“Now there is a difference”: a look at climate change adaptation in Uganda

The video, Climate Action in Uganda, showcases recent work in the country’s Central Region, where FAO, in partnership with the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) has been helping farmers adapt and respond to dry periods, drought, and other effects of climate change.

The initiative started by bringing local farmers together in farmer field schools, where they identified key problems and developed solutions and plans for the future. For the first time, pastoralists began to grow drought-resistant pasture, enabling them to feed their cattle during dry seasons and periods of drought. And the villagers learned to harvest water and store it for later in the year, for both the cattle and for their crops.

Among those interviewed in the video is Proscovia Nakibuye, a woman farmer from the Nakaseke District. “The best thing,” she remarks, “is that we actually got some benefits from climate change.”

“We have learned how to plant pastures and we have also been taught good livestock keeping,” she explains. “We used to get less milk, but now there is a difference,” she adds, noting that each cow now produces about 15 litres a day. “We have managed to save some money because of [the] increase in milk production.”

The improved farming measures are also making a positive impact in other ways. Proscovia noted that in the past, the children of the community were not able to go to school, “because they would have to go and graze the cows, and had to walk as far as 5 km away,” she explains. “But now there is a difference. There has been a change.”