Farmers in Rubanda District struggling with food shortages caused by a prolonged drought have received two solar-powered water pumps to support irrigation and sustain crop production.
The district has been experiencing dry conditions since May 2026, leaving farmers struggling to grow crops and contributing to shortages of fresh vegetables and fruits that have driven up prices.
Residents say the price of a cabbage, which previously sold for about Shs500, has risen to approximately Shs3,000.
The two portable surface solar-powered pumps were secured from the National Planning Authority through lobbying efforts by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi, Rubanda District Woman MP Evelyn Ninsiima Kikafunda and Rubanda West MP Bruce Balaba Kabaasa.
The pumps were handed over to beneficiaries in Kacerere Town Council in Rubanda West and Ruhonwa Parish in Hamurwa Sub-county.
Speaking during the handover ceremony at Kacerere Town Council headquarters, local leaders said the prolonged dry spell had affected household food production and made it difficult for farmers to maintain their gardens.
Geofrey Ainembabazi, the LC1 chairperson of Nyamatembe Village in Kacerere Town Council, said residents were struggling to grow food for their families.
“The drought has made it difficult for us to maintain our gardens and produce food for household consumption,” Ainembabazi said.
Ruhonwa Parish LC2 chairperson Emmanuel Tukamushaba and Kacerere Town Council LC3 chairperson Eliab Mugambagye said farmers had been unable to adequately water their crops because of the prolonged dry spell.
LC5 councillor for Kacerere Town Council Aggrey Turyatunga described the intervention as timely and commended the leaders who lobbied for the equipment.
Agricultural officers Asiimwe Savius, the assistant agricultural officer for Kacerere, and district agricultural engineer Ivan Mugisha urged beneficiaries to properly manage and maintain the pumps to ensure their durability and continued use.
“Take responsibility for the solar water pumps so that they can operate for a long period of time,” Asiimwe said.
The officers emphasised that the effectiveness of the intervention would depend on how communities organised access to the equipment, managed available water sources and maintained their irrigation activities.
During the ceremony, LC5 councillor for Habuhutu Town Council Brighton Arineitwe, LC5 councillor for Bubaare Town Council Obed Mutatina, and Neverine Tusasibwe, who represented the MPs, said the leaders had also lobbied for other items to support community services.
These included delivery beds for health facilities, solar systems, water tanks, sewing machines and incubators.
The leaders expressed hope that the solar-powered pumps would help farmers sustain crop production during dry spells, improve household food security and cushion communities against rising food prices.