The Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has started implementation of the Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project (UCSATP).
The activities of the project started with a three-day training of the project implementation team as trainers of trainees led by the Permanent Secretary, Maj. Gen. David Kasura-Kyomukama and the project coordinator, Eng. Boniface Okanya at the Nile Resort Hotel in Jinja City.
All the MAAIF heads of Departments and Agencies with components under this project were in attendance for this training that started on 5th November 2024.
According to Eng. Boniface Okanya, the project coordinator, Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project is a six (6) year project funded by the World Bank and it’s expected to end its operations in Uganda by the year 2028.
In addition, he highlighted that the project’s development objective is; “to increase productivity, market access, and resilience of select value chains in the project area and to respond promptly and effectively to an eligible crisis or emergency”.
The project consists of five components;
1- Strengthening Climate-Smart Agricultural Research, Seed and Agro-climatic Information Systems.
2- Promoting Adoption of Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies and Practices.
3- Investments in Market Development and Linkages to Selected Value Chains.
4-Contingency Emergency Response.
5-Project Coordination, Management, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning.
What is Climate-Smart agriculture?
Climate-smart agriculture is an integrated approach to managing landscapes, cropland, livestock, forests, and fisheries that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change/shocks.
Why should Ugandans embrace climate-smart agriculture?
The climate-smart agricultural transformation project will support the Government in identifying, developing, and incentivizing the adoption of climate-smart agriculture technologies and management practices that contribute to climate adaptation of agricultural value chains to sustainably increase productivity and household incomes while enhancing resilience to climatic shocks.
The impact of climate change on food security in Uganda
The rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns are continuing to lead to crop failures and decreased agricultural productivity.
This has greatly had a significant impact on food security in Uganda. Droughts and floods are also becoming more frequent and severe, which can damage crops and make it difficult for farmers to access water for irrigation.
In addition, pests and diseases are expected to become more prevalent as the climate changes, further reducing crop yields.
Human activities, such as the use of fossil fuels, deforestation, wetland encroachment, and unsustainable agriculture contribute to climate change, which decreases the availability of nutritious food and clean water and destroys ecosystems and secure living environments.
This leads to malnutrition, ill health, and migration. These factors, if not handled properly by the Government, are likely to lead to increased food insecurity and malnutrition, particularly among vulnerable populations such as smallholder farmers and communities living in poverty.
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