The Coalition of Pastoralist Civil Society Organisations (COPACSO) is pleased to share a major policy update with our partners, pastoralist communities, and the public: we have published our latest Policy Brief, “Integrating Indigenous Pastoralist Knowledge into Uganda’s Climate-Resilient Food Systems.”
This work was made possible through the funding and support of the Agroecology Fund (AEF). We express our sincere gratitude to AEF for their partnership in defending rangeland food sovereignty, empowering pastoralist youth, and advancing agroecology across Uganda.
As Uganda faces increasing climate variability, droughts, and environmental stress, this policy brief demonstrates how centuries-old pastoralist practices such as rotational grazing, seasonal livestock mobility, herbal veterinary medicine and native seed preservation provide vital solutions for national food security and climate adaptation.
What the Public and Stakeholders Need to Know
- Pastoral Mobility is Climate Adaptation: Rather than viewing livestock mobility as outdated, national policies must recognize it as a sophisticated, sustainable strategy that allows herders to navigate unpredictable weather and protect fragile rangelands.
- Protecting Customary Rangelands & Native Seeds: Communal grazing lands and indigenous seed varieties are essential for dryland food sovereignty. Our policy brief calls for legally safeguarding customary rangelands against fragmentation and protecting native seeds against encroachment.
- Empowering Producers via Ecomarket Indigenous: Rural pastoralist producers face unfair market barriers and registration hurdles. Supported by AEF, COPACSO is advocating for accessible quality certification pathways so community cooperatives can sell organic products directly to consumers via Ecomarket Indigenous (www.ecomart.copacso.org).
- Archiving Knowledge on EcoTV: Through youth-led digital storytelling supported by AEF, Indigenous ecological wisdom shared by Karamojong elders is preserved and streamed on EcoTV (ecotv.copacso.org) for public education and research.
COPACSO gratefully acknowledges the Agroecology Fund (AEF) for its commitment and financial support. AEF’s investment has enabled us to bridge ancestral pastoralist wisdom with digital innovation, strengthen local producer livelihoods and bring indigenous voices to national climate policy dialogues.
Resource Links & Public Access
- Read & Download the Policy Brief: Download Full Policy Brief (PDF)
- Watch Community Stories: Explore indigenous knowledge videos on EcoTV
- Support Local Producers: Browse organic rangeland products on Ecomarket Indigenous
- Join the Online Campaign: Follow #KeepYourLandKeepYourSeed across social media (Twitter/X: @COPACSO, Facebook: @Ecomarketindigenous256, YouTube: @EcoTv256) to support policy reforms for pastoralist communities.
