Uganda to Host the East Africa Food Security Symposium In Kansanga

UGANDA is set to host the East Africa Food Security Symposium & Expo, a food security convention organized by the Climate Action East Africa (CCAEA) to raise awareness and discuss the current global trends on food security in light of the rapidly changing global climate conditions.

The 2022 edition of the East Africa Food Security Symposium & Expo , an annual global event will be held between14th – 16th October in at the International University of East Africa (IUEA) -Kampala, Uganda under the theme “Linking Climate Change, Food security, Nutrition and Wellbeing.”

Speaking to our reporter at the Secretariat at Katonga Road- Kampala, Uganda, Ronald Lwabaayi, the Co-founder & Team Leader at Climate Change Action East Africa (CCAEA) said the symposium will be the arena for brainstorming and knowledge sharing of functional responses to climate change induced food insecurity among the wide range of participants .

‘’ The symposium will undertake topics and discussions on; Climate change adaption and mitigation as a region while sharing the principles and practices of food security, nutrition and climate change’’, said Lwabaayi.

The symposium will be attended by Academia, research specialists and climatologists, Central and local governments, policy makers and legislators, Civil Society and development partners, Private Sector, Diplomatic missions, Innovators, Industrialists,, Agriculturalists, Business community and the General public.

Among  the activities to carried out include among others; Main Plenary Session, Workshops and break-out sessions, High-level business to business discussions on strategy, green financing and best practice for better climate management, food security and nutrition. There will also be Excursions to Agricultural Presidential Demonstration farms, protected areas and places of interest.

It will also discuss Innovative financing for agriculture while demonstrating the importance of environmentally sustainable farming traditions while integrating aspects of modern agriculture and nutrient agricultural practices, Technology and innovation in value chains for food and nutrition security, Women and youth in agriculture outlining skills training for sustainable agriculture, value addition and nutrient based output and Aligning food and agricultural policy in the East African economic community.

Experts say food insecurity occurrences signal a failure or absence of strategic response systems including food insecurity threat detection, storage, transportation, distribution, processing, seed preservation and albeit effective utilization of food.

According to information from CCAEA, food production planning in these regions seems not to be shifting or informed by climate change that is already reflected by its markers – increasing temperature (>0.50C) and rainfall .

According to Uganda National Meteorological Authority – UNMA, climate outlook reports from 2020 to date, the rainfall onset times and cessation time have shifted, rainfall intensity is variable – very high is Lake Victoria Region and Mountain hilly areas of Elgon and Rwenzori (causing floods) and low in the North and Northeastern parts of Uganda (drought conditions).

All these fluctuations if not factored into food production systems planning are tarmac roads for food insecurity, hunger, and death.

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS, 2021) defines smallholder farmers as those who usually cultivate less than one hectare of land in a cropping season, practice labor intensive farming using rudimentary technology especially the hand hoes, own a few heads of cattle, and produce mainly for family consumption.

These small holder farmers dominate the rural Uganda setting and are the bedrock for the food systems production. They by default are the ones that bare the unprotected wrath of climate change driven impacts like drought and floods and ultimately food insecurity for the rest of the population.

‘’The fluctuations of food production and availability due to climate change impacts can only therefore be mitigated if the small holder farmer productive capacity and productivity is deliberately enhanced’’, added Lwabaayi.

The government’s initiatives such as investing in micro scale irrigations schemes and taking over seed production are appropriate response measures focusing attention to climate change driven food insecurity.

CCAEA with partners in Tanzania, Kenya and the East African Community Secretariat have rolled out a program to promote environment and climate change altruism stewardships in the East African region by being consistent applicants of government laws, strategies, environmental assessment reports, and national communication reports among others as tools to champion climate change & food security stewardship.

CCAEA considers the aspect of food security in the East Africa region as of uttermost concern that climate change can dis – equilibrate causing enormous distortions in economies.

The recent data release by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for the region shows high weather variability which has already triggered water scarcity in region and resultant food shortages already observable.

Holding Food Security Symposia and Expos annually in the capitals of the EAC Partner States is now taken to be the most imperative way of promoting awareness of climate change impacts on food systems and consequential energization of countries to plan & budget for climate change impacts and as well implement their national climate change global commitments.

The event is expected to: increase understanding of the risks associated with climate change on food security and natural hazards; promote application of early warning systems to reduce humanitarian and extreme impacts of climate change on society; increase adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation and resilience actions, including the extent to which they advance food crisis as insecurity in the region; provide a platform for climate smart technologies exposure and engagement and to facilitate smallholder farmers to show case their products and share their innovations responses to the challenges impacting farmers due to climate change.

Further, it will be the arena for open discussion- brainstorming and knowledge sharing of functional responses to climate change induced food insecurity among the wide range of participants from Private sector, Academia, Development Partners, Agricultural, Energy, water, and environment Sectors among others.

The overall outcome of the symposium is the realization of food insecurity as the ultimate impact of climate change and hence galvanization of governments and the wider public to plan and provide budgets (an integral aspect of national processes) for early response to climate change.

Hunger in the horn of Africa and in many parts of East Africa in the past year has been experiencing hunger due to acute food shortages.

The recent images from Karamoja sub-region in Uganda attests to this but reflects extreme poverty as its main driver given the availability of food in the markets and in the other parts of the country.

 

Source: Red Pepper