Strengthening rice sector climate adaptation and mitigation in Uganda

Challenges

Rice production by smallholder farmers in Uganda has expanded greatly, and to make more room for rice production, farmers are converting wetlands into rice fields. Not surprisingly, the extensive degradation of wetlands by rice farmers has contributed to more frequent and destructive flooding, as there are no such wetland systems to hold back the massive overload of water during extreme rainfall events.

Recently, wetland boundaries have been demarcated by the Ministry of Water and Environment as sources for community water systems, and degraded wetland areas are being restored to ensure and maintain their hydrological, ecological and biodiversity integrity.

Rice production in Uganda’s wetlands is not only problematic for wetland conservation, it also contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions. Rice production produces methane, a greenhouse gas more than 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Mitigation measures are needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from rice fields through improved water management, fertiliser management and organic matter management.

Results

• By the end of 2023 a total of 119 extension officers had been trained in SRP reaching and training 8,313 (including 3,242 women) smallholder rice farmers in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) benchmarked against the SRP standard. These farmers supplied 630 tonnes of sustainably produced rice to SWT Tanners ltd which ended up on the plates of nearly 80,000 consumers.
• Not only does SWT sources paddy from SRP farmers, but as a rice producer it applies the SRP standard itself. A recent consumer survey they conducted showed that their consumers are middle class, who prioritise quality over price, and mainstream consumers, who consider both factors important. With Rikolto's support, SWT launched a marketing campaign to position their SRP rice as high quality, competitively priced and sustainably produced.
• To improve rice quality, next year we will focus on supporting farmers to access Business Support Services (BSS), and in particular on training and mentoring youth and women interested in entering the business.
• We conducted baseline and end-of-season assessments in seven farmer organisations and found that adherence to SRP agronomic practices doubled average net income and increased grain yield by 10%. This compelling evidence was used as a catalyst to promote SRP among rice stakeholders during multi-stakeholder meetings with farmer organisations, leaders of the Rice Association of Uganda (RAU), and government agencies such as District Local Government Production, Natural Resources Officers and MAAIF (Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries).
• We have also facilitated national and regional exercises such as those held in Mbale (Eastern Uganda) and Lira (Northern Uganda) for rice sector stakeholders (private sector, research, civil society and farmer organisations) to develop a shared vision for sustainable rice in Uganda and unite our advocacy efforts.
• In the past, we had successfully advocated for MAAIF to recognise the use of the SRP standard as a tool to reduce the environmental footprint of lowland rice production in the final draft of the 10-year rice development strategy (NRDS II) document, and in 2023 we received a request to establish a national SRP working group in Uganda, the first step towards establishing a national SRP chapter.
• By influencing policy makers with the results of the pilot project, the project aim to reach more than 90,000 farmers nationwide indirectly, multiplying the effects of the initial investment.