An investigation into food storage systems as an Architectural intervention to improving food security in Uganda: a case of Mudodo village, Tororo District, Uganda.

Abstract

Agriculture, the backbone of Uganda’s economy accounts for about 30 % of the National GDP and over 70% of the total export earning; being the largest employer; employing over 60% of the total working population. However, the population growth rate does not match the food production due to limited innovation and technological application in the agricultural sector. This includes but is not limited to post harvest handling, drying and storage systems. The major factors affecting farmers are attributable to poor storage systems and weak value addition techniques resulting in high post-harvest losses of agricultural produce and contributing to the high levels of food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition in Uganda. The transformational vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on all countries and stakeholders to work together to end hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition by 2030. This ambition can only be fulfilled if agriculture and food systems become sustainable, so that food supplies are stable and all people have access to adequate nutrition and health”, quoted from Food & Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) report 2008. The Ministry of Agriculture has called for the implementation of strategic interventions which seek to improve on agricultural and post-harvest handling practices among smallholder farmers. The majority of smallholder farmers still use antiquated production, storage and food preservation systems which have been found to be largely ineffective and wasteful. This study explored the nature, structure, capacity and effectiveness of the storage systems used in Uganda. Respondents were interviewed on a one-to-one basis along with focus group discussions to obtain their experiences on the storage systems in use. This research sought to investigate the traditional food storage systems used by rural farmers and determine their suitability for storage and post-harvest handling purposes. Furthermore, how these food storage systems could be further improved as an architectural intervention contributing to ending hunger, poverty in Uganda.