The Earth is not breaking down alone, we are breaking her systems, and she is responding. From Uganda’s drying wetlands to collapsing soil fertility, Mother Earth is sending urgent signals. But within the crisis lies a solution already in the hands of small-scale farmers: Agroecology. As the global community commemorates International Mother Earth Day 2026 under the theme "Our Power, Our Planet,” Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF) Uganda calls fo

Across the world from the drylands of Karamoja in Uganda to the terraced hills of Nepal, small-scale farmers stand on the frontlines of a crisis they did not create. They produce nearly one-third of the world’s food, sustain biodiversity, and defend ecosystems, yet remain systematically excluded from climate finance. This is not an accident. It is a political choice. Climate finance was promised as a bridge between historical responsibility and climate justice. Instead, it ha

A farmer in Wakiso district spraying his lettuce with insecticide. Photo: African Newsletter Europe bans hazardous pesticides to protect its citizens. Yet the same chemicals are exported to African countries like Uganda, where farmers apply them with minimal protection, in unlabelled containers, and without legal recourse. This is not a regulatory gap. It is a business model, and one of the most consequential double standards in the global agricultural system. A landmark Swed

Small-scale farmers from Kobwakol Farmer Field School in Serere district are being guided on agronomic practices for cowpea cultivation Despite the Ugandan government’s efforts to improve nutrition through policies like the Uganda Nutrition ActionPlan (UNAP), Health Sector Development Plan (2015/16–2019/20), and the Food and Nutrition Policy (2003), many regions remain below key nutrition targets. Malnutrition continues to undermine human capital, economic productivity, and n