Sustainable Food Nutrition in Uganda, Tapping Into Indigenous Wisdom

Uganda, a nation endowed with rich cultural traditions, varied ecosystems, and fertile soils, is located in the center of East Africa.

Indigenous communities in Uganda have developed generations’ worth of expertise in growing, preparing, and preserving food.

Generations of people have relied on this knowledge to support their households and ensure food security.

Uganda is now rediscovering its traditional methods as a means of achieving sustainable food nutrition in the face of the dual global concerns of malnutrition and climate change.

Six female  farmers in Magongolo village, Mityana District, are working to restore the soils, recover native seed varieties that were passed down from past generations, and teach their community about historical, traditional farming methods.

Susan Nakate, Hawa Ndagire, Christine Nabwami, Daisy Nakiribira, Joyce Naziwa and Florence Nakiwala share  tales of resilience, and a value chain in crop yield through observing agroecological farming practices, which they intend to preserve for generations.

“Traditional farming is inherently sustainable,” says Nabwami.

“We plant crops that complement each other, like millet and beans. This way, we get better yields and protect the soil,” she adds.

Despite  traditions, modern challenges threaten Uganda’s food systems with malnutrition remaining a pressing issue where  29% of children under five are stunted and 3.5% suffering from wasting.

Urbanization, climate change, and the spread of monoculture farming have marginalized indigenous practices in favor of less sustainable, commercial approaches.

Hawa Ndagire, a rural farmer in Magongolo village, Mityana District, narrates how she changed from being an entrepreneur to becoming a seasonal farmer as a result of the program.

“I was a mother of children at the age of sixteen, providing for them through small-scale farming. I had to start additional businesses to make ends meet.”

She highlights the difficulties she faced when farming, including the need for expensive weed-control herbicides and the scarcity of agricultural land.

“I would share gardens with the community, but there were challenges. Once I was done weeding someone’s garden or preparing the soils, they would ask me to vacate their land for their own use.”

A glimmer of hope appeared on Ndagire’s path after a friend introduced her to a farmers’ umbrella, where she says she received organic farming lessons, access to indigenous seed varieties, and was ultimately chosen to participate in the Nutrition African Food Initiative (NAFI) project.

“I am no longer timid as  the farmer group has given me confidence, and I can now participate in topics that concern women farmers in my community. I might also request that my husband share his land with me for farming.”

Ndagire adds that she is now able to manufacture organic fertilizer from animal waste and human urine to sustain her soils, as well as provide her family with nutritional foods high in iron, zinc, and protein.

She sees improvement from her commitment to the initiative as a woman farmer.

“I can contribute to my home and society’s welfare and have a firm stand for myself in negotiations for a small plot of land, thus improving my livelihood.”

Susan Nakate, another farmer says, “I realized a way to improve my crop yield through seed sharing, seed banking, and organic farming practices from the farmer group.”

She recounts the days when she could only gather amaranth from the wild but says this has changed.

“The group offered me good seed to grow more leafy vegetables for my kitchen garden, and I am able to sell some and keep the rest for the planting season.”

Her household’s health, she adds, has substantially improved as a result of these vegetables.

“The vegetables are good for pregnant women, babies, and menstruating females as they supplement the body with blood.”

Nakate takes delight in providing training on how to utilize a smartphone camera with the help of the collaborative group.

“I am now updated on occurrences and can ably use my phone to document the planting processes and access relevant farming materials online.”

According to Margaret  Masudio, a lead manager at NAFI , in partnership with East and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF), they are  conducting a study on eight specific crops including  local bananas, mangoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, bambara nuts, cowpeas, millet, spider plant (Jjobyo), and amaranth (dodo).

This is part of efforts to promote drought resistant indigenous crops which also offer high nutritional value.

“These vegetables are our superfoods.They are rich in iron, vitamins, and other nutrients that prevent malnutrition," she says.

Efforts to promote indigenous wisdom often start with education and to this , in  rural areas, agroecologists are carrying out traditional farming and food preparation training for farmers.

According to Julius Engwedu, Field Assistant-Extension at ESAFF Uganda, the women farmers have been provided with access to seeds and information, as well as technical assistance and excellent agricultural techniques through the availability of extension personnel.

“We have trained the women farmers in crop protection, biofertilizer and biopesticide preparation and application, and soil and water conservation,” he says.

This, he says,  has improved their resilience to sustainable farming methods and given them the knowledge and abilities they need to grow high-quality, carefully chosen food plants.

Engwedu however says despite being affected by climate change, this challenge faced by the six farmers has been solved by “promoting the use of sack mounts and containers for growing plants such as amaranth and bambara nuts, training on the use of organic pesticides and fertilizers, as well as sourcing seeds from the communities through seed sharing and encouraged seed banking.”

In order to encourage the adoption of agroecological agricultural practices, he  highlights the need to allocate resources through “capacity building, establishment of agroecology demonstration (learning) centers, and encouraging exposure and peer-to-peer learning.”