Uganda and FAO
Building resilience and food and nutrition security
FAO and Uganda have a long history of cooperation. The Organization’s technical assistance in the country began as early
as 1959 in the areas of aquaculture development and livestock disease control. Cooperation has increased since the opening
of FAO’s representation in 1981, with interventions comprising national policy and programme formulation, agricultural and
rural development projects, and emergency and rehabilitation assistance. More recently, emphasis has been given to building
resilience to the effects of climate change.
Matching FAO’s expertise to Uganda’s development priorities
FAO cooperation with Uganda is shaped by the FAO Country Production and productivity, with FAO supporting the
Programming Framework (CPF), jointly developed with the Government across an extensive range of activities,
Government and other partners. The CPF is fully aligned with including: multiplication and distribution of quality
national and regional development priorities as well as the UN seeds; plant protection; transboundary animal disease
Development Assistance Framework for Uganda. A new CPF is prevention and control; crop and livestock extension
currently being finalized for 2015 through 2019, with a focus services; livestock nutrition; and fisheries and
on three priority areas: aquaculture production.
Production and productivity of agriculture, forestry Value addition, agro-processing and marketing,
and fisheries commodities including provision of food processing equipment,
Agricultural knowledge and information market information and storage facilities for farmer
groups. Using a value chain approach, FAO initiated
Resilience to livelihood threats, with an emphasis on
the promotion of trade and access to markets by
climate change
smallholder farmers, including trade across regional
Prior to this, cooperation was guided by the 2010-2014 borders.
CPF, reflecting Uganda’s National Development Plan and
agricultural Development Strategy and Investment Plan. It Cross-border value chain promotion
contained five priority areas: In support of value addition and marketing activities, under
Policy, strategy and planning, including assistance in the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), FAO
the development and implementation of policies and implemented a cross-border project in Kabale, Kisoro and
programmes to eliminate hunger, malnutrition and Kasese Districts – alongside adjacent districts in Rwanda, the
poverty. FAO assisted in formulation of the National Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. Farmer groups
Development Plan, the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan, were assisted in adding value and accessing markets for
the Marketing and Agro-Processing Strategy (MAPS), products such as potatoes, milk, fruit and honey.
the National Dairy Strategy, Food and Nutrition Policy
and Bill, and the Food and Nutrition Strategy and Food Agricultural knowledge, information and education,
Safety Bill. including support to generation of reliable and detailed
information on food security and malnutrition levels.
FAO has implemented the Integrated Food Security
Phase Classification (IPC) in Uganda, improving food
Contacts
security analysis and decision-making.
Alhaji M. Jallow
Sustainable natural resource management,
FAO Representative in Uganda strengthening forestry planning frameworks and
FAO Representation, FAO Office Plot, 88 Buganda Road, forestry administration and management skills;
Wandegeya
promoting stakeholder cooperation to reduce illegal
©FAO/Sarah Eliot
Kampala
Tel: +256 41 4250771
timber harvesting and charcoal trade; promoting
Email: [email protected] agroforestry for food and fibre production, resilient
cropping and grassland environments, and improved
food and nutrition security.
Resilience through partnerships Fisheries and partners such as the Karamoja Livestock
FAO has been working to strengthen household resilience Development Forum, are primarily focusing on technical
among vulnerable communities affected by civil strife and and logistical support. In 2014, Uganda experienced
displacement as well as climatic threats. It is improving outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), which
crop and animal husbandry practices, providing quality spread across 33 districts and have continued into 2015.
inputs and strengthening extension services so that FAO has responded through its Crisis Management
families can produce and market more food, raise their Centre, which has recommended a “smart vaccination”
incomes, and be in a better strategy, starting with the vaccination of 280 000 head
“There is an intrinsic position to respond to threats of cattle against FMD.
link between peace and disasters. Good results Still in Karamoja, an ongoing campaign is in place to
and food security, and have been achieved to date control and prevent contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia
between hunger through partnerships with (CBPP), contagious caprine pleura-pneumonia (CCPP) and
and conflict.” the Government, other UN Peste des petits ruminants (PPR).
José Graziano da Silva agencies – including UNHCR,
Livestock disease management activities have been funded
FAO Director-General WFP, WHO, UNDP and to a large extent by the European Union, the United Nations
UNICEF – as well as resource Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the United
partners. Kingdom’s Department for International Development.
Over the past ten years, FAO has collaborated with the
central and local district governments to build resilience Global knowledge transfer
among communities in Karamoja. The resilient livelihoods Uganda and China have successfully engaged in the
programme, funded by UK AID, is being delivered exchange of knowledge and development solutions
within a coordinated Disaster Risk Management (DRM) under FAO’s South-South Cooperation (SSC) framework.
framework, integrating three priority areas: livestock The collaborative experience is showing rapid results,
production, crop production, and land and water including improved food crop production as well as
management. increased incomes for Ugandan farmers.
Climate change adaptation A team of more than 30 Chinese agricultural experts
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for 77 percent and technicians worked with counterparts in Uganda
of Ugandans, but crop and livestock productivity is to address identified knowledge and skill gaps along
constrained by environmental challenges – among specific crop, livestock and fisheries value chains. With
which the effects of climate change. To help farmers a focus on capacity building for national planners,
mitigate these challenges, FAO Uganda is supporting researchers and agricultural extension officers as well
the production of drought-tolerant crops, building as farmers, the objective was to increase agricultural
infrastructure to improve water and soil conservation, production and food security through improvements in
providing training in sustainable crop and animal specific farm-level activities.
husbandry practices and facilitating community planning. Activities included capacity building trips to China;
In addition, early warning and information systems are improved water management and irrigation design;
being improved to enable better preparedness for climate- enhanced crop intensification and diversification, including
related shocks. use of greenhouse technology and new improved
Livestock disease management varieties; improved aquaculture production; improved
livestock production; and the establishment of producer
Livestock disease management is of paramount
groups and support to agribusiness development in areas
importance in Uganda, especially in the “Cattle Corridor”,
such as fruit, vegetable and poultry production.
which runs from the south of the country to Karamoja in
the northeast, where livestock are the major source of Since 2012, the Chinese team has successfully transferred
livelihood. FAO interventions, carried out in partnership 25 new technologies; introduced 17 new crop varieties;
with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and and four types of medium-sized agricultural equipment.
©FAO
©FAO
©FAO
