The Uganda National Extension Week 2024 kicked off on the 29th October 2024, with over 230 delegates from various parts of Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar.
From the official opening by the Hon. Minister of Animal Industry, remarks from the event organisers, goodwill messages from partners, thought-provoking presentations and dialogues on thematic topics, and exhibitions, the common thread was the need to make extension count for robust, resilient, and competitive agri-food systems.
The day started off with a stimulating discussion on the agricultural extension landscape, sparking a dialogue among various actors. One of the key takeaways was the call for collective action from every individual—recognizing that we all have a role to play in shaping the future of agricultural extension.
In her keynote address, Dr. Lilian Lihasi, Director of Programs at AFAAS, urged the extension community to build resilience in the face of challenges like climate change, emphasizing the need for innovative and adaptive approaches. She challenged extension actors to always document best practices in agriculture to enable lesson learning.
Dr Lilian Lihasi, Keynote Speaker
The event was officially opened by Uganda’s Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Bright Kanyontore Rwamirama. Hon. Rwamirama commended the organizers for hosting such a timely and important gathering, especially as Uganda’s extension systems transition from predominantly public-sector models to a more pluralistic approach. This shift opens up opportunities for greater knowledge sharing and experiential learning across various actors and methodologies. Honourable Rwamirama highlighted how events such as this agricultural extension week shape agricultural policy and practice. “This forum is a useful resource because it provides an avenue where policy makers and development practitioners interface and share knowledge on how to translate policy into practice”, he remarked.
Hon. Bright Kanyontore Rwamirama, Minister of Animal Industry
The Minister also highlighted the ongoing restructuring at the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, and the efforts of the government to make extension as efficient as possible. Watch the full speech by the Minister here.
During the official opening session, we also had the pleasure of launching the UFAAS New Strategic Plan (2024-2028) and a new project on Scaling and Operationalizing pluralistic last-mile delivery of extension and advisory services in Africa, supported by AGRA, through AFAAS. This initiative aims to enhance food security, reduce yield gaps, improve farmers’ climate resilience, and strengthen the capacity of extension departments and ministries through a sustainable, inclusive model for delivering agri-food systems support.
In the afternoon, we had several thematic presentations on food safety, resilience along agricultural value chains, private extension services, and the emerging technologies on the use of Artificial Intelligence in agriculture. Presentations here https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1dBZ3dOO7gTUNn4k6KQS6lOL1MveRfmyF
More photo highlights of Day 1.