Land fragmentation in Bukedi is quickly evolving into a major crisis that threatens food security, rural livelihoods, and community stability. In Kibuku District, Mr. Peter Mbulambago plants cassava cuttings on a strip of land no larger than a basketball court. He once farmed five acres inherited from his father. But after dividing the land among his three sons, he now cultivates just half an acre.
“This used to be enough to feed us and sell some,” he explains. “Now, we barely grow enough to survive.” Like Mbulambago, thousands across Bukedi’s seven districts—Budaka, Kibuku, Butebo, Butaleja, Pallisa, Tororo, and Busia—face the same struggle. Expansive fields have become patchworks of fragmented plots.
The impact of land fragmentation in Bukedi continues to spread: agricultural productivity has declined, land disputes have intensified, and youth are abandoning farming. Although families see land splitting as a fair way to share inheritance, the practice no longer supports sustainable livelihoods in a region with rapid population growth and limited arable land.
“Land is both identity and heritage in this region,” says Budaka County MP Arthur Wako Mboizi. However, breaking it into smaller pieces is undermining that heritage. Agricultural officers report sharp declines in crop yields across Bukedi. Smallholder farmers struggle to rotate crops, use mechanized tools, or scale up production.
“You can’t do meaningful farming on 50-by-100 feet,” says Mr. Asuman Kawunga, Budaka’s Acting District Production Officer. He notes that overuse of tiny plots has exhausted the soil, weakened fertility, and worsened food shortages.
Land fragmentation in Bukedi has also triggered family disputes. In Butaleja, most cases heard by local council courts involve land wrangles. “Brothers are suing each other over boundary disputes as small as two feet,” says Dan Wakoli, a local leader. In some families, arguments over unclear land boundaries have sparked violence and long-term estrangement, especially when no written wills or land titles exist.
Many youth in Bukedi have lost interest in farming. As land portions shrink with each generation, they no longer see agriculture as a viable future. “Why fight over a 30×30 piece when I can ride a boda boda and earn every day?” asks 24-year-old Sam Kaigo, who left his Kibuku farm to work in Mbale City’s industrial zone. As young people migrate to towns, aging parents are left to tend dwindling farms.
Experts and community leaders agree that reversing land fragmentation in Bukedi requires cultural change and policy support. Families must adopt joint land-use models, invest in education instead of inheritance, and develop succession plans.
“The government must act now,” says Kibuku Woman MP and State Minister for Bunyoro Affairs, Ms. Jennipher Namuyangu. “We need land use plans, public education, and incentives for cooperative farming.”
NGOs like UCOBAC in Butaleja are promoting family land trusts, where families keep land under shared ownership for commercial farming. Others are encouraging agreements that define land boundaries and uses, supported by customary land titles to avoid conflict.
President Museveni has urged families in Bukedi and other regions to abandon land fragmentation. He encouraged families to form companies for joint land management. “This way, they sell produce collectively and share profits equally,” he said during a tour in eastern Uganda. “Joint ownership boosts productivity and household income.”
Traditionally, families in Bukedi divide land among sons—and sometimes daughters—to ensure fairness. Yet this custom no longer fits the reality of growing populations and shrinking land sizes. With an average of five to seven children per household, adult children often return to claim part of the family land. Each generation slices the land further, reducing its agricultural value.
“You can’t rotate crops or use modern methods on just a quarter acre,” says Mr. Michael Mbayo, Kibuku’s District Production Officer. “This weakens food production and increases poverty.”
The Ministry of Lands now urges families to form communal land associations to curb land fragmentation in Bukedi. The Bagwere Cultural Council also calls for shared land ownership to support better management and reduce conflict.
During the Budaka FY2025/26 budget session, Finance Secretary Tom Mukono pointed out that high population pressure continues to shrink household land. Budaka’s population density stands at 685 people/km², while most families control less than two acres.
Bukedi remains one of Uganda’s poorest regions. With a population exceeding 2.3 million and a land area of just 4,504 km², the region suffers from widespread poverty. Over 58% of households depend on subsistence farming. The regional poverty rate is 34.7%, compared to the national average of 20.3%.
Per capita income in Bukedi stands at $135—far below Uganda’s national average of $1,185. The region’s overreliance on agriculture, combined with continued land fragmentation, puts its economic future at risk.
Unless Bukedi changes how it shares and uses land, its people may soon face hunger—not due to a lack of land, but because the land has been broken into pieces too small to farm effectively.
Read: Museveni urges locals on wealth creation, warns against land fragmentation
