Food system analysis of Arua District in Uganda. Report 1, Proposed research framework and description of the food system

Samenvatting

This paper describes the different components of the food system of Arua. The inventory is a first step in a research assignment between Wageningen University and relevant stakeholders in Northern Uganda. The research is meant to understand how food systems in less favoured areas in East Africa can be enhanced. On the basis of a theoretical food systems model, data were collected on food production in the area, the socio-economic context, the environmental conditions, and food security status. Information was retrieved partly through desk research and partly through district consultations in October 2019. The model and therefore also the information collected draws upon a wide variety of factors influencing food security and in this way paints a comprehensive picture of the food system. The resulting quick scan will be the basis for the next step in the research process: furthering our understanding of the functioning of the multifaceted food system of Arua and why it is currently underperforming; how different components are interrelated and how these relationships explain strengths and weaknesses, robustness of the system and the potential to sustain the expected changes in the region for the decades to come such as population growth, influx of refugees, urbanisation, globalisation, climate change, changing food preferences. Better understanding amongst science and stakeholders will ultimately assist in designing, choosing and pushing the “right” buttons in the system expected to lead to effective interventions for improved food security of Arua. Keywords: food system, Uganda, Arua, refugees, food security, nutrition, agriculture, climate, population growth.