The Farmer Managed Seed Systems Caravan 2023, an initiative aimed at enhancing farmer-managed seed systems to improve nutrition, food security, and income, commenced on September 25, 2023.

This collaborative effort involves Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda, OXFAM Uganda, Eastern and Southern Africa Small-scale Farmers’ Forum (ESAFF), along with partnering organizations: Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD), Community Integrated Development Initiatives (CIDI), and International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR). The program will run until September 29, 2023, covering the districts of Nebbi, Adjumani, Apac, Omoro, and Soroti.

Josephine Akia Luyimbazi, PELUM Uganda’s Country Coordinator, explained that the caravan’s goal is to promote knowledge exchange, practical sharing of best practices, and dialogue. The program brings together a diverse group of participants, including farmer field school members, community seed banks, agricultural institutions, government officials, plant breeders, media, and other key seed sector stakeholders. Youth and women will also be involved in the Seed Diversity for Household Nutrition and Food Security (SD-HS) project.

The caravan features various interactive sessions, including press conferences, field visits, mentoring sessions, youth boot camps, and policy dialogues. The discussions focus on policy recommendations to strengthen farmer-managed seed systems and enhance agricultural biodiversity, resilience, and productivity.

Joshua Aijuka, PELUM Uganda’s Head of Programs, highlighted that the caravan offers opportunities for experiential learning, dialogue, and policy integration, especially regarding farmer variety registration and seed system management. The initiative aims to foster partnerships among stakeholders, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the SD-HS project.

Aijuka emphasized that Uganda’s 2018 seed policy recognizes both formal and informal seed systems, introducing a new seed class, Quality Declared Seed (QDS). This policy allows registered farmers to produce and market Quality Declared seeds, making the seed caravan a strategic contribution to implementing the National Seed policy.

Charles Opio, OXFAM Uganda Resilience and Livelihood Manager, added that OXFAM Uganda, in collaboration with ESAFF Uganda and PELUM Uganda, is launching a complementary seed policy initiative. This initiative will provide platforms for cross-learning, knowledge sharing, and policy integration, ultimately strengthening farmer-managed seed systems.

The caravan will culminate in a policy dialogue on September 29, 2023, in the Gulu district. This final event will involve experiential learning, showcasing success stories and seed value chains, media engagement, and policy discussions.

PELUM Uganda, a part of the broader PELUM Association, is a network of over 280 civil society organizations from 12 African countries working to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and the sustainability of farming communities through ecological land use management. Since its inception in 1995, PELUM Uganda has grown to include 71 member organizations operating in 122 districts and reaching approximately three million smallholder farmers.