The interim Executive Chairperson of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party, Lulume Bayiga, has called on the government to urgently provide a supplementary budget to support agriculture as a prolonged drought that has lasted over six months continues to ravage the country .

According to Bayiga said the country is facing widespread crop failure and death of livestock, leaving many Ugandans stranded. He noted that the situation is dire in Karamoja, where nine districts with over 673,000 people have been affected.

“There has been a prolonged drought throughout the country, and it has lasted over six months. There has been crop failure, and animals have died. The people of Uganda are currently stranded, as we are aware of the nine Districts in Karamoja with over 673,000 people who have been affected,” Bayiga said.

While addressing the media on Monday, September 28th, 2026, Lulume revealed that the drought has not spared other regions.

In Buganda, Bayiga observed that coffee plantations have dried up, alongside banana plantations and other food crops, adding that Many districts in West Nile and Ankole, especially Isingiro district, have also been affected.

He further raised concern over the nutrition situation in refugee-hosting districts.

“PFF also observed that children from over 25 districts hosting refugees in Uganda are facing acute malnutrition, which has risen to 25% in the previous three months,” he noted.

The PFF chairperson accused the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) of abandoning its mandate and shifting its core responsibilities to the Parish Development Model (PDM).

He described the PDM as being anchored nowhere, arguing that those who received PDM funds are crying more because of the prolonged drought, as the funds have not translated into resilience.

According to Bayiga, the prolonged drought has exposed the weaknesses of government irrigation systems, with farmers unable to survive the dry spell based on the available infrastructure.

He also accused wealthy government officials of cutting down natural forests to acquire land for personal pine plantations, revealing that pine plantations are now visible in most areas of Uganda, but unlike in the past when forests belonged to communities, they now belong to individuals who have not contributed to community growth.

Bayiga further criticized President Yoweri Museveni’s directive encouraging farmers to vacate wetlands, arguing that wetlands are currently the only places where poor farmers can grow food for home consumption,

“It is against this background that PFF calls upon the government to have a swift response to such an issue by having a supplementary budget to support agricultural activities,” Bayiga highlighted.

Bayiga proposed that the supplementary budget should be financed by cutting expenditure for State House, Defence, and the Office of the President, to prioritize food security and support to affected farmers.