Residents of Nametsi village in Bududa district that was hit by the 2010 landslides, have devised local mitigation measures aimed at curbing landslides. They include by-laws that have been enacted by the village chiefs stopping farmers from using fertilizers in their gardens.
Francis Mulahama, LC1 Chairperson Nametsi says the village local council has banned people from using fertilizers in their gardens on grounds that it makes the soil susceptible to mudslides. He claims that fertilizers soften the soil and make it easily washed away by torrential rains.
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Mulahama says the residents of Nametsi have taken it upon themselves to plant trees at the banks of the rivers with the hope that they will prevent a reoccurrence of landslide in the area. An effort to get a comment from Dr. Festus Bagoora the soil specialist from NEMA on the initiative taken by the locals was futile.
But Yafes Wabuseme a farmer says the by-law against use of fertilizers is likely to affect agricultural output from the area. He also explains that farmers like him who grow onion usually apply fertilizers in order to realize high yields. Wabuseme instead appeals to government to support the initiative taken by the locals to plant trees rather than banning the use of fertilizers.
Several people have since returned and resettled back in Nametsi, the village where an estimated 200 people were killed by the landslide in 2010. The village is bustling with human activity and on Fridays it has a big weekly market where traders from various areas go to buy cheap agricultural produce like cabbages and onions.
