Uganda to commemorate World Food Day amid food gap challenges

Uganda will on Friday 16th October 2020 celebrate the 41st World Food Day at State House Entebbe.

This was revealed by Hon Vincent Bamulangaki the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries during a press conference in Kampala on Tuesday morning.

According to Hon Bamulangaki, President Yoweri Museveni will be the chief guest at the celebration that will be attended by a few people due to the COVID19 Pandemic.

“The National WFD venue is at State House- Entebbe however due to the prevailing circumstances this site will accommodate a virtual exhibition to the public in addition to other Four (4) satellite stations to host the virtual exhibitions and Panel Discussions” Bamulangaki said.

The day will be commemorated under the theme; “grow a variety of food to nourish a growing population and sustain the planet, together.”

The minister says that in a moment like this, it is more important than ever to recognize the need to support the food heroes, the farmers and workers throughout the food system who are making sure that food makes its way from farm to fork even amid disruptions as unprecedented as the current COVID-19 crisis.

He added that in recent decades, Uganda has made significant progress in improving agricultural production and productivity.

“Although we now produce more than enough food to feed everyone, our food systems are out of balance. Hunger, obesity, environmental degradation, loss of agro-biological diversity, food loss and waste and a lack of security for food chain workers are only some of the issues that underline this imbalance” the minister said.

He however noted that in Uganda, the challenge is that the population continues to grow at a rapid rate of 3.2% per annum; while agricultural productivity is at 2.9% per annum. “As a country we have a food gap of 0.3% that must be addressed to match the Population Growth rate.”

The MAAIF/ASSP 2020/21-2024/25 Food Based intervention and dietary diversification will ensure food security by promoting 12 priority commodity interventions for; maize, bean, rice, cassava , banana, fruits (citrus, pineapples, mangoes), vegetables, coffee, tea, potato and dairy, beef, fisheries, poultry and apiary commodities products.

“Multi-sector Food Security and Nutrition and Pastoralist Livelihood Resilience Projects promoting Agricultural Nutrition friendly interventions which include: enterprise mix of vegetable gardens, rearing small livestock, fish ponds and agro-forestry projects in schools and communities, Nutrition Education to provide adequate nutrition knowledge and skills in food preparation, Home sanitation and hygienic handling of food and meal preparation.”