The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and the Netherlands Embasy announced a joint project this week in Uganda called "Policy Action for Sustainable Intensification of Ugandan Cropping Systems (PASIC)," which will focus its efforts to boost the production of small-holder farmers to improve their food security and livelihoods and contribute to the country's overall economic development.
The four year project will be managed by IITA in partnership with Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), as the lead agency guiding public agricultural development efforts in the country; the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), the leading policy think-tank in Uganda, and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
PACIS will carry out research in two zones - the south western Highlands for Irish potatoes and the Lake Kioga plains in Eastern Uganda for rice. In these zones, population pressure is high, farm sizes are small (less than two hectares), and the options to put new land into production are rather limited and therefore traditional farming is no longer sustainable. To read more, click HERE.
