Former IDPs in Gulu are to compete in the production of food crops to reduce dependency relief supplies from donors.
The competition is part of the Food Security Ordinance the district is developing and targets people in all the 11 sub counties.
Norbert Mao, the district LC5 chairman says that they have asked all sub counties in the district to take part in the competition.
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Mao is optimistic that the initiative will address the dependency syndrome as well as check the threat of famine, which has been affecting the population.
He explains that the competition will be more applicable now that the majority of the formerly displaced persons have left the camps and returned to their villages to embark on agricultural production.
Mao says farmers from the sub counties with the highest crop acreage would be recognized as winners of the competition and awarded material prizes.
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Already, a few farmers have said they are anxious to take part in the competition.
Anthony Odwe of Bobi Sub County says the competition is well timed coming at a time when there is adequate rain and people are opening fields.
Santo Uhuru, the LC3 chairman of Koro Sub County says that the initiative is a good method of ensuring food security. He says he will mobilize the farmers in his area to take up the challenge.
Gulu, like most districts affected by the LRA rebel insurgency, was crippled by the war.
Livestock farming and crop production drastically dwindled, leading to untold suffering and poverty in IDP camps.
