In a world of imminent climate change, dramatically rising inequality and strongly degraded soils and water resources, the decision to venture into agriculture is not an easy one. Not only is it a technical choice, but it is also a political and ideological one.

I have been engaged with SHONA for almost a year now. During this time, I have learned that 1 in 3 of their portfolio companies is active in food and agriculture. The team is determined to up that ratio, especially given that the sector employs about 70% of the population and drives about a quarter of GDP in Uganda.

However, the agricultural sector isn’t without challenges. Some of these include;

• 65% of agricultural land in Africa is degraded. Climate change events, ecosystem, soil and water degradation cause high levels of food insecurity.
• Only 7% of Impact Investment on the African continent goes to agriculture.
• Moreover, only 17% of those who raised funding in 2020 were female. Like in start-up funding, the gender gap also persists in agricultural production. We would see 20-30% yield increases if women had the same access to productive assets.
• There are also major issues of market concentration in all agricultural input sectors: with only 4 companies dominating large chunks of the markets for agrochemicals, animal pharmaceuticals, seeds, farm equipment and synthetic fertilizer.
• Farming knowledge, technologies, and food products are generated and owned by a small group of multinational companies. Oxfam’s “Behind the Brands” report shows that all your favourite brands, most of the consumer packed goods we buy, are owned by 10 multinationals.

The Rise of Agroecology

Agroecology is a set of regenerative farming practices. It is a social movement, a holistic world vision, and a scientific discipline that applies ecological principles to agriculture. More information on this can be found here, here and here. Regenerative agriculture is an alternative means of producing food that may have a lower environmental impact. It leads to healthy soil, capable of producing high-quality food while also improving the land. Regenerating soil life, water harvesting and storage capacity, farms, communities, and landscapes are key in this holistic approach to agriculture.

Agroecology was identified as the way forward in the 2009 International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report. This, coupled with the fact that regenerative agriculture has been booming in recent years, has led to caution by critics. They warn that “with the increased attention has come what some advocates describe as a move toward watering down the political, societal, and civic engagement aspects of the system.” As Ethan Soloviev’s quote says, “‘Sustainable’ merely means doing no harm. It’s not enough to restore and regenerate degraded ecosystems.” This is clearly illustrated in the graphic below.

‘Junk agroecology’ and regenerative greenwashing are on the rise globally, especially in the wake of the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit being co-opted by Big Agricultural companies.

Most agri-food multinational companies have made regenerative agriculture commitments. While innovative business solutions from ReNature, The Perennial Fund, Climate Farmers, Grounded, etc. will substantially help to give flesh to these claims, we need to be cautious of window-dressing efforts.

Regenerating Agriculture in Uganda

After India, Uganda has the highest number (210,000) of organic farmers worldwide. The National Organic Agriculture Policy was enacted in 2019 as a result of years of work by PELUM Uganda, NOGAMU and the Crop Commissioner of the Ministry of Agriculture. However, the Green Revolution pressure is clearly on, as 24% of farming households have been found to use agrochemicals regularly. The “Farming as a business” mantra generally includes a heavy focus on the use of privately owned seeds, agrochemicals and other technologies that are more adapted to large-scale land ownership.

This is important to note because the key food safety concerns in Uganda are mainly related to poor post-harvest management, the unsafe and excessive application of agrochemicals, and the degraded quality of water. An unpublished study by Rikolto (2020) showed that samples collected from the Mbale and Kampala markets tested positive for pesticide (carbamates) contaminations. Compared to the maximum allowed residual level, high concentration was detected in passion fruits (+166%), green peppers (+58%) and hot peppers (+48%).

Uganda’s fertile land can feed about 200 million people, according to a new report by International Trade Administration to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. The report says 80% of Uganda’s land is arable but only 35% is being cultivated.

The country is clearly far from its peak farming capacity. However, what kind of development do we want to see?

It is time for a long food movement. An agricultural vision that empowers smallholder farmers, instead of marginalizing them, based on local resources and patent-free (farmer) technologies and local knowledge. A holistic vision that decentralizes power in the value chains, enhancing rural livelihoods, inclusive business, and regenerating soils and landscapes.

We need more regenerative agriculture capacity building, extension, farmer field schools, demo farms, and agroecological research. Moreover, social enterprise development will generate a demand-driven transition to regenerative agriculture, when small and growing agri-food businesses will increasingly start sourcing regenerative produce from smallholder farmers.

As a business development organization that is knowingly and deliberately increasing its focus on regenerative agriculture, SHONA is uniquely positioned to contribute even more to that in the coming years.

Let’s regenerate Uganda!

**Many thanks to Hannes Van den Eeckhout for writing this article!