Weak systems responsible for recurring food crisis

Today agriculture is facing major challenges, including how to feed a growing world population, how to reduce rural poverty in the world, and how to manage ecosystem goods and services considering global environmental change.

As a result, a food systems approach has been widely adopted to identify, analyse, and assess the impact and feedback of the systems different actors, activities, and outcomes to help identify intervention points for enhancing food security.

The food system includes not only the basic elements of how we get our food from farm to fork, but also all the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population; for example, farming systems, agricultural ecosystems, economic systems, and social systems, water systems, energy systems, financing systems, marketing systems, policy systems, cooking systems, and so on.

Uganda’s Food Systems are at risk because of the country’s vulnerability to climate change. We have sensitive economies, multiple stresses, low resilience, endemic poverty, corrupt and weak institutions, recurrent droughts and floods, complex emergencies, and conflicts that have led to IDPs and influx of refugee. 

Drought has had detrimental impacts on crop and livestock farming systems in Uganda, but less attention has been given to address causes and its impacts.

Uganda experiences increasingly extreme weather events characterised by erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, flooding and increased incidence of pests and diseases.

Drought is by far the costliest natural disaster to Uganda’s food systems. As a result, agriculture productivity has declined thus a major threat to her citizens and competitiveness. Rainfall remained below or over and above-average resulting to below-average domestic food supplies. It has led to negative impacts, including food and water crises for crops, livestock, human, and industrial use. Rain-fed agriculture remains the dominant source of staple food production and the livelihood foundation of rural poor in Uganda.

Climate change places Uganda’s poor, vulnerable women, and youth at the greatest risk. The population with potential to produce its own food has remained typically dependent on markets to access staple food, amidst rising food prices by 10-50 per cent. As a result, most poor rural households have no food and normal income from crop and livestock sales. Amidst sky rocking prices of food, many households, especially in Teso are in crisis and are facing food consumption gaps, struggling to afford one meal in a day, eating cheaper, less preferred foods.

Sometimes are borrowing or seeking additional labour opportunities in community, nearby urban centres to earn income to purchase food. Sometime are only meeting basic food needs through the sale of land and other productive assets but still unable to support normal livelihood activities and are stressed.

There is fear many children may not return to school for second term as parents are struggling to meet food requirements. Children are being used by families as labour force to generate income to afford at least a single meal for the family. Theft and other forms of crime, domestic violence is on increase because of food crisis. There are limited options and copying mechanisms of survival during this crisis as families struggle to put food on the table.

Moreover, global climate models predict significant further increases in temperature. It is very likely that heat waves will be more intense, more frequent, and longer lasting in a future warmer climate. Cold episodes are projected to decrease significantly in a future warmer climate. As a result of global warming, floods, droughts, risk of desertification and heavy precipitation events, are expected to rise even with relatively small average temperature increases. 

One of the lessons of Covid-19 is that food systems throughout the world appear to differ in their resilience. Weak food systems affect agricultural production, processing, and distribution, therefore, poor food supply and demand in national and local markets.

Governments and businesses all over the world want action taken once and for all on the “damaging” status quo in global farming. Is Uganda in the same thinking and move?

Nevertheless, its very clear that we must be better prepared for the next shock, a shock that could appear totally different from Covid-19.

Uganda’s policy makers and implementers need to know/plan for food systems transformation to more resilient to the next shocks, which will certainly follow. The next shock to affect food systems could be more complex and completely different from the present pandemic and climate change.                                                                                    David Ogwang                                               MSc. Agro Ecology & BSc. Agriculture.  [email protected]

Weak systems responsible for recurring food crisis

Today  agriculture is facing major challenges, including how to feed a growing world population, how to reduce rural poverty in the world, and how to manage ecosystem goods and services considering global environmental change.

As a result, a food systems approach has been widely adopted to identify, analyse, and assess the impact and feedback of the systems different actors, activities and outcomes to help identify intervention points for enhancing food security.

The food system includes not only the basic elements of how we get our food from farm to fork, but also all the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population; for example, farming systems, agricultural ecosystems, economic systems, and social systems, water systems, energy systems, financing systems, marketing systems, policy systems, cooking systems, and so on.

Uganda’s Food Systems is at risk because of the country’s vulnerability to climate change. We have sensitive economies, multiple stresses, low resilience, endemic poverty, corrupt and weak institutions, recurrent droughts and floods, complex emergencies, and conflicts that have led to IDPs and influx of refugee. 

Drought has had detrimental impacts on crop and livestock farming systems in Uganda, but less attention has been given to address causes and its impacts.

Uganda experiences increasingly extreme weather events characterised by erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts, flooding and increased incidence of pests and diseases.

Drought is by far the costliest natural disaster to Uganda’s food systems. As a result, agriculture productivity has declined thus a major threat to her citizens and competitiveness. Rainfall remained below or over and above-average resulting to below-average domestic food supplies. It has led to negative impacts, including food and water crises for crops, livestock, human, and industrial use. Rain-fed agriculture remains the dominant source of staple food production and the livelihood foundation of rural poor in Uganda.

Climate change places Uganda’s poor, vulnerable women, and youth at the greatest risk. The population with potential to produce its own food has remained typically dependent on markets to access staple food, amidst rising food prices by 10-50 per cent. As a result, most poor rural households have no food and normal income from crop and livestock sales. Amidst sky rocking prices of food, many households, especially in Teso are in crisis and are facing food consumption gaps, struggling to afford one meal in a day, eating cheaper, less preferred foods.

Sometimes are borrowing or seeking additional labour opportunities in community, nearby urban centres to earn income to purchase food. Sometime are only meeting basic food needs through the sale of land and other productive assets but still unable to support normal livelihood activities and are stressed.

There is fear many children may not return to school for second term as parents are struggling to meet food requirements. Children are being used by families as labour force to generate income to afford at least a single meal for the family. Theft and other forms of crime, domestic violence is on increase because of food crisis. There are limited options and copying mechanisms of survival during this crisis as families struggle to put food on the table.

Moreover, global climate models predict significant further increases in temperature. It is very likely that heat waves will be more intense, more frequent, and longer lasting in a future warmer climate. Cold episodes are projected to decrease significantly in a future warmer climate. As a result of global warming, floods, droughts, risk of desertification and heavy precipitation events, are expected to rise even with relatively small average temperature increases. 

One of the lessons of Covid-19 is that food systems throughout the world appear to differ in their resilience. Weak food systems affect agricultural production, processing, and distribution, therefore, poor food supply and demand in national and local markets.

Governments and businesses all over the world want action taken once and for all on the “damaging” status quo in global farming. Is Uganda in the same thinking and move?

Nevertheless, its very clear that we must be better prepared for the next shock, a shock that could appear totally different from Covid-19.

Uganda’s policy makers and implementers need to know/plan for food systems transformation to more resilient to the next shocks, which will certainly follow. The next shock to affect food systems could be more complex and completely different from the present pandemic and climate change. 

David Ogwang MSc. Agro-Ecology & BSc. Agriculture.  [email protected]