The Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers' Forum Uganda (ESAFF Uganda) has intensified efforts to strengthen Community Agroecology Schools (CAS) in Eastern Uganda as part of a broader strategy to promote sustainable agriculture, improve food security, and build climate-resilient farming communities.
The initiative is targeting small-scale farmers in districts including Kumi, Mayuge, Mbale, and Bugiri, where farming communities continue to face challenges such as climate change, declining soil fertility, and dependence on costly synthetic agricultural inputs.
Eastern Uganda has traditionally been regarded as one of the country's major food-producing regions due to its fertile soils. However, changing weather patterns and environmental degradation have increasingly threatened agricultural productivity and rural livelihoods.
In response, ESAFF Uganda is promoting agroecology as a long-term solution that combines indigenous knowledge, environmental conservation, and community-based farming practices to improve household nutrition and sustainable food production.
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According to ESAFF Uganda, the organisation currently operates 37 Community Agroecology Schools across the country, with more than 1,000 farmers involved, the majority of them women. Over 560 farmers have already received direct training through the programme.
From May 4 to May 8, 2026, ESAFF Uganda carried out a restructuring and leadership strengthening exercise for Community Agroecology Schools in Eastern Uganda. The exercise focused on improving governance structures within the schools to ensure accountability, sustainability, and effective management of agroecology activities.
The process involved electing and reaffirming leaders, reviewing learning curricula, and assigning clearer responsibilities to facilitators and committee members.
"It is important that we were guided on how Community Agroecology Schools should operate. Leaders and facilitators who had been working informally now have clearer mandates, and it is encouraging to see women and youth taking up leadership positions," said Edith Grace Nulwende, Chairperson of ESAFF Bugiri.
During the exercise, members also toured agroecology demonstration gardens where farmers showcased practical farming methods aimed at improving productivity while protecting the environment. The gardens featured intercropped vegetables such as nakati, tomatoes, cabbages, eggplants and legumes grown alongside fruit trees including avocado, guava and mangoes. Farmers also demonstrated mulching techniques used to retain soil moisture during dry periods.
Susan, Chairperson of Bukiende Community Agroecology School in Mbale District, said the training had helped many families maintain food production despite changing weather conditions.
"As members of the Community Agroecology School, we now have vegetables throughout the year because of the knowledge we acquired. We regularly water our gardens, and this has improved food availability in our homes even during dry seasons," she said.
ESAFF Uganda says farmer-to-farmer learning remains one of the most effective aspects of the Community Agroecology School model, as farmers are more likely to adopt practices after seeing successful examples within their own communities.
However, stakeholders note that inadequate funding continues to limit exchange learning visits between different agroecology schools across Uganda, slowing wider knowledge sharing among farmers.
The programme is being implemented under the Enabling Transformative Agroecology Programme (ETAP), a global initiative running from 2026 to 2028 that seeks to promote farmer-led food systems transformation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It is implemented by ECOTOPIA and focuses on climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, food sovereignty and sustainable livelihoods.
One of the major activities recently undertaken by ESAFF Uganda is the mapping of agroecological initiatives in Eastern Uganda, aimed at identifying existing practices, assessing gaps and improving planning for future interventions.
The mapping documents key activities such as seed access, land tenure security, organic input production, irrigation systems, agroecology gardens, livestock management and the transition from chemical-based farming to ecological farming methods.
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According to ESAFF Uganda, the findings will help strengthen engagement with local governments, agricultural extension workers and development partners while encouraging collaboration among farmers.
Ronald Bagaga, Programmes Manager at ESAFF Uganda, said the organisation will continue advocating for increased public investment in agroecology and supportive policy environments for small-scale farmers.
"As ESAFF Uganda, we remain committed to advocating for stronger public financing for agroecological initiatives and policy environments that support ecological farming practices instead of penalising them," he said.
Stakeholders believe strengthening Community Agroecology Schools will play a key role in helping farming communities withstand climate shocks, reduce dependence on expensive inputs and build sustainable food systems for future generations.
