Following the 2nd Africa EBA for food security conference convened on 30-31 July 2015 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) Africa  and partners where over 1200 delegates from all across Africa adopted the Nairobi Action Agenda and the Constitution of the Ecosystems Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly (EBAFOSA), the instruments establishing the Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security Assembly, the EBAFOSA Uganda  National Branch has been launched. EBAFOSA is an inclusive pan-African policy framework and implementation platform to ensure EBA driven agriculture and its value-chains, especially clean energy access, enhanced access to markets and enhanced access to affordable agro-financing, are up-scaled to being the norm in policy and practice across the entire continent to catalyze agro-industrialization and to ensure that grandeur development blueprints, especially Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, COP21 outcomes and the AU Agenda 2063 are adequately domesticated and implemented,.

Article 7 of the EBAFOSA constitution establishes the structure of EBAFOSA and Country branches are the critical component where impactful activities are undertaken in a country led process. Country branches register local, continental and global actors within the country and facilitate their interactions and mutual partnership to bridge gaps in policy processes, techniques, technology, markets, commercialization, and finance and achieve implementation.

It is against this backdrop that the Uganda National Branch hosted by the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFF), the biggest farmers’ federation   was launched on 22nd July at Hotel Africana in Kampala, under the theme “Re-shaping Uganda’s food security and climate resilience through EBAFOSA”. The launch event under the leadership of the EBAFOSA Uganda officials, and the government, academia, the private sector, and the non-governmental, attracted over 200 stakeholders representing multiple sectors from government, academia, NGOs, CSOs, individual professionals & citizens, farmers, resident UN agencies with strong media coverage to enhance awareness across the country.

The EBAFOSA Uganda was officially launched by the Minister of Environment and Agriculture. In his statement the minister of Environment highlighted that EBAFOSA is an impressive initiative and very innovative. He observed that it fills the void that has long existed in the continent and the country of targeted mutual partnerships to mobilize means of implementation and bridge implementation gaps. 

He noted that the government has many plans and policies and there has been no implementation framework and platform. He therefore applauded the coming of EBAFOSA as timely to help Uganda bring both state and non-state actors to implement the SDGs and the Paris Agreement for socio-economic, climate resilient growth in Uganda.

He noted that through EBAFOSA, Government Plans will be translated into implementation action especially in the area of energy, food security and climate resilience.

He further noted that Uganda will commemorate the National day of Food security and resilience as a milestone of EBAFOSA in Uganda yearly.

The Minister of Agriculture noted that under the changing climate, where everyone is needed to provide solutions, the launch of EBAFOSA makes a new beginning where talk is shifted to action with everyone brought on board to address the topical challenge of food insecurity. He further noted that the expansion of the agro value chain through harnessing clean energy is the catalyst that will unleash the potential of a sector that is not optimally performing. He concluded by observing that bringing everyone on board is the only way we can solve problems.

On her part, the UN resident coordinator Ms. Rosa Malango made clear that moving from Talk to Action is the only way to address the SDGs and EBAFOSA provides a timely platform. She observed that lack of connection and doing things in silos have affected development and EBAFOSA is the needed framework and platform to take this forward

She noted that EBAFOSA is applying innovation and creating opportunities through building partnerships and operationalizing global grandeur agenda within local context and putting youths at the center. She further expounded on EBAFOSA premise of partnerships, by observing that resources are ideas, talent and networks. That this is what EBAFOSA taps into to leverage the innovative ideas of youth and promoting a Green transformation which is key.

She pledged her full support towards ensuring EBAFOSA Uganda succeeds.

As noted earlier, the host of EBAFOSA Uganda is UNFF, an umbrella farmers’ federation, with membership spanning the entire agro-value chain. In their remarks, UNFF President noted that as the biggest farmers’ federation and as the host of EBAFOSA, they were humbled that the collective solutions to enhancing Uganda’s environment through working with nature and ensuring livelihoods are improved has come. He noted that EBAFOSA is a very innovative initiative and it’s been long awaited for and that it was an honor to be “nurturing the baby” for Uganda and Africa.

The broad participation in the launch, especially cross-cutting policy level, UN and other development partners, academia, individual professionals & citizens, private sector coupled with significant media coverage was a crucial achievement for the EBAFOSA Uganda branch. This in ensuring the launch catalyzes progress in the EBAFOSA stakeholder promotion & mobilization and strategic partnership building, the crucial tenets towards EBAFOSA’s mandate of building targeted policy & action solutions for optimized, climate resilient food systems in Uganda and Africa.

EBAFOSA Uganda becomes the 8th National branch to be launched.

Congratulations EBAFOSA Uganda!