28 November 2018: The Government of Uganda has launched its first ever National Adaptation Plan for the Agriculture Sector (NAP-Ag), which aims to help mainstream climate change in the agriculture sector’s policies, plans and budgets.

The Uganda NAP-Ag framework, a partnership among UN agencies, government institutions, non-State actors, academia and research agencies, presents adaptation actions for different agro-ecological zones, and aims to guide farmers, technical officers and decision makers on investments aimed at increasing the resilience of communities, systems and institutions. It provides 21 priority adaptation options in the areas of: crop production; livestock production; fisheries management; climate information, early warning and disaster preparedness; forestry, land and natural resources management; and research and knowledge management. It also links to government commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change and the SDGs.

Climate actions and solutions, which will help achieve SDG 13 must also contribute to achieving SDG 5 by being gender-responsive.

During the launch of the framework on 28 November 2018, UN Resident Coordinator in Uganda, Rosa Malango, underscored that climate actions and solutions, which will help achieve SDG 13 (climate action), must also contribute to achieving SDG 5 (gender equality) by being gender-responsive and giving rural women relief due to the fact that women are the hardest hit by the negative impacts of climate change. Participants also highlighted that, inter alia, NAP-Ag has set a good foundation and precedent for the preparation of NAPs for other sectors.

Integrating agriculture into NAPs will also help to enhance: institutional capacities and processes for operationalizing climate response strategies in the agriculture sector; access to international climate finance sources; and strategic allocations of national budgets earmarked for adaptation investments. Next steps include disseminating the plan to relevant stakeholders, resource mobilization and implementation of the 21 adaptation options.

The strategic framework was developed with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), through the Integrating Agriculture in NAPs (NAP-Ag) Programme, which supports partner countries to identify and integrate climate adaptation measures for the agricultural sectors into relevant national planning and budgeting processes. The NAP-Ag Programme is funded the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). [UNDP News Story] [Integrating Agriculture in NAPs Programme]