FAO in Uganda

Our office

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a multilateral agency established in 1945 with the mandate to monitor the global supplies of food, fibre and forest products and to enhance their production. It is a source of knowledge and information, and also helps developing countries to modernize and improve agriculture, fisheries and forestry practices, to ensure good nutrition and food security for all.

FAO and Uganda have a long history of cooperation. The Organization’s technical assistance in the country began as early as 1959 in the areas of aquaculture development and livestock disease control. Cooperation has increased since the opening of FAO’s representation in 1981, with interventions comprising national policy and programme formulation, agricultural and rural development projects, and emergency and rehabilitation assistance. More recently, emphasis has been given to building resilience to the effects of climate change.

FAO’s cooperation with Uganda Government is shaped by the Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2015-2019, jointly developed with the Government and other partners.

The CPF is a joint framework which forms the basis for strategic cooperation over the next five years between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of the Republic of Uganda. The CPF is fully aligned with national and regional development priorities as well as the UN Development Assistance Framework for Uganda.

Over the years, the stature and influence of FAO in Uganda has grown considerably. Currently, the country programme comprises well over 20 projects with a combined budget of close to 80 million USD, which makes FAO one of Uganda’s significant development partners. FAO projects are mainly field-based, addressing on-ground pertinent issues.

Until 2010, FAO’s support programme emphasized emergency and rehabilitation following two decades of insurgency in Northern and North Eastern Uganda. The current CPF however, focuses more on long-term development objectives aimed at revitalizing agricultural production and productivity and spurring economic development for the country.

FAO Uganda therefore falls under the Development Programme. FAO’s development interventions aim to support and build resilient agriculture-based livelihoods. Our interventions focus on crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry and their interaction with the environment, Climate change and building resilience. Further, FAO gives guidance in drafting effective legislation and creating national strategies to achieve transformational development and alleviate hunger.