Empowering Farmers with Climate-Resilient Practices in Uganda

The Ugandan government has launched a landmark initiative aimed at bolstering smallholder farmers' capacity to withstand climate change impacts and enhance food security. The Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project seeks to support 69 districts, including seven refugee settlement camps, with matching grants to promote mechanization and climate-resilient agricultural practices. The project's objective is to transform small-scale farmers into large-scale producers, covering the entire value chain. Commissioner of Crop Protection Stephen Byantwale noted the project's focus on enabling refugees to grow their own food, addressing the decline in donor funding.

Key Takeaways:

• The Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project will provide matching grants to support farmer groups in 69 districts, including seven refugee settlement camps.
• The project aims to transform small-scale farmers into large-scale producers, covering the entire value chain, including crops, livestock, fisheries, and beneficial insects.
• The project objective is to enable refugees to grow their own food and empower them economically through selling their produce to local communities.
• The project will focus on extension services, training, and retooling extension workers to support farmers in areas like farming knowledge, early warnings, and pest management.
• The project will develop agro-meteorological systems to provide farmers with weather updates and early warnings.
• The project will prioritize mechanization, post-harvest handling, and market access to improve farmer productivity and resilience.
• The Commissioner of Crop Protection emphasized the need to address the decline in donor funding for refugee support.

Statistics:

• The project will focus on 13 value chains across various sub-sectors of agriculture, including livestock, crops, fisheries, and beneficial insects.
• The project has allocated $350 million to support smallholder farmers.
• The project will benefit farmer groups in 69 districts, including seven refugee settlement camps.
• The project aims to cover the entire value chain in agriculture, from crops to livestock to fisheries and beneficial insects.

Sources:

• Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project
• Eng. Boniface Okannya, project coordinator
• Stephen Byantwale, Commissioner of Crop Protection
• Ms. Kushina Kundanangwe, Senior Agricultural Economist with the World Bank and Task Team Leader for the project