Sironko District Woman Member of Parliament, Hon. Asha Mafabi Nabulo, has tabled a motion in Parliament urging Government to develop and enact a comprehensive legal framework to support the National Smallholder Farmers’ Transformation and Climate Resilience Programme.
Nabulo said Uganda’s smallholder farmers continue to face persistent challenges that undermine the productivity, profitability and competitiveness of the agricultural sector, despite agriculture remaining a major source of livelihoods for millions of Ugandans.
She argued that establishing a clear legal and institutional framework for the proposed programme would provide a coordinated approach to addressing the challenges affecting smallholder farmers, while strengthening their capacity to adapt to the growing impacts of climate change.
According to Nabulo, smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable to climate-related shocks, limited access to affordable agricultural inputs and financing, inadequate markets, low levels of value addition and limited access to modern agricultural technologies and extension services.
She emphasised that transforming smallholder agriculture requires more than individual interventions, calling for a comprehensive national programme backed by legislation, sustainable financing and effective coordination among Government agencies and other stakeholders.
Nabulo said the implementation of the National Smallholder Farmers’ Transformation and Climate Resilience Programme has the potential to significantly improve household incomes, increase agricultural productivity and strengthen Uganda’s food security.
She further projected that, if effectively implemented, the programme could enable Uganda to produce enough food to supply markets across East and Central Africa while lifting an estimated 89 percent of small-scale farmers out of poverty.
The legislator urged Government to treat the transformation of smallholder agriculture as a strategic national priority, noting that empowering farmers would not only improve livelihoods but also expand Uganda’s productive capacity, strengthen rural economies and create opportunities for agro-processing and value addition.
She called for deliberate measures to ensure that smallholder farmers are integrated into profitable agricultural value chains and have access to the resources, knowledge, technology and markets required to move from subsistence production to commercially viable farming.
The motion was tabled during a plenary sitting of Parliament chaired by Deputy Speaker Rt Hon Thomas Tayebwa, as legislators considered measures aimed at addressing key challenges affecting Ugandan communities and the national economy.
Nabulo’s proposal places climate resilience and smallholder farmer transformation at the centre of Uganda’s agricultural development agenda, with the broader objective of building a productive, competitive and sustainable agricultural sector capable of contributing significantly to national and regional food security.
