Train farmers in climate-smart agriculture - minister

By Prossy Nandudu

KAMPALA - Agriculture minister Tress Bucyanayandi has called for more innovations in the agriculture sector to help farmers cope with the changing climate in the East African region.

Effects of climate change such as drought, floods, landslides, pests and diseases are already being felt, as evidenced by reduced food production and harvests, said the minister.

"Climate change is already affecting food production systems therefore the livelihoods of millions of people, especially women, who depend on agriculture for a living is at stake.”

Bucyanayandi feels the agriculture sector has the biggest potential to contribute to climate change mitigation through reducing emissions, improving production or creating carbon sinks.

"This can be done if farmers are given skills and measures of implementing smart-climate agriculture practices like mulching, water harvesting and storage, agro forestry,” he said.

Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach that aims at developing the technical, policy and investment conditions to achieve sustainable agricultural development for food security under climate change.

The minister was speaking in Kampala at the launch of a new climate-smart agriculture platform in a meeting, organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) supported by COMESA-EAC-SADC.

In the meeting, experts recognized the need for all countries to have functioning national CSA task forces in order to promote such efforts at country level.

Deputy FAO country representative Massimo Castiello said the climate-smart agriculture concept tackles climate change in an integrated manner by sustainably increasing productivity; building resilience of people to climate change and weather variability; and contributing to climate change mitigation measures as a priority for the sub-region.

"In this way food security and climate change can be addressed together by transforming agricultural production and adopting agricultural practices that are climate-smart," said Castiello.

The meeting brought together participants from ministries of agriculture in six eastern African countries and key regional economic communities (EAC and IGAD) to deliberate on issues around the adoption and sustained practice of farming.