FAO takes stock of activities in Uganda as new Country Representative is unveiled

KAMPALA – After 40 years of serving the Ugandan community, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations is taking stock of what they have done for the country over the years.

This year FAO is celebrating 40 years of technical cooperation with the Ugandan government, together with the local communities.

At a media dialogue running on the theme: Interventions in Food, Nutrition and Income Security for Sustainable Development in Uganda, FAO provided updates on their work in Uganda as well as planned strategic interventions for the year 2019.

At the same event, the organisation introduced Antonio Luis Evora Querido, the newly appointed FAO Representative in Uganda. The event took place Tuesday February 5 at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala.

Antonio replaced Alhaji Jallow who retired in February this year.

Prior to coming to joining the Ugandan team, the West African national of Cabo Verde, Antonio was the Chief Technical Advisor at FAO Angola. He brings to FAO Uganda more than 15 years of experience in environmental system analysis and monitoring, among other things.

Antonio holds a PhD in Tropical Plant and Soil Science from the University of Hawaii, Honolulu, USA. He acquired other qualifications before getting the PhD.

The dialogue focused on a range of FAO interventions, including Uganda’s refugee response, improving food and nutrition security through fisheries, aquaculture and policy support. It also addressed empowering of youth in agriculture, reforestation and commercial tree planting efforts, management of animal and plant pests and diseases as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation for sustainable development.

Interventions

In recent years, in Uganda, FAO has made many contributions. FAO has:

• Helped more than 165, 000 people in Karamoja to improve their food and nutrition security since 2011.
• Assisted 28 newfarmers’ cooperatives with skills, market access and networking opportunities since 2011.
• Mobilised more than $6 million to boost refugee response and uplift lives of 301, 655 beneficiaries, among them 223, 567 refugees, and 78, 088 host community persons since 2015.
• Supported over 500 private commercial tree growers to establish 25, 000 hectares of planted forests by 2020.
• Supported production of more than 16 million seedlingsby certified commercial tree nurseries in 2017.
• Helped over 1,000households benefit from improved crop production and increased access to water.
• Vaccinated 280, 000heads of cattle against Foot and Mouth Disease and nearly two million heads of livestock against trans-boundary and endemic animal diseases in Karamoja.

FAO is a multilateral agency established in 1945 with the mandate to monitor the global supplies of food, fibre and forest products and to enhance their production.

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