied to gardens, the manure has improved soil fertility and boosted crop yields. Vegetables such as amaranth, eggplant, and spider plant are now grown using simple irrigation cans.
Local organizations such as the District Farmers Associations, and the Atlas of Farmers Organization and Union of Agribusiness (AFOUA), are promoting woodlots, agroforestry systems, and alternative livelihoods including apiary and poultry farming. Mahogany, eucalyptus woodlots, agroforestry trees like Grevera robusta, Caliandra, Albizious chanesis and corolaria and firewood source like micamia, caliandra and acacia are emphasized and established.
The Executive Director of AFOUA, Joshua Waigolo, revealed that more emphasis has been on the restoration of the degraded land by planting trees and pasture species. This he said has led to capacity building of the farmers and pastoralists on controlling soil degradation. Alternative means of livelihoods such as apiary farming, poultry farming, and less intensive animal rearing increase incomes as well as increasing milk production and the quality of beef.
Waigolo observed that way back, these areas used to have normal vegetation however, as time went by with economic diversification, farmers started adopting various economic activities, like charcoal burning, encroachment on the swamps for farming and deforestation, which has extremely caused massive destruction of land.
Water infrastructure establishment
In Buyende District, a solar-powered micro-irrigation system at Kidera Town Council serves about 40 households in Kapiokolo B, Buyanja Parish, Bukungu Town Council. A 50,000-litre underground tank supports dry-season vegetable and fruit production. These interventions improve the resource accessibility and intensify production even on smaller land.
A woman farmer shares about her underground water reserve tank in Kidera-Buyende district. Photo by Sarah Mawerere
The system enables Farmer Field School groups to grow high-value crops such as vegetables, beans, and fruit trees, generating income and promoting sustainable livelihoods. Farmers also conduct field demonstrations, teaching others how to restore pasture, manage livestock movements, and prevent soil erosion. Additionally, they have also adopted organic manure from cow dung, goat and poultry droppings to improving soil fertility.
Environmental protection through community action
In Kamuli District, environmental conservation is a priority. District Environment Officer Bridget Babirye, highlighted that the massive tree cutting in Kamuli district, has exposed communities to hailstorms and crop losses. The most affected sub-counties of Kagumba, Magogo and Nawanyago all in Kamuli district are being facilitated to ensure more trees are planted to prevent calamities like a heavy storm that struck Nawanyago in the recent past.
She linked the calamities of hailstorms and declining crop performance to massive deforestation that is always experienced that requires continued and coordinated support. She said the district is embedding the climate resilience actions into its existing farmer outreach systems, ensuring that sensitization on climate change mitigation and adaptation reaches communities across the entire district. Tree planting addresses erosion and wind damage while generating timber, fruit, and fodder income streams. Diversified livelihoods reduce dependence on charcoal production and unsustainable land clearing.
A farmer in Bumogoli Buyende district showing eucalyptus trees he planted. Courtesy photo by FAO team
A future rooted in resilience
According to the Participatory Rangeland Management (PRM) Manual, rangelands in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region form the backbone of the livestock economy, covering 60–70% of the land and contributing 10–50% of national agricultural GDP through livestock and related products.
The Director of IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD) Dr. Dereje Wakjira, noted that rangeland management practices stimulate knowledge exchanges between Africa’s regions, and hence inform the preparation and implementation of impactful interventions in Africa’s valuable rangelands.
Dr. Wakjira further revealed that rangelands should continue to receive sustained attention within the land, forest restoration and climate change commitments made by governments. Adding that this interest by governments in sustainably managing rangelands has increased demand for technical information and guidance on how this can be done.
Sharing experiences is occuring from Kenya and Tanzania which have delivered strong results, including improved rangeland governance, greater women’s participation in decision-making, higher livestock productivity, and increased investment in rangeland restoration Participatory rangeland management. One message is becoming clear: resilience is not coming from outside, it is being built within communities. Rangelands cover nearly 48 percent of the world’s land surface, and go up to 62 percent when woodlots are included.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, Rangelands feed over 55 percent of Africa’s livestock and provide a major source of income to 268 million pastoralists and agro-pastoralists, including in some of the most vulnerable areas. Yet these ecosystems are under increasing strain from land conversion, population growth, and climate variability.
Farmers like Jessica Nairuba and Simon Nduhura demonstrate that even in the face of climate change, adaptation is possible. But challenges remain; water access is still limited, land pressure is growing, climate shocks are becoming more frequent. The future of Uganda’s rangelands will depend on whether community knowledge, scientific support, and government policies continue to work together.
For now, in places like Buyende and Kamuli, the seeds of resilience have already been planted. For pastoralists like Simon Nduhura in Kamuli, adaptation has meant a complete shift in lifestyle. For agro-pastoral communities in rangelands the longer-term intervention has already begun with examples of Buyende and Kamuli districts. However, the rangeland economy remains exposed to pressures leading to where community knowledge, scientific research, and governance have to continue aligning with practices that sustainably reinforce productivity.
