Climate Talk Uganda With Josephine Karungi

Josephine Karungi
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Climate Talk Uganda aims to explore all aspects of climate change in Uganda. Every two weeks we aim to feature a wide range of people who offer their perspectives on the challenges they - and Uganda - face as climate change continues to play out.

  1. Jun 5

    Episode 49: Enabling Increased Cocoa Cultivation in Northern Uganda

    'Adag-anii means that we don't want rumours, we want to work.' Okullo Paul Peter is Managing Director of Adag-Anii Ltd, based in the the Lango sub-region of Uganda. In this chat he has a great story about how his company go its name - 'adag-anii.' He talks to us about helping farmers adapt to growing cocoa as a cash generating, environmentally responsible alternative to maize. In partnership with the Climate Smart Jobs program, the idea is to help farmers access the market by helping them at all points in the process: preparation, cultivation, harvesting, processing and selling. And the aim is pretty simple when you boil it down - to ease the poverty that many people experience on a daily basis in these regions, partly as a result of climate change. Cocoa has an interesting history in Uganda, as it turns out. It's been grown here since it was first introduced at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens in 1901. Initially, production was mainly limited to plantations, though - it was only adopted by smallholder producers in 1958. The crop is now grown by an estimated 120,000 smallholder farmers in at least 22 Districts, with more than two-thirds of the national harvest coming from Bundibugyo District; Hoima, Mukono and Kagadi are the other important producing districts. In the bigger picture, cocoa is now one of the leading agricultural export commodities after coffee, with volumes more than doubling over the past decade. In 2024/25 some 75,545 tonnes, worth US $620 million, were exported to markets in both Asia and Europe. So this shift in priorities that Okullo Paul Peter is speaking about? For farmers, it makes a lot of sense. Thanks so much to Okullo Paul Peter for taking time to speak with us. If you'd like more info about the Climate Smart Jobs Program, click on this link. Thanks for listening and see you next time, Josephine

    1 hr

  2. May 19

    Episode 48: Battery Manufacture in Kampala

    Batteries are a key technology for adapting to cimate change because they provide power on demand. Whether from solar, wind or wave, energy stored in batteries can be accessed at the flick of a switch. Brendan Cronin is CEO of Soleil Power in Kampala - East Africa’s first diversified lithium battery production company. He joins us in studio to explain a bit about how batteries work, how they're developing in the EV sector and what the future might look like for battery development in Uganda. You can find out more about Soleil Power here: https://www.soleilpower.ug/about-us Thanks for listening and see you next time - Josephine

    23 min

  3. Apr 3

    Episode 47: CTU Extra - My Full Conversation with Halima Nalunkuma

    This is the story of how Halima Nalunkuma decided to become a provider of agricultural materials - and knowledge - to farmers. And how she's now working with refugeee communities to encourage minimal tilling agricultural methods, leading to improved yields and increased economic wellbeing in those communities. And crucially, improving their resilience in the face of climate change. Halima Nalunkuma is Director of Kiryandongo Agro Input Center Limited. She's a great talker, equal parts inspiring, thoughtful and insighful, and as she mentions in our chat, she received support from the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative. It supports '...sustainable solutions for Ugandan smallholder farmers to respond to climate change.' You can find out more about the Climate Smart Jobs programme here: https://csj.co.ug/ Climate Smart Jobs is also the funder of this podcast. Thanks to Halima Nalunkuma for being so generous with her time and knowledge. Drop us a line any time - climatetalkpod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and see you next time - Josephine

    47 min

  4. Apr 3

    Episode 46: Pfumvudaza In Action - Halima Nalunkuma in Kiryandongo

    Sometimes life happens while you're busy making other plans. Halima Nalunkuma wanted to be a banker and to 'wear shoes with pointy heels.' But while in Kiryandongo she saw an opportunity and grabbed it with both hands. This is the story of how she's now working with refugeee communities to encourage minimal tilling agricultural methods, leading to improved yields and increased economic wellbeing in those communities. And crucially, improving their resilience in the face of climate change. Halima Nalunkuma is Director of Kiryandongo Agro Input Center Limited. She's a great talker, equal parts inspiring, thoughtful and insighful, and as she mentions in our chat, she received support from the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative. It supports '...sustainable solutions for Ugandan smallholder farmers to respond to climate change.' You can find out more about the Climate Smart Jobs programme here: https://csj.co.ug/ Climate Smart Jobs is also the funder of this podcast. Thanks to Halima Nalunkuma for being so generous with her time and knowledge. Drop us a line any time - climatetalkpod@gmail.com Thanks for listening and see you next time - Josephine

    39 min

  5. Mar 20

    Episode 45: Pfumvudza - Simple, Scaleable, Climate-Smart Agriculture

    Mulching. Doesn't sound so...exciting. But trust me, this is a totally compelling conversation. It's about 'Pfumvudza,' a conservation-based approach to agriculture that makes small parcels of land more productive through minimum tillage, mulching, crop rotation, and timely planting. Because it is focused on small plots of land, it can be especially effective in helping smallholder famrers and others with limited access to land - members of refguee communities, for instance. On their recent training visit to Uganda, I spoke with William Tom and Maqhawe Mthembu of Foundations for Farming. They're based in Zimbabwe, where pfumvudza has been in operation for some time. On this visit they were training communities in northern Uganda in effective use of pfumvudza. They explain the philosphical basis of the approach and the nuts and bolts of making it work. As explained on the Foundations for Farming Website, pfumvudza has some distinct characteristics: 'To succeed, farmers follow the Foundations for Farming principles: • Do everything On Time • At a High Standard • Without Wastage • And With Joy And remember the key conservation practices: • Minimal soil disturbance – no ploughing, only planting basins • Maximum soil cover – no burning, always mulch • Crop rotation – maintain fertility and break pest cycles • High management – plan, measure, and care faithfully' Maqhawe and William argue that it offers an opportunity for smallholders from every community to make their land more productive, and eliminate food insecurity at a family level. You can find out more here: https://foundationsforfarming.org.zw/?page_id=10087 Speical thanks to our guests for this epsiode - William Tom and Maqhawe Mthembu - for a fascinating and illuminating conversation. And as always, thanks to you for listening. Drop us a line anytime - climatetalkpod@gmail.com And see you next time, Josephine

    55 min

  6. Mar 6

    Episode 44: Farming, Business and Climate Change

    To enable smallholder farmers to become resilient to climate change, they must be encouraged to view farming as a business. That's the key thrust of the argument put forth by Hon Chance Kabaghe in this episode of Climate Talk Uganda. While visiting Uganda as a guest of the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative, Hon Chance Kabaghe's draws on his experience as an agricultural economist, large scale farmer, businessman, politician and academic. Amongst many roles, he is a former Minister for Agriculture in Zambia, and currently serves as Chairman of Seed Co Zambia, Seed Co East Africa, and Chairman of United Capital Fertiliser. He is also the founder and first Executive Director of the Food Reserve Agency of Zambia. You can read more about his achievements here: https://www.anapri.net/mr-chance-kabaghe/ And you can find out more about the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative here: https://csj.co.ug/ This was a very stimulating and thought-provoking conversation. Sincere thanks to Hon Chance Kabaghe for taking the time to make it happen. And thanks to you all for listening. Drop us a line any time: climatetalkpod@gmail.com - and see you next time. Josephine

    40 min

  7. Feb 20

    Episode 43: Agroecology and Climate Change

    Agroecology, explains Josephine Akia Luyimbazi of PELUM, is a systematic approach to agriculture that is based on working in harmony with nature and natural processes. In this wide ranging conversation she details the work PELUM uundertakes with farming communities across Uganda, seed banks, the outcomes that famers experience from adopting agroecological farming practices, and her view of the vital importance of seed sovereignty in the face of agri-business practices in the country. As outlined on the PELUM website, "PELUM (Participatory Ecological Land Use Management) is a regional network of over 320 civil society organizations in 12 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa working in the area of participatory ecological land use management. The Association works to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and the sustainability of farming communities, by fostering ecological land use management. Country chapters include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, South Africa, Ethiopia and Swaziland." You can find out more about the Uganda chapter here: https://pelumuganda.org/ https://pelumuganda.org/the-voice-of-afsa-meet-josephine-akia-luymibazi/

    32 min

  8. Feb 6

    Episode 42: CTU Extra - Full Interview With Iganachi Razaki Omia

    Iganachi Razaki Omia is the founder and CEO of Omia Agribusiness Development Group, which provides farmers in northern Uganda with a huge range of sevices from agricultural inputs and extension support services to effective linkages to markets. In this full, unedited interview with Josephine Karungi he talks about how the business started, his personal motivations, and how women and refugees face particular challenges when it comes to farming and making an income in an unstable climate. As one of the major service providers in the region, Omia Agribusiness Development Group is seen by many as a real-world example of how the private sector can help farmers adapt to the challenges of climate change. As part of this process, Omia Agribusiness has been working in partnership with the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative, which is the parent organisation behind this podcast. The Climate Smart Jobs Initiative is funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. You can find Omia Agribusiness Development Group here: https://omiaagribusinessdg.com/ And you can find out more about the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative here: https://csj.co.ug/ As always, thank you for listening. If you have comments or feedback, please drop us a line: climatetalkpod@gmail.com is where you'll find us. Until next time, stay well. Josephine.

    1h 26m
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Climate Talk Uganda aims to explore all aspects of climate change in Uganda. Every two weeks we aim to feature a wide range of people who offer their perspectives on the challenges they - and Uganda - face as climate change continues to play out.

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