Entebbe, March 2024 – Following up with the ‘Future of Food in Uganda’ workshop, Foresight4Food FoSTr team held a second foresight workshop involving various stakeholders engaged in the Ugandan food system.
During this two-day workshop, the FoSTr team presented and validated the findings of the food system analysis conducted jointly with the research team. Furthermore, through energetic participation from the workshop attendees, different scenarios were developed by identifying key uncertainties and constructing an initial scenario matrix.
The participants delved into critical issues facing the Ugandan food system, such as inadequate food distribution impacting economic and nutritional outcomes, food safety concerns, and the repercussions of climate events. Additionally, various methods and tools for foresight and scenario analysis were explored, offering participants practical insights for their daily work in envisioning future scenarios.
Together with the research team, the FoSTr team will continue the process of constructing scenarios for identifying plausible food systems for Uganda. The aim is to have the next workshop in autumn where the FoSTr team will continue with the foresight process, i.e. validating scenarios and exploring their implications on the food system and their actors.
FoSTr team visit to government bodies
Alongside the workshop, the FoSTr team held several meetings with governmental bodies and international organizations to explore opportunities for aligning with ongoing policy processes and enhancing collaboration. These included meetings with the National Food System Coordination Committee (team of Edward Walugembe) housed at the Office of Prime Minister, a delegation of the National Planning Authority (NPA) (led by Ivan Lule), the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (team of Alex Bambona), the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Julius Mukalazi), IFAD, and FAO.
In discussions with various governmental bodies, the FoSTr team looked forward to fostering collaboration and contributing to ongoing policy processes for food system transformation. Moreover, the National Food System Coordination Committee and National Planning Authority expressed keen interest in the outcomes of the food system analysis, indicating their intent to leverage our insights for developing a food system transformation action plan and integrating it into the forthcoming fourth national development plan.
The Foresight4Food FoSTr team aims to engage further with various organizations in discussions to explore opportunities for strengthening collaboration and offering support in ongoing policy processes related to food system transformation.