The Farmers' Voice program is a two-year initiative launched in Uganda to improve food security governance in East Africa. Funded by the EU and Agriterra, it will be implemented in Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya working with national farmers' organizations representing over 5 million smallholder farmers. The program aims to empower smallholders' participation in policy processes by strengthening the capacity of farmers' organizations to engage in policy discussions and proposals related to post-harvest losses and strategic food reserves. It seeks to give voice to the concerns of grassroots farmers and amplify their input to influence national and regional food security policies.

1. Farmers’ Voice: Improving Food Security Governance in East Africa.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Kampala, Uganda, Friday 7th June, 2013
Dear Press,
We welcome you here this morning to the unveiling of the Farmers’ Voice program.
The country director Trias Paul Allertz said; Trias (the Belgian Agri-agency) in Uganda is implementing 2-
years’ programme called: Farmers’ Voice: Improving Food Security Governance in East Africa. The
Programme will be implemented in three East-African countries (Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya). It is mainly
funded by the European Commission (EU) under the Food Security Thematic Programme, with co-funding
from Agriterra (the Dutch Agri-agency). The Programme has been jointly designed and will be implemented in
partnership with Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federation (EAFF) and 4 National Farmers’ Organisations in East
Africa. These include: Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE), Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA),
Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP) and Mtandao wa Vikundi vya Wakulima
Tanzania (MVIWATA). The National Farmers’ Organisations will in turn work with 9 district-based Farmers’
Organisations – in all a total of 14 farmers’ organizations. These represent over 5 million farmers, the majority
of whom are smallholders.
The President of UNFFE Charles Ogang said; The Programme recognizes that, whereas across all three
countries, smallholder farmers constitute over 70% of the population, their voice has been silent, or not
adequately taken into consideration in policy formulation and influencing processes. Most policies have been
formulated top-down without listening to the voice of the smallholders, despite the fact that they are most
affected by those policies. One of the main tasks of Farmers’ Organisations is to defend the rights of their
members and represent their interests. Farmers who are not organized are easily forgotten by their
governments. This programme supports Farmers’ Organisations to lobby their governments to ensure that
farmers receive the attention and services they need and deserve.
Programme Coordinator Farmers Voice Bernard Tumwebaze said; the programme aims to contribute to
the empowerment of smallholders’ participation in food security related policy processes. The programme will
strengthen the capacity of Farmers’ Organisations and their membership in participatory generation of policy
proposals and policy engagement. The main theme of the Programme is Food Security, with key focus on
the two sub-themes of Post-Harvest Losses and Strategic Food Reserves and their related policy
processes. In this programme we will apply the Farmers’ Advocacy Consultation Tool (FACT), developed by
Agriterra.
Through a cascading effect, issues generated from the grassroot farmers through consultation and
participatory research will be synthesized, and policy issues identified for the district levels, national levels and
regional level, taking advantage of the East Africa Community arrangement.
The General Secretary UCA, Leoanrd Msemakweli said; working with regional and national farmers’
organizations is paramount and of strategic importance. The Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federation, of which
UNFFE, UCA, KENFAP and MVIWATA are already members, represents over 6 million farmers. The
programme would wish to see 6 million voices amplified into one “Farmers’ Voice” demanding for better
policies in food security from their national governments. Working at regional level will be a huge opportunity
to influence all the three governments and the East Africa Parliament.