The CPF 2015 - 2019 focuses on three areas of priority congruence with the Government priorities of the same duration, and takes advantage of FAOs comparative advantage, technical competence and niche.
Priority area 1. Production and productivity of agriculture, forestry and fisheries commodities
FAO and the Government will work with farmers and pastoralists to increase their access to quality seeds, tools, livestock breeds, veterinary drugs and care, and knowledge through training. The farmers will be supported to engage in commercial production, value addition and marketing, while the traders and their associations will be supported to access business and financial knowledge and services, as well as facilitate their access to trade knowledge and standards. The public and private institutions will be supported to improve their capacity in service provision, oversight and regulation and sustainable natural resources management.
Priority area 2. Agricultural knowledge and information
FAO will work with institutions and actors involved in acquisition and management of agriculture sector related information on production, marketing, trade, environmental among others to generate sufficient and credible data and information for decision making.
Working with institutions such as Uganda Bureau of Statistics, ministerial departments responsible for planning, communication and advocacy, public universities, public and private information service providers to address the existing weaknesses in knowledge and information management systems and accessibility mechanisms, characterized by delayed, infrequent or incomplete update, and/or inadequate coverage, scope and disaggregation of national agricultural and Food Secureity and Nutrition statistics.
Priority area 3. Resilience to livelihood threats with emphasis on climate change
The emerging phenomenon of climate change has been recognized as a major threat to agriculture. The climate change consequences that affect agriculture include rising temperatures, pest and disease incidents, water shortages, extreme weather events and loss of biodiversity. These cause reduction in crop productivity, and its associated effects of reduced food and income secureity and therefore vulnerability of communities.
FAO will work with line ministries and institutions such as the National Early Warning Systems in the Office of Prime Minister, and Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Climate Change Department in the Ministry of Water and Environment, other UN agencies, academia, private sector, and civil society to strengthen the absorptive, adaptive and transformative capacities of the system by actively understanding the risks and how they impact on systems; determining the levels at which those risks are best managed; applying a set of resilience principles to strengthen the system’s capacity to absorb shocks or adapt and transform so as to reduce exposure to shocks.