Ugandan farmer and agronomist Edward Mukiibi is helping steer Slow Food from its Italian origins towards a movement with stronger roots in Africa and other regions where small-scale farmers are central to food production. His journey from rural Uganda to the leadership of Slow Food illustrates the organization’s expanding geographical focus and its efforts to connect the protection of local food cultures with biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and farmers’ livelihoods. The Reuters profile traces Mukiibi’s involvement with the movement and the experiences that have shaped his approach to its international work.

As president of Slow Food, Mukiibi advocates food systems that value locally adapted crops, traditional knowledge and diverse production systems rather than dependence on standardized varieties and intensive production models. His perspective reflects challenges faced by farmers in Uganda and elsewhere, including climate pressures, declining agricultural biodiversity and limited recognition of local food heritage. The profile also highlights Slow Food’s work through communities and producer networks that seek to conserve foods, seeds and farming practices while strengthening connections between producers and consumers. Mukiibi’s leadership signals a broader evolution of a movement founded in Italy in the 1980s, bringing greater attention to the priorities and knowledge of farmers in Africa and across the Global South.