Invest in Storage, Irrigation, and Mindset Change to make agriculture lucrative - MP Songa

UGANDA - Hon. Biyika Lawrence Songa Member of Parliament Ora County, Zombo district and Chairperson Parliament's Committee on Climate Change says there is need to invest in storage, irrigation and mindset change to make agriculture look lucrative. He made the remarks while discussing how critical climate change is to Uganda as a panelist during the just concluded annual Uganda Water and Environment Week 2023 organized by the Ministry of Water and Environment that ended on Friday 17th March 2023.

Hon. Songa said it is critical to understand the linkages between agriculture and the economy because agriculture is the backbone of Uganda's economy. "Though we have rain-fed agriculture, we do not have technologies that can help get water for production. Most small scale farmers are women in semi-arid areas engaging in monoculture, some in post-conflict areas which are heavily populated which results into land shortage and are prone to disasters," he revealed.

Hon. Songa says that small scale farmers can not generate enough sustainable income from agriculture resources to power our economy. On the issue of agro-indiatralization, he appealed for the application of production to be doubled to offer food security or surplus food to power industries. "Uganda must have industrial energy which is heavily dependent on the environment. We lose a lot of produce because of lack of power and also bad harvesting as half of the produce is lost through processing and another half through storage," he revealed. Hon.Songa says there is need to invest in storage, irrigation and mindset change to make agriculture look lucrative to encourage the youth.

Meanwhile, while commenting on sustainable financing and partnerships with the Ministry of Water and Environment, Hon. Songa advocates for the international community to cancel Uganda's debts and the resources be channeled to the water and environment space.

"Climate change is caused by the industrialized countries hence the need for them to return the favour," Hon. Songa highlighted. Meanwhile, another panelist Simon Peter Weredwong, Acting Country Director WWF Uganda says Uganda has sufficient policies, guidelines, and regulations mainly about mitigation and adaptation to water and environment although resilience has come along the way. He revealed that the some policies will be reviewed in two years to come because climate change is cross cutting from the grassroots to national level.

Also, the Chief Guest during the official closure of the Water and Environment Week 2023, Hon. Rukia Isanga Nakadama, Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Without Portfolio in her speech read by the Ministry of Water and Environment Permanent Secretary, Dr. Alfred Okidi said that water and environment resources are connectors and catalysts of Uganda's socio-economic growth. Uganda is faced with challenges of climate change and environmental degradation and according to Hon. Nakadama, agriculture land, rapid urbanization have put pressure on environmental resources hence the creation of innovations as an urgent response. Hon. Nakadama added that there is need for strategic partnerships, adequate capacity building, and harnessing synergies with cultural, academia, NGOs, and other agencies. She pledged government support to continue lobbying for adequate resources for the sector and reiterated government's commitment to work on the outcomes and recommendations from the sixth Water and Environment Week 2023 which she said will be implemented.

The Uganda Water and Environment Week(UWEWK) is a weeklong event that is organized annually by the Ministry of Water and Environment through the Water Resources Institute. Since its inception in 2018, the event seeks to contribute towards the attainment of Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation and accelerating Uganda's National Development Plan and Vision 2040. The event provides an interface between sector actors and other stakeholders for knowledge exchange, advocacy, influencing, dialouging, and learning for sustainable management and development of Uganda's water and environmental resources.

This year, UWEWK2023 explored;

The linkage between climate resilience and economic growth amidst emerging challenges in the management and development of water and environment resources, and the need for a systematic review of linkages, policy options, and knowledge gaps. The balance between pre-disaster and post-disaster investment needs.

Innovative financing to improve access to capital for medium and long-term investments in water and environment resources management and developments to support climate change resilient communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure. A better understanding of which tools work well for vulnerable populations and recognizing that different tools might be needed to respond to different needs.

The overall theme of UWEWK 2023 was, "water and environment for climate-resilient development" with the following sub- themes proposed to elaborate on the role of water and environment resources for climate change resilient development:

a) Policy, legal and institutional frameworks for Climate-resilient development
b) Climate resilient communities, ecosystems, and infrastructure
c) Capacity and partnerships for climate-resilient development
d) innovative financing mechanisms.

The overall goal of UWEWK 2023 was improved understanding of the linkages between climate resilience, economic growth, and improved livelihood of communities in emerging challenges in management and development of water and environment resources in Uganda, and the need for a systematic review of linkages, policy options and knowledge gaps with a view of addressing these challenges.

The National Organizing Committee UWEWK 2023 comprised of;

Dr. Florence Grace Adongo, Director of Water Resources Management Ministry of Water and Environment, Chairperson, National Organizing Committee. Dr. Calliat Tindimugaya, Commissioner, Water Resource Planning and Regulation Ministry of Water and Environment who served as Chairperson, Technical Committee.

The 7th UWEWK 2024 will be held in the first two weeks of March 2024.