By Frank Kamuntu

PELUM Uganda, in conjunction with various partners, has kicked off the African Women In Agroecology Expo 2023 held at Freedom Square in Makerere University under the theme; “𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓: 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.”

The expo was officially launched by Dr. Mujuni Bernard, Commissioner of Equity and Rights, Directorate of Social Protection, Ministry of Gender, Labour & Social Development who was the Guest of Honor.

The expo attracted women from; Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

Nalule Hadijah the PELUM Uganda Gender Focal Person who doubles as Agricultural Market and Business Development Programme Officer said that the expo aims to celebrate women who showcase their contributions to agroecology with an emphasis on their pivotal role in Agriculture as a whole.

”We are acknowledging the crucial role of women in agroecology and their often-underappreciated contributions to agroecological knowledge and practices, food security, nutrition, and sustainable development,” said Nalule before she added that the expo will help women from the mentioned countries to network and share experiences on how they can transform the food systems through women movements.

Nalule raised an alarm to the Government to intervene on challenges affecting women like lack of control over land among others.

”These women when they sell their produce, money is controlled by men and we see this as an injustice. Secondly, the government should support women in putting up credit and financial services that are favorable to them but also create markets for their produces locally and internationally,” added Nalule.

See Pictorial Of What We Captured For You At The Expo