As we observe the World Food Day 2019 under the theme “Our Actions are our Future, Healthy Diets for a Zero Hunger World”, we are reminded of all those rural women small scale farmers and peasants ensuring food security, nutritious diets and building resilience through organic farming throughout the world and those who tragically experiences frequent hunger due to climate change. Food insecurity is one of the most pressing and difficult challenges of our time, most keenly felt by the poor and vulnerable rural small scale farming communities, and a profound concern for all Right to Food proponents.
It is estimated that about 800 million people remain undernourished globally, while 39 percent of Uganda’s 42 million population is undernourished where stunting is rated at 37 percent among children 18-35 months. In the “Perth Declaration on Food Security Principles” issued from the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where Uganda is party, our leaders reaffirmed the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, particularly in the context of national food security.
In this precept therefore, ESAFF Uganda commemorates this years’ world food day by promoting and celebrating organic farming as a strong pillar towards healthy diets for a zero hunger world. It reflects a shared approach of addressing the challenges of food security, particularly through the empowerment of rural women and young people to contribute towards sustainable farming, and acknowledging the role rural women small scale farming communities play in driving climate resilient agriculture and the food security agenda.
ESAFF Uganda is well placed to work collaboratively to ensure greater food and diets through shared sustainable practical solutions using its extensive network to promote greater dissemination of organic farming practices and techniques. Therefore, in addressing food security, ESAFF Uganda calls for the need to popularize the national organic policy, awareness creation on the importance of organic farming systems, foods and products, provision of information on markets, retooling of extension officers on organic and agroecological farming for nutritious diets, environmental conservation and sustainable livelihoods, particularly for the small scale farming communities.
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