Uganda’s leading experts in economics, climate change, and agribusiness have called for a re-think of efforts to address poverty and concerted discussions on its social and environment dimensions if the injustice is to be eliminated. Speaking during a televised discussion organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) held on October 17, 2020, participants also underscored the role of agricultural sector in reducing poverty.

The two hour discussion was aired live on NBS TV, and featured Hon. Victoria Sekietoleko, Chairperson of the governing board of Uganda Agribusiness Alliance; Dr. Samuel Mugasi, Executive Director of National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS); Dr. Swaibu Mbowa, Research Fellow at the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC); with opening and closing statements from UNDP Uganda Resident Representative, Ms. Elsie Attafuah, and FAO Representative in Uganda, Dr. Antonio Querido.

Boosting agriculture is key to fighting poverty

This year’s celebration was held under the theme, “Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all.” With this in mind, the live discussion was framed under the topic “Taking stock of the contribution of the agricultural sector to alleviating poverty in Uganda,” which highlighted salient issues in Uganda’s journey towards poverty eradication and discussed necessary actions for building forward better after disasters.

“We need to look at the multi-dimensional nature of poverty”, said Ms. Attafuah, the UNDP Uganda Resident Representative. She added, “We must look beyond income poverty, where a lot of progress has been made worldwide, to also look at the social and environmental dimensions. This is because, we cannot achieve social justice for all without addressing environmental injustices such as forest, wetlands and land degradation. Importantly, we can utilize environmental assets such as water, wildlife, forests, energy resources to achieve food, water and energy security, and therefore, social justice.”

Similarly, FAO Representative in Uganda Dr. Antonio Querido said, “Poverty is not solely an economic issue, but rather a multidimensional phenomenon. Persons living in poverty experience interrelated and mutually reinforcing deprivations that hinder them from realizing their rights and perpetuate their poverty, including dangerous work conditions, unsafe housing, lack of nutritious food, unequal access to justice, and limited access to health care. However, investing in agriculture has great impact on long-term poverty reduction and agriculture investment is the main gateway to food security, reducing vulnerability of the population, especially for the majority rural poor.” 

Agricultural at the centre of rural transformation

The ninety-minute panel discussion offered a number of short and long-term strategies needed to achieve inclusive and sustainable agricultural production and distribution systems in Uganda. In light of frequent shocks such as droughts, floods, locust infestation, and COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Victoria Sekitoleko, who was formally the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries noted that Uganda has achieved remarkable results in reducing poverty over the past decades, mainly driven by the agriculture sector. From 1992 to 2013, the percentage of Ugandan households living in poverty was halved, but vulnerability to external shocks remains high. For every three Ugandans who get out of poverty, two fall back in. 

From the sustainable reduction of poverty context, Dr. Mugasi and Dr. Mbowa highlighted the vulnerability of agriculture and rural livelihoods to natural disasters in Uganda. For example, it is believed that the 2016/2017 drought contributed to the increase the poverty rate from 19.7 percent in 2013 to 21.4 percent in 2017. Both Dr. Mugasi and Dr. Mbowa agreed that a multi-layered approach is needed to achieve inclusive and sustainable rural transformation in the country, saying that it relies heavily on family, culture, schools and leadership. It is imperative that all four work together in Uganda’s push for agricultural resilience. 

Further, Dr. Mugasi made strong reference to channeling the power of the youth to help drive the agricultural sector through holistic education and strengthening linkages between agriculture and non-agriculture, modernizing farming to bringing produce to the market. Closing the gaps in production cycles can better position Uganda for stronger delivery on the world stage. Additionally, improvements in agricultural insurance and managing risk through other insurance and financial mechanisms was discussed as an important component for de-risking the agricultural sector and ensuring resilience in the rural community.