A former Ugandan journalist named Andrew Ndawula Kalema has turned to bamboo farming, he has created a lush bamboo forest some 65 kilometres north of Kampala, in an effort to combat environmental degradation.
By switching from journalism to agriculture, Kamela wants to contribute to limiting environmental degradation in this country, starting his bamboo farm in 2009.
Since bamboo can adapt to different weather conditions, it helps to mitigate the effects of climate change, especially since the crop is fast growing.
According to Andrew Ndawula Kalema, bamboo can absorb 30% more carbon dioxide and generate 30% more oxygen, which will actively contribute to restoring the environment quickly.
However, the high cost of bamboo plants can discourage farmers although they are aware of its income benefits for soil and environmental conservation, but they cannot afford planting material, according to Ndawula Kalema.
Statistics show that Uganda will lose 49,000 hectares of tree cover by 2021, whereas in 2010, forests accounted for 29% of the country’s area, or 6.93 million hectares of trees.
The East African country has lost more than one million hectares of tree cover, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The loss of these hectares of forest is mainly due to population pressure and illegal logging.
In this sense, the government is called upon to make more efforts to restore the lost land.