A farmer from Moroto District, Karamoja region holding vegetables harvested from her garden. Through the GEF Project, farmers in the semi-arid region will enhance their agriculture production through better technologies for improved food security.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme and the Government of Uganda, have launched a new five-year food security and ecosystems resilience initiative for the Karamoja region in North-Eastern Uganda. 

The new project entitled “Fostering Sustainability and Resilience for Food Security in the Karamoja Region (SURE–Karamoja),” will focus on rehabilitating ecosystem services through restoration, agro-forestry, natural regeneration and sound pasture management, among other activities.

Funded by the Global Environment Fund to a tune of US$ 7 million, SURE-Karamoja is an integrated multisector initiative targeting smallholder farmers and is expected to contribute to enhancing long-term environmental sustainability and resilience of food production systems in the region.

Speaking at the launch in Moroto District, the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon Vincent Ssempijja, said that the new initiative will build on and add value to existing development projects by delivering innovative practices, technologies and approaches that enhance the resilience

“Pastoralists rely on rain-fed systems. The effects of climate change, especially droughts and floods, on agricultural production have been significant, affecting production and productivity of livestock as well as most staple crops. This has increased vulnerability of the people in the region. This project is therefore timely given that it will address some of the critical climate change related challenges,” said Hon Ssempijja.

SURE-Karamoja will largely focus on the drivers of environmental degradation to curtail loss of ecosystem services and enhance sustainable food production by: strengthening institutional frameworks for improving food security; scaling up integrated approaches at sub-national and landscape levels; and monitoring and assessing the global environmental benefits generated.

The Moroto District Local Council Five Chairman, Mr Andrew Napaja, said that more people in Karamoja are now interested in large scale farming but are faced with immense challenges which affect their production and productivity.

“Karamoja needs water for production. I am happy to say that FAO has given us water for our livestock but it’s not enough – we need more water for irrigation if we are to be a sustainable region. My hope is that this new project will address our needs to enable the Karamojong settle down, produce their own food and achieve food security in the long run,”  said Mr Napaja.

Communities in four districts of Karamoja including Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong, and Nakapiripirit will benefit from this project. FAO will work with communities through its flagship approach – the Agro-Pastoral Farmer Field Schools to demonstrate and promote climate smart agricultural practices which increase crop yields while protecting the environment. This approach has been tested successfully in other ‘cattle-corridor’ districts in Eastern Uganda where yields of crops such as beans and maize have significantly as a result of adopting smart agriculture practices.

The Food and Agriculture Organization Deputy Country Representative and - currently - also Acting Representative for FAO in Uganda, Ms. Priya Gujadhur, said that the project will devote considerable efforts in working towards an inclusive and gender transformative approach to ensure that food security is achieved in a more sustainable and resilient environment.

“FAO has been working in the region to strengthen food security systems and build resilience. This project will build on what FAO and other UN agencies have done in the region, scaling up those practices and approaches that worked through previous initiatives,” said Ms Gujadhur.

The project will be implemented by Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry & Fisheries (MAAIF), FAO and UNDP, with support from the four District Local Governments and various other partners from the private sector and civil society.

FAO previously successfully implemented another initiative whose aim was to strengthen the adaptive capacity of Agro-Pastoral communities and Local governments to reduce impacts of climate risk on livelihoods in all seven districts of Karamoja. Some of the outputs of this project included establishment of 43 water for production facilities, seven (7) solar-powered multipurpose water facilities, 21 rainwater harvesting reservoirs, 14 subsurface dams, and one (1) rock catchment.   These facilities enable communities access water for production and livestock, especially through periods of extended dry spells, which previously used to cause the communities to temporarily move from one area to another in search of water and pasture. The communities now responsibly use natural resources to facilitate agriculture and rear their livestock. In addition, FAO rehabilitated 1,000 acres of rangelands along the dry-season migratory routes, with improved legume varieties for better animal nutrition.