Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for National Adaptation Plan for Agriculture (NAP-Ag)

Agriculture is the biggest pre-occupation for the majority of Ugandans, providing a source of income and livelihood for over 76% of the population. Most of the agriculture is dependent on rain and relative fertile soils. However, high population increase, climatic variability and poor agricultural practices have placed growing pressure on land leading to soil degradation and a slow growth in the agriculture sector. Climate change affects agricultural production in a diverse and complex manner. Variability in rainfall and more extreme weather events and climate impacts are also having a detrimental effect, causing significant crop losses. For example, an increase in temperature escalates soil chemical reactions leading to increase in decomposition of organic matter and therefore release of greenhouse gases into atmosphere. This process also results in loss of fertility thus affecting yield negatively. Somehow agriculture contributes to climate change and is also affected adversely by climate change. Uganda has over the last three decades been affected by annual El Nino rains that have caused flooding and mudslides, on the one hand, and severe droughts on the other. Between 2015 and 2017, 13 districts across Uganda (and mainly in the cattle corridor) recorded severe temperatures, leading to loss of both crops, fisheries, animals and human life. Erratic weather patterns have complicated agricultural decision by Government but also for family households. Adaptation in the agriculture sector is imperative if Uganda is to achieve goal of the National Agricultural Policy which is achieving a commercially viable, competitive, profitable and sustainable sector. Climate change threatens now to undo gains in food and cash crop production; animal and fisheries productivity and contribute to forest fires (in dry spells) and mudslides (in rainy seasons).The United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) has since early 2000s produced study reports on the potential impact of climate change on agriculture in Uganda. In response, Uganda put in place a climate change platform through which stakeholders would engage and complement each other to address this problem. This and other process led to the adoption of the specific actions for adaptation and/or mitigation of adverse effects of climate change. Since 2010, Agriculture has taken the lead and became the first sector to elaborate a nationwide national adaptation action plans for its sector. It is hoped that this will continue to inspire other sectors to put these plans in place – but also implement the various strategic interventions to address climate change.