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Uganda Bagisu
The Bagisu (people of Bugisu) constitute roughly 5
percent of
the population. They occupy the well-watered western
slopes of
Mount Elgon, where they grow millet, bananas, and corn for
subsistence, and coffee and cotton as cash crops. Bugisu
has the
highest population density in the nation, rising to 250
per
square kilometer. As a result, almost all land in Bugisu
is
cultivated, and land pressure causes population migration
and
social conflicts.
A large number of Bagisu were drawn into the cash
economy in
1912, with the organization of smallholder production of
arabica
coffee and the extension of Uganda's administrative
network into
Bugisu. After that, the Bagisu were able to exploit their
fertile
environment by producing large amounts of coffee and
threatening
to withhold their produce from the market when confronted
with
unreasonable government demands. One of the mechanisms for
organizing coffee production was the Bugisu Cooperative
Union
(BCU), which became one of the most powerful and most
active
agricultural cooperatives in Uganda. Bugisu's economic
strength
was based in part on the fact that coffee grown on Mount
Elgon
was of the highest quality in Uganda, and total output in
this
small region constituted more than 10 percent of the
coffee
produced nationwide
(see Crops
, ch. 3).
Land pressure during the early decades of colonial rule
caused the Bagisu to move northward, impinging on the
territory
of the Sebei people, who have fought against Gisu
dominance for
over a century. The Bagwere and Bakedi people to the south
have
also claimed distinct cultural identities and have sought
political autonomy.
Data as of December 1990
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