Effects Of Oil-Related Development Activities on Agricultural Growth:

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of the construction of Kabaale International Airport on Agricultural growth in Buseruka sub-county. The central questions sought to discover the effects of the construction processes as well as land-acquisition activities on agricultural practices in the study area. A case-study design was used and qualitative data were obtained. A sample of 08 local leaders was chosen using purposive sampling technique to obtain the bird’s eye view of the parameters in question. 03 Focus Group Discussions were also conducted, each comprised of 08 persons from the 13 villages that were affected by the project. Using the Colaizzi framework, data collected from respondents were then framed into different themes for further analysis. The study findings indicate that the discovery of oil in the Albertine region has led to a reduction in agricultural practices in Buseruka Sub-County, and that this is largely driven by a shift in focus from agriculture to oil-related activities. The findings further reveal that the commencement of the airport construction project led to the eviction of over 7,000 people from 13 villages thereby affecting their land-based economic activities since many could no longer access and or use their land for agricultural activities. For persons who were relocated, farmlands were said to be far away from homesteads thereby limiting routine access while those who were compensated were reported to have acquired smaller pieces of land which is inadequate for large-scale farming. Respondents also reported that the acreage of land owned by persons who remained in the area had drastically reduced, and that this affected their agricultural productivity. With critical infrastructure such as markets and roads being edged out by the airport construction project, transport costs have increased thereby limiting access to markets. Additionally, government’s seemingly reduced priority towards agriculture in favour of investments in oil-related infrastructure has reduced the local farmers’ incentives to engage in farming. Air, water and noise pollution were some of the environmental concerns raised with some respondents citing their negative effects on agriculture, especially livestock rearing. The study findings also reveal that the processes of land-acquisition for Kabaale Airport construction were fairly consistent with internationally accepted procedures of compensation and relocation. However, several complaints arose such as inadequate information sharing including the insufficient financial training given to the project affected persons (PAPs), who ended up squandering their compensation packages, whereas the relocated persons complained of long distances from their camps to the farms allocated to them. These have greatly curtailed the agricultural potential of the study area. It was recommended that the local SACCO’s should be empowered in order to stimulate the local economy. Finally, since the oil industry is growing in Uganda and more land will be required for other projects, the government and concerned stakeholders should put in place a system that ensures adequate information flow, and preparation of project affected persons for the socio-economic situation ahead in order to ensure optimal investment or use of resources.