Kamuli District

Kamuli District
Kamuli District
District
	District location in Uganda
	Coordinates: 00°55′N 33°06′E / 0.917°N 33.100°E
Country	Uganda
Region	Eastern Region of Uganda
Sub-region	Busoga sub-region
Capital	Kamuli
Area
• Land	1,557 km2 (601 sq mi)
Elevation	1,100 m (3,600 ft)
Population (2012 Estimate)
• Total	500,800
• Density	321.6/km2 (833/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
Website	www.kamuli.go.ug

Kamuli District is a district in the Eastern Region of Uganda. The town of Kamuli is the site of the district headquarters.

Location

Kamuli District is bordered by Buyende District to the north, Luuka District to the east, Jinja District to the south, and Kayunga District to the west. The district headquarters at Kamuli are approximately 74 kilometres (46 mi), by road, north of Jinja, the largest city in the Busoga sub-region.^[1]

Population

In December 1991, the district had a population of about 249,300, according to the national census. In 2002, the census estimated the population at 361,400, with 40.5 percent male and 59.5 percent female. In 2012, the population was estimated at 500,800.^[2]

Ethnicity and language

The district is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society, with the predominant ethnic group being the Basoga who comprise 76 percent of the population. The Iteso people make up 3.9 percent and the Banyoro and Bagungu together make up 1.8 percent of the population. Other Ugandan ethnicities make up the remainder (18.3 percent). The predominantly language spoken in Kamuli District is Lusoga, with some Luganda and English.^[3]

The district is part of the Busoga sub-region, which is coterminous with the Kingdom of Busoga.^[4]

Economic activities

Means of earning a livelihood in Kamuli District include:^[5]

Fishing
Ranching
Farming
Fish farming
Bee keeping
Retail trade
Quarrying

The crops grown include the following:

Upland rice
Paddy rice
Matooke
Sweet bananas
Maize
Millet
Soybeans
Groundnuts
Oranges
Mangoes
Potatoes
Beans
Simsim
Sunflower
Tomatoes
Onions
Coffee
Cotton
Sugarcane

Livestock kept includes cattle, goats, sheep, and chicken.

Non-government organizations

Since 2003, Iowa State University's Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods has worked side-by-side with Kamuli District residents to discover and implement sustainable solutions to meeting the community’s most urgent needs. Starting with farmer training, the center has evolved into programming that touches every stage of the life cycle.^[6] The Iowa State University-Uganda Program is headquartered in Kamuli.

Uganda Community Farm is a non-profit community agribusiness organisation that equips participating farmers with farming materials, offers training for growing crops adapted to local conditions, and builds market access for selling their crops.^[7] Started in 2013 as a pilot project farming 5 acres,^[8] the organisation expanded to several programs. As of 2020, the organisation has trained and supported 500 farmers within the Kamuli and Buyenda districts to grow white sorghum.^[9] Uganda Community Farm is headquartered in Kamuli.