Symposium set to address climate change, food security challenges
The symposium under the theme 'linking climate change, food security, nutrition and wellbeing' will be an avenue to promote awareness and seeks to contribute to solutions to the global challenges of climate change and food security.
Climate change is the leading cause of food insecurity globally and must be addressed while we can, Ronald Lwabaayi, the Team Leader at Climate Change Action East Africa has said in an interview.
“If people don’t have enough quality and healthy food to eat, that is food insecurity. And for us as Climate Change Action East Africa, we think this is an area that has to be mantle for everybody who is talking about climate change,” he said.
It is upon this background that Climate Change Action East Africa partnered with the International University of East Africa to organize The East Africa Food Security Symposium & Expo 2020 to take place between 14th to 16 October, 2022 at the university’s premises in Kasanga, Kampala.
The symposium under the theme ‘linking climate change, food security, nutrition and wellbeing’ will be an avenue to promote awareness and seeks to contribute to solutions to the global challenges of climate change and food security.
According to Lwabaayi, the symposium will promote open discussion within the food production chain and systems with a focus on safeguarding communities from hunger in Uganda, the East Africa region, Africa and the world as a global village facing the same challenges.
The climate adaptation and resilience initiatives which can be enhanced and reinforced in Uganda and East Africa as a region will be high on the agenda at the symposium and expo.
The technologies that will be exhibited will be critical to current practitioners and new entrants to the food chain systems and climate change solution pool.
The symposium will be unpacked into papers covering; climate change impacts manifestation and its deliberative impacts on the food systems and society’s wellbeing, climate changes resilient practices, and indigenous technologies’ responsiveness to food insecurity risks, farmers’ perspectives, innovative financing for climate change responsive sustainable agricultural practices linked to farming traditions, technology and innovations in value chains of food systems and Seed preservation and food processing as climate change response strategies.
Dr. Tom Okia OKurut, the Executive Director, Climate Change Action East Africa said they considers food security in the East Africa region as of the uttermost concern that climate change can dis-equilibrate in the entire EAC region.
“We have therefore decided and planned to hold the Food Security Symposia and Expos annually in the capitals of the EAC Partner States as the most imperative way of promoting awareness of climate change impacts for consequential energization of countries to plan & budget for climate change impact and as well implement their national commitments,” Dr. Okurut said.
