During an August 4 visit, US Permanent Representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced that the US will provide $20 million, subject to congressional approval, in new additional resources for Uganda through the US Agency for International Development (USAID). . The aid will be channeled through international and national partners and civil society organizations to enhance local efforts in Uganda, an existing Feed the Future partner country, to directly reduce the effects of growing food insecurity exacerbated by Russia’s unprovoked aggression in Ukraine .
A confluence of crises has pushed many Ugandans, especially those in the Karamoja sub-region and the northern parts of the country, into starvation. Food and fertilizer prices, already high due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have risen even higher due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, putting families at risk.
The new funding will help smallholder farmers adopt improved agricultural practices that increase productivity, reduce postharvest losses and add value to their produce. It will also boost agricultural production by expanding funding for fertilizer and improving its efficient use. This assistance will build on existing agriculture and value chain investments to support farmers, agribusinesses and consumers, reducing the impact of the global food crisis.
Feed the Future’s increased efforts in Uganda to reduce this crisis and alleviate food insecurity and malnutrition are part of Congress’s bipartisan emergency relief bill signed by President Biden in May. This includes $2.76 billion in additional US government resources, announced by President Joe Biden on June 27, 2022, to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations from the escalating global food security crisis, exacerbated by Russia’s war against Ukraine and the severe drought in Horn of Africa region.
