Abstract
Two relevant studies on food security are referred to in the article. Food insecurity from time to time threatens in Teso sub region which houses a viable Teso agricultural system. One study was done during 2001-2003 in Teso on sweet potato production with 650 persons participating and the second one was done in one disaster affected area of Bududa District nearby during 2012-2016 when 1,142 persons participated. Kiryandongo District where Bududa landslide survivors were resettled in Uganda was included in that study. Participatory methods such as focus group discussions, farm observations, in-depth interviews, and questionnaires were used. Both studies used qualitative and quantitative methods for data analysis. The sweet potato stands second after cassava as the crop for famine and disaster periods in Teso to meet the human right to adequate food to complement the well dried cereals & grain legumes that stored longer. Livestock especially was also one of the prime determinants of food security and income in Teso. Free from cyanides with a good content of affordable Vitamin A from orange fleshed varieties, sweet potatoes in Teso contributed about 61% to the yearly food per capita of the population thus a recommendable crop for sustainable food security and some income in Teso and beyond.
Highlights
Food security only exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life
The sweet potato stands second after cassava as the crop for famine and disaster periods in Teso to meet the human right to adequate food to complement the well dried cereals & grain legumes that stored longer
The human right to adequate food is recognized by all peoples of the world including their governments
Summary
Food security only exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Teso farmers can grow over ten adaptable crops namely cassava, maize, finger millet, sorghum, rice, groundnuts, beans, cow peas, green grams, simsim, sunflower, citrus, mangoes, cashew nuts & cotton including the sweet potato and keep livestock especially cattle (Osekeny, 1996). Additional to cereals such as finger millet and sorghum with groundnuts as legume, the sweet potato and cassava stand out strongly as food security crops that do well in Teso (Mukiibi, 2001). The crop matures faster (one or two varieties such as Odiopelap in a month)
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