On 7 November 2024, the Coalition of Pastoralist Civil Society Organisations (COPACSO), in collaboration with partners, co-organised the official launch of the Keep Your Land, Keep Your Seed campaign in Kangai Sub-County, Dokolo District. This grassroots initiative seeks to protect the land rights, indigenous seeds, and animal genetic resources of Uganda’s pastoralist and farming communities.

The campaign comes in response to growing threats such as land commodification, land grabbing, loss of indigenous seed varieties, and the erosion of traditional knowledge systems. These pressures increasingly undermine the livelihoods, food security, and biodiversity that pastoralist and farming communities depend on.

COPACSO’s Role

As co-organiser of the campaign, COPACSO:

• Led national mobilisation efforts, bringing together pastoralist and farming communities across Uganda’s cattle corridor
• Co-hosted a national press conference in Kampala on 5 November 2024 to raise awareness
• Coordinated the campaign launch in Dokolo District, engaging a wide spectrum of stakeholders
• Produced and disseminated educational materials — brochures, posters, issue papers, T-shirts — across participating communities
• Facilitated the showcasing of indigenous seeds and pasture varieties with contributions from community elders

Through this leadership, COPACSO reinforced its ongoing commitment to people-centred land governance, aligning the campaign with broader goals of protecting customary land rights and strengthening indigenous knowledge systems.

Key Campaign Messages

The campaign, co-organised by COPACSO and partners, raised public awareness on:

• The growing commodification of communal land
• Land grabs linked to large-scale commercial agriculture and development projects
• Declining land productivity due to unsustainable land use
• The erosion of indigenous seed systems in favour of commercial or genetically modified (GMO) varieties
• The need for cultural justice in land governance

Calls to Action

The campaign’s calls to action, jointly advanced by COPACSO and its partners, urge:

• The Government of Uganda to protect communal land rights, regulate the land market, and integrate indigenous knowledge into land and agricultural policies
• Civil society organisations to promote sustainable land practices and safeguard indigenous seeds
• Local communities to establish community seed banks, preserve traditional pasturelands, and pass on indigenous knowledge
• Stronger gender-sensitive land policies and inclusive land governance frameworks

A Broad-Based Effort

The campaign launch in Dokolo brought together:

• Pastoralists and smallholder farmers
• Community leaders, CSOs and government officials
• Religious and traditional leaders
• Youth and women representatives
• Researchers, media and officials from key ministries

Looking Ahead

COPACSO will continue to advance the goals of the Keep Your Land, Keep Your Seed campaign through:

• Ongoing advocacy at national and local levels
• Community mobilisation and capacity building
• Continued collaboration with stakeholders in Uganda and the broader region

COPACSO remains committed to protecting indigenous seeds, animal genetics, and land rights paving the way for more resilient, sustainable livelihoods for pastoralist and farming communities across Uganda.