FAO Uganda Calls for Increased Investment in Livelihood Interventions for Refugees
On June 20, 2018, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Uganda joined the Government of Uganda, other UN agencies and partners to commemorate World Refugee Day at Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Isingiro district.
Nakivale, one of the oldest refugee settlements in Uganda, opened in 1958 and was officially established as a settlement in 1960. The settlement hosts more than 100 000 refugees from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan. As part of Uganda’s comprehensive refugee policy, refugees in Nakivale and other settlements receive a piece of land to cultivate crops and produce food to sustain their health and livelihoods. But with a growing influx of refugees in Uganda (approximately 1.4 million refugees), making it the largest refugee hosting country in Africa, promoting sustainable food production and resilient livelihoods is increasingly critical for the wellbeing of refugees and their harmonious integration with host communities.
Within this context, FAO in Uganda is supporting the Government of Uganda to provide sustainable solutions that enhance agricultural livelihoods, supporting refugee and host communities to be resilient as well as food and nutrition secure. FAO provides planting materials and inputs for small-scale vegetable, staple food and poultry production as well as entrepreneurship and animal husbandry training, to help build refugees’ resilience to shocks.
Together with the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), FAO implemented a joint FAO/OPM Resilience Index Measurement Analysis (RIMA) in 2018 and found that 97 percent of host community members and 95 percent of refugees are engaged in crop production. These findings have helped to back FAO’s continued support to enhancing livelihoods of refugees in Uganda.
Currently, FAO in Uganda is implementing interventions targeting about 300,000 beneficiaries in nine refugee settlements in the following districts: Adjumani (Maaji and Agojo), Arua (Imvepi, Rhino Camp and Omogo), Kiryandongo (Kiryandongo) Lamwo (Palabek), Moyo (Palorinya) and Yumbe (Bidibidi). These refugee communities receive support in form of agriculture inputs such as seeds, training in sustainable agriculture, livestock health and nutrition and climate change adaptation among others.
FAO will also support income generating opportunities for more than 105 000 refugee and 45 000 host community households in Yumbe, Moyo, Arua and Lamwo through the promotion of farm diversification, introduction of high value crops and establishment of poultry units. Furthermore, FAO will work with the UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to establish about 1000 Hectares of woodlots of fast-maturing trees in refugee settlements, for fuelwood, reduced reliance on natural forests and environmental conservation.
According to Priya Gujadhur, Deputy Country Representative and Acting Representative at FAO in Uganda, “FAO believes that supporting medium to long-term livelihoods and sustainable economic opportunities as well as better access to input and output markets and technologies, empowers refugees and their host communities to overcome hunger and poverty, while preserving the environment”, she added.
Speaking during the national celebrations which also marked 60 years of Nakivale Refugee Settlement, Minister for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees- Honourable Hillary Onek, thanked the Government of Uganda and partners for standing with refugees. However, he noted that although Uganda is providing an enabling environment for refugees, several challenges persist, especially in provision of productive land for sustainable food production, environmental restoration and security for refugees.
“Hosting refugees comes with challenges…including provision of socio welfare services such as healthcare, water and sanitation, livelihood opportunities and education,” he said. However, through partnerships such as the REHOPE Framework with the United Nations, Uganda has been able to improve livelihoods of refugees, some of whom are now even engaged in business and farming.
On behalf of the Government of Uganda, Honourable Onek committed to strengthening the Country Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) towards harmonized refugee response for better outcomes.
Towards sustainable interventions for greater refugee resilience
Although the focus of interventions ranges across the humanitarian and development spectrum, most of the focus to date has been on short-term, lifesaving activities. In order for the progressive Uganda Refugee framework to be successful in the medium- and long-term, the refugee response needs to facilitate refugees’ inclusion in the national development agenda, increasing their resilience through improved access to sustainable agricultural livelihood opportunities for women and men.
The inclusive integration of refugees into development strategies will positively affect refugees as well as the host communities. Thus, FAO interventions focus on strengthening food security and self-reliance by increasing and diversifying sustainable agricultural production through interventions to strengthen local and national capacity, promote inclusion and build social cohesion among refugees and host communities. Since 2015, FAO’s refugee and host community response programme has mobilized US$ 6.6 million and supported 301 655 beneficiaries (223 567 refugees and 78 088 members of the host community).
FAO’s Refugee and Host Community Response Roadmap (2018 – 2020) is built on three intertwined pillars – Livelihoods stabilization; Socio-economic empowerment; and Enabling the environment – that require simultaneous attention and resources. The Roadmap outlines how FAO will use its comparative advantage to promote the dignity, resilience and sustainable development of refugee and host communities to achieve food and nutrition security.