About FAO News Multimedia Main topics Statistics Members Publications

Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans (SCALA) 

Uganda
Uganda
Country overview

Uganda experiences the effects of climate change in the form of increased temperatures, frequent disease outbreaks and insect infestations, disrupted rainfall patterns, and frequent floods and droughts. While Uganda has progressively undergone social and economic growth and transformation, consequently reducing its poverty rate by 23 percent over the last two decades, sustained gains will require continued investments in agriculture, and inclusive participation in the economic growth of women as well the population reported poor in 2019. With 81 percent of the population engaged in rain-fed subsistence farming for food and cash income, the country’s reliance on rain-fed agriculture remains a risk to economic growth, income of farmers, as well as export earnings. Agriculture contributes up to 40 percent of Uganda’s total GDP and over 90 percent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The agriculture sector contributes to 27 percent of emissions, followed by the land-use and forestry sectors with approximately 60 percent of emissions.

Uganda’s climate change plans and priorities

Uganda was part of the FAO and UNDP supported Integrating Agriculture in National Adaptation Plans (NAP-Ag) Programme from 2015-2020, and developed a gender-responsive National Adaptation Plan (NAP) for the agriculture sector and its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework which now requires implementation support.

Uganda has undertaken steps to implement the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and increase its ambition. The country developed its latest NDC through inclusive and participatory processes and aligned the NDC with its climate-resilient, long-term emission strategy. Most significant is Uganda’s formulation of the National Climate Change Act 2021 to give the force of law to the Paris Agreement.

Based on the  first and  updated interim NDC, Uganda continues to prioritize adaptation as the first response to climate change and aims to strengthen mitigation actions, starting with the expansion of extension services and climate-related information. The country is committed to working on reducing climate change vulnerability and addressing climate actions in several key economic sectors including energy, waste, and industrial processes and product use (IPPU). As well agriculture and livestock, forestry, sustainable land management (SLM), and sustainable natural resources management (mainly wetlands and natural forests restoration, open water bodies protection), are considered as the country’s greatest source of emissions. The country will scale up to increase resilience and adaptability at the community level and leverage synergies with the county’s land-based mitigation goals.

Overcoming barriers in the implementation of climate plans

Uganda experiences different types of barriers in achieving its agriculture climate goals mainly in the cattle corridor and the agriculture and land use sectors. Smallholder farmers particularly women, youth, and poorer households are facing challenges in implementing climate adaptation and mitigation measures such as erratic food prices, limited knowledge and skills for climate-smart agriculture, and lack of transportation and processing infrastructure. Moreover, limited agricultural insurance schemes, inadequate access to finance, and limited access and control of land and other production resources make it hard for them to invest in climate action plans. The limited integration and coordination mechanisms among relevant actors and policy gaps related to food quality and safety are the main challenges faced at a governance level.

SCALA in action

In Uganda, SCALA focuses on promoting climate-resilient agriculture solutions in the cattle corridor landscape. SCALA supports the translation of the 2021 updated NDC and 2018 NAP-Ag priorities into actionable district-level adaptation and development plans, with a strong focus on integrating gender considerations and promoting private sector engagement.  

A holistic systems-level assessment, evaluating the resilience of five mixed farming systems in the cattle corridor landscape was successfully completed. This assessment aimed to generate local-level adaptation and mitigation solutions that will be integrated into local development plans and contribute to NDC implementation. The results of the assessment have been validated and will be incorporated into district adaptation planning and budgeting processes. SCALA is also supporting Uganda's district governments in mainstreaming NDC and NAP priorities into district-level development plans.   

SCALA contributed to a private sector mapping and profiling initiative in the cassava, cocoa, beef, and banana value chains in the cattle corridor. The aim was to identify business opportunities for private sector engagement and investment in transformative climate action solutions.   

SCALA contributed to the operationalization of Uganda’s integrated monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) tool through a two-week training for 60 technical staff and key stakeholders from the agriculture, forestry, and land-use sectors from the government, civil society, private sector, and academia. The training included sessions on multi-stakeholder collaboration and systems leadership and culminated in the development of an action plan to support the functioning of the integrated MRV through data collection, analysis, and reporting. 

Finally, SCALA played a key role in convening and facilitating a validation workshop for the country’s Agricultural Long-Term Low Emissions and Climate Resilience Development Strategy. 

Moving ahead – 2024 and beyond 

Moving ahead, SCALA in Uganda aims to: 

  • Support district planners to integrate climate change adaptation planning into their district-level adaptation and development planning, paying particular attention to gender equality and social inclusion safeguards. 
  • Contribute to the adoption of the Agriculture Long-Term Strategy and its incorporation into the National Economy-wide Long-Term Strategy. 
  • Support the application and use of the MRV tool through the implementation of the Action Plan, including data collection, analysis, and reporting.  
  • Support the operationalization and use of disaster risk screening tools at the district level 
  • Develop de-risking measures for private sector engagement and financing of climate action in the cattle corridor. 
  • Develop business cases, economic feasibility studies and project concept notes to catalyze private sector investment in the transformative climate action solutions identified in the systems-level assessment.