Food Security and Nutrition

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification for Karamoja, in North Eastern Uganda, 361,000 people are estimated to be experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse. Subsistence farming by smallholders in Uganda currently accounts for 96% of all farm production, a quarter of total GDP, employs over two-third of workers, and earns over 40% of household income.

The primary focus of Ugandan agricultural policy has been on increasing productivity and commercialization of staple foods and cash crops to raise the income of farmers. At the same time, stunting affects one in three children (over 2.1 million children) in Uganda— higher than its immediate neighbors, some of whom have lower per capita income. Under nutrition disproportionately affects rural areas, where rates of stunting are over 36% compared to 19% in urban areas. When malnutrition strikes children in the first 1,000 days of their lives, it stunts their bodies and minds, impairing human development potential and ultimately, their ability to contribute to the economic growth of their countries in adulthood. The annual costs associated with child under nutrition are estimated at 5.6% of GDP.