Climate-smart agriculture is an approach to farming that helps communities improve agricultural productivity while managing land and natural resources more sustainably and strengthening their ability to cope with environmental and climate-related pressures.
At Greenwatch, climate-smart agriculture forms part of our broader work on environmental governance, sustainable land management and community resilience. Our approach recognizes that healthy soils, reliable water resources, productive farms and resilient communities are closely connected. We therefore seek to support practical, community-led interventions that can improve livelihoods while protecting the landscapes on which those livelihoods depend.
Our climate-smart agriculture work is intended to grow over time through different projects and partnerships across Uganda. Depending on the needs of particular communities, interventions may include soil and water conservation, soil fertility improvement, agroforestry, composting, biochar, moisture conservation, catchment management, farmer training and the establishment of practical demonstration and learning sites.
A central principle of this work is community ownership. Farmers and local institutions are not simply beneficiaries of climate-smart agriculture interventions; they are expected to participate in identifying priorities, implementing activities, monitoring progress and sharing knowledge within their communities. This helps create local capacity that can continue beyond the lifetime of an individual project.
Sustainable Landscape Management in Bushika, Bududa District
Greenwatch is working with Agro-Resilience Advisory (ARA) to promote an Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) approach in Bushika Sub-county, Bududa District.
The initiative builds on Greenwatch’s work to advance environmental and climate justice for communities affected by recurring landslides in Bududa. Through strategic public interest litigation in Tsama William & 47 Others v Attorney General and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 024 of 2020), Greenwatch seeks to hold the Government of Uganda accountable for inadequate measures to protect communities from recurring landslides and their impacts. The project complements this legal work by focusing on practical interventions to address land degradation, strengthen climate resilience and support sustainable livelihoods.
Communities in Bushika face interconnected challenges, including soil erosion, declining soil fertility, deforestation and increasingly unpredictable rainfall. These pressures affect agricultural production, food security and the livelihoods of households that depend on land and natural resources. The project seeks to address these challenges through improved catchment management and the promotion of sustainable agricultural and land management practices.
Strengthening Community Capacity and Local Governance
The project recognises that sustainable land management requires the active involvement of communities and the local institutions responsible for managing natural resources. Greenwatch and ARA are working with Bushika Sub-county local government, Community-Based Organisations (CBOs), community leaders and other local actors to strengthen local capacity and support coordinated action.
The initiative includes establishing or strengthening Catchment Management Committees (CMCs) and identifying community members to serve as Trainers of Trainers (ToTs). These structures will support community mobilisation, coordination and the sharing of knowledge on sustainable land management. By equipping local actors with practical skills and responsibilities, the project seeks to strengthen community participation and encourage continued management of natural resources beyond the project period.
Building Local Knowledge and Capacity
Building local capacity is central to the Bududa initiative. The project focuses on equipping farmers and community representatives with practical knowledge and skills in climate-smart agriculture, sustainable land and catchment management, and agroforestry.
Training will cover soil and water conservation, soil fertility and moisture management, compost and biochar production, hedgerow establishment, and the integration of fruit and other useful trees into farming systems. These practices are intended to help farmers manage their land more sustainably while responding to environmental and climate-related challenges.
A Training of Trainers approach will support the transfer of knowledge beyond the initial training participants. Selected community members will be equipped to demonstrate the practices, guide other farmers and encourage their wider application within the community.
Demonstration and Learning Sites
The project provides for the establishment of demonstration sites in Bushika Sub-county to give farmers and community members practical opportunities to learn about sustainable land management, climate-smart agriculture and agroforestry.
The sites will allow farmers to observe the promoted techniques in practice and learn how they can be applied on their own farms. They will also support practical training, farmer visits and the exchange of knowledge between community members.
Host CBOs, community trainers, catchment management structures and other community members will contribute to establishing and managing the sites. This participatory approach is intended to encourage local ownership and provide a foundation for wider adoption of sustainable land management practices across the sub-county.
Connecting Environmental Protection with Livelihoods
For communities that depend on agriculture, the health of the land is closely linked to food security and household livelihoods. The Bududa initiative seeks to promote farming practices that support soil health, conserve water and improve the sustainable use of agricultural land while helping farmers respond to climate-related risks.
Improved land management and agricultural practices have the potential to support food production and create opportunities to strengthen household incomes. Agroforestry can also contribute to these objectives while supporting soil conservation and landscape restoration. The extent to which these benefits are realised will depend on the implementation and continued adoption of the practices promoted through the project.
Achieving lasting change also requires effective local coordination. Community organisations, catchment management structures, community trainers, local government and technical partners will contribute to implementation, community mobilisation, monitoring and the continued management of project activities. Greenwatch will provide overall coordination and quality assurance in collaboration with ARA and local stakeholders.
Looking Beyond Bududa
The initiative contributes to Greenwatch’s broader work to promote environmental protection, climate resilience and sustainable management of natural resources. By combining environmental justice advocacy with practical, community-led interventions, Greenwatch seeks to support approaches that address environmental challenges while strengthening communities’ capacity to manage their land and sustain their livelihoods.
Experience from the Bududa project will also inform future interventions in other communities facing land degradation, declining agricultural productivity and climate-related risks. Through this work, Greenwatch aims to advance approaches that connect sustainable agriculture, healthy landscapes and meaningful community participation in environmental management.