Deforestation blamed for Karamoja Gum Arabic slump

The Uganda Gum Arabic Cooperative Society in Karamoja sub region has registered a drop in harvest volumes over the past year due to widespread deforestation of the gum Arabic trees.

Gum Arabic is a popular, naturally-occurring gum that’s often used as a stabilizer for packaged foods as well as in cosmetics and art products.

Jimmy Lomokol, the Chairperson of Uganda Gum Arabic Cooperative Society said the trees are often cut down by members of the local community for charcoal burning, or to open up land for cultivation and settlement.

“Last year we only harvested 110 kilograms compared to an average of 700 kilograms that we used to harvest in previous years,” he said, adding that the 2,000-member cooperative that was formed in 2002 risks collapse should the current situation persist.

Over the years, the cooperative, with support from Kenya Asal Resource Agency (KARA) Ltd has trained more than 600 women and men in Karamoja on how to harvest, pack and sort the gum for sale.

As the number of trees dwindles, and the elusive gum becomes even harder to find, many who have come to rely on the sale of gum Arabic fear their livelihoods could be under threat.

Mary Nangiro, a mother of six and resident of Kautakou village in Napak district, is one such beneficiary.

“I have been collecting the gum for three years now and selling it to the cooperative in order to get money for food and pay my children’s school fees. But finding gum is getting harder since people have destroyed most of the trees for charcoal burning,” she said.

Lucrative crop

According to Lomokol, gum Arabic is a lucrative export product with high demand on the international market.

Ordinarily, the cooperative buys the gum from locals at Shs 1,700 per kilogram (about 0.5 dollars) and sells it to foreign traders at anywhere between 1.3 and 3.7 dollars per kilogram, depending on the market.

In recent years, the product has been attracting attention from prominent buyers, the cooperatives.

” Last year we received a big number of foreign traders who had camped in Karamoja to buy gum. They included Hill Group Company from Ireland and SNI Company based in France, China, Thailand and India,” he says.

Climate change effects

But deforestation is not the only reason for declining gum Arabic harvests. According to Lokomol, the changing climate is also a big factor.

Over the last five years, both the average rainfall and humidity in Karamoja have increased, which is not conducive for gum Arabic production, he says.

“For the trees to release the gum they must be stressed by hot climate which needs to average about 31 degrees for a period of 21 days under low humidity conditions. You also need strong winds so that the trees can scratch against each other in order for the gum to come out,” Lokomol explains.

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Kasese traders vow to reward president for market

Traders in the Western Uganda district of Kasese have vowed to reward President Museveni handsomely for a new market currently under construction in Kasese town.

Construction of Kasese Central market is being carried out by the government of Uganda with funding from the African Development Bank [ADB] under the Markets and Agricultural Improvement Program project (MATIP) currently in its last phase in the country. The market is scheduled for completion in February next year.

”We are thankful to the president for this market, and come February when he comes to hand it over, we shall have a big gift awaiting him,” Wilson B. Wahemba, the Chairperson of Kasese Central Market Traders and Vendors Association told theCooperator. He, however, declined to specify the nature of gift the vendors have in store for the president.

Nevertheless, Mr. Wahemba says the market is too small to accommodate all the traders interested in occupying it.

“While we appreciate the work so far done, this market remains too small to handle the number of traders were already have,” he said.

He noted that the number of vendors has grown from 800 to 1200 ever since construction of the market started in 2017, yet the available stalls and lockups stand at 846.

According to the Mayor, Kasese Municipality, Mr. Godfrey Kabbyanga, clear guidelines for governing the new market need to be put in place early enough to ensure a smooth transition once it is completed.

“We have always had problems transitioning from makeshift to modern markets. This time a proper procedure should be followed,” the mayor said.

Mr. Kabbyanga also pointed out major shortcomings of the new market, including the fact that it has no provision for restaurants, banks, clinics and other facilities.

However, Eng. Gabriel Fataki, who is overseeing construction works, says that all the missing amenities will be catered for using the project’s contingency fund.

“This market will contain everything including banks, restaurants, places of worship and so on,” Eng. Fataki stated.

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Swedish Energy Agency Terminates Carbon Credits Agreement with Green Resources

The Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) is terminating its agreement to purchase carbon credits from the Norwegian forestry company, Green Resources—finally recognizing the devastating impact the company’s plantation has had on local communities in Kachung, Uganda.

Citing the ongoing legal dispute over land and the inability for farmers to graze their cattle within the forest, the SEA’s decision comes after five years of research and advocacy by the Oakland Institute, documenting forced evictions from the land locals depended on for agriculture, grazing, and forest produce.

The Institute’s first report in November 2014, The Darker Side of Green: Plantation Forestry and Carbon Violence in Uganda, exposed the devastating impact of the Green Resources pine plantation. But it was only after the Institute’s third report, released in August 2019, along with the actual eviction notices served to the local farmers, that the SEA announced its suspension of payments, and eventually termination of the agreement in March 2020.

“Despite solid evidence and documentation, Green Resources and its financiers, including the SEA, callously, not only turned a blind eye to the victims of their ‘green’ fraud, but also dismissed our findings,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. “If they had paid heed to the concerns raised in 2014—which should have been obvious to the SEA if due diligence had been done from the get go—Green Resources could not have gotten away with causing hunger, displacement, and distress amongst the population of 17 villages for this long,” Mittal continued.

On March 10, 2020, Development Today reported that the SEA terminated the agreement because of concerns over the ongoing land dispute and the unresolved issue of cattle grazing not allowed in the plantation. The SEA claims the work done by the Oakland Institute did not impact its decision, however, their findings are in line with its past research and advocacy. Hans Lemm, CEO of Green Resources, however, blamed SEA’s decision on the Oakland Institute.

“Land grabbing from Ugandan villagers to set up non-native pine plantations is a false climate solution, designed to allow polluters in Northern countries to continue with business as usual. This is the cautionary tale that Mr. Lemm should learn from, instead of placing blame elsewhere,” was Mittal’s response to the CEO.

Despite ample hard evidence, public investment funds of Norway and Finland—Norfund and Finnfund—are the primary shareholders of Green Resources since 2018. They have financed the company over US$62.5 million (NOK 600 million) . The question is now how long Norfund and Finnfund—supposed investment vehicles for developing countries—will remain complicit in its wrongdoing.

The SEA’s decision is another step towards justice for local communities. The Oakland Institute renews its call for Green Resources and its financial backers to be held responsible. The protracted misery inflicted on Kachung’s communities can only be rightfully addressed with the immediate end of this devastating project, so that they can reclaim their land and livelihoods. (SOURCE : OAKLAND INSTITUTE )

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Do not charge for registering SACCOs, minister warns.

The Minister of State for Microfinance, Haruna Kasolo Kyeyune has cautioned district officials against charging community members for registering Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs).

Minister Kyeyune issued the warning on Friday March 13, 2020, at Hotel Leslona, Moroto while launching the Presidential Initiative on Wealth and Job creation (EMYOOGA) in Karamoja region. Under the initiative, government will provide funds for cooperators in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to boost their incomes.

The warning followed complaints by several local community members that some district officials demand money from members before registering their SACCOs, a service that the minister says ought to be free of charge.

READ ALSO:Cooperatives to hit 20,000 by December – Kitandwe.

“This is a serious offence, and whoever is found charging members of the public for registration of their SACCO will be dealt with,” Kyeyune said.

He also advised the leaders of Karamoja region against politicizing the Presidential Initiative saying that would affect the core objective of the program which is to lift Ugandans out of poverty.

“This initiative is for everyone, regardless of where you belong; it is non-discriminative,” he said.

The regional launch was attended by district LCV chairpersons, Resident District Commissioners (RDCs), District Commercial Officers (DCOs), Political leaders, District Internal Security Officer (DISO) and representatives from the business community in Karamoja region.

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