By Jeremiah Nyagah
When a family can grow enough food to feed its children, sell the surplus to pay school fees and save money for the next planting season, food security becomes more than the absence of hunger. It becomes the foundation for dignity, opportunity and a future the family can shape for itself.
This is the promise behind the 2026 World Food Day theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.”
As the world marks the day on October 16, the message is particularly relevant to Uganda, where refugees and their host communities continue to navigate the challenges of food insecurity, limited livelihood opportunities and changing humanitarian assistance.
Uganda has maintained a progressive refugee-hosting approach, supported by the Government, humanitarian agencies, development partners and host communities. However, as humanitarian resources come under pressure, there is an urgent need to complement immediate food assistance with investments that enable vulnerable households to produce food, earn incomes and withstand future shocks.
The transition from humanitarian assistance to self-reliance must not be understood as simply withdrawing food support. It is a deliberate, gradual process of equipping households with the resources, skills, opportunities and confidence to meet their needs sustainably. For the most vulnerable, food assistance remains essential. For households with the capacity to pursue livelihoods, the opportunity is to build pathways towards greater independence without compromising their nutritional wellbeing.
The World Food Programme (WFP) Uganda’s Self-Reliance Model (SRM), introduced in 2023 in partnership with World Vision and other actors, offers an important example of this approach. The model seeks to support refugees classified as moderately vulnerable under food assistance prioritisation to strengthen their livelihoods, diversify incomes and progressively reduce dependence on general food assistance.
Its integrated approach combines social empowerment and mindset change, social protection, livelihood promotion and diversification, digital financial inclusion, and partnership and coordination. The emphasis is on recognising households not merely as recipients of assistance, but as people with skills, ambitions and the potential to contribute to their communities and local economies.
In Yumbe, Koboko and Madi Okollo districts, this approach has practical significance for communities around Bidibidi, Lobule and Rhino Camp refugee settlements. By supporting agricultural value chains and market linkages, increasing household incomes, expanding access to inclusive financial services and promoting peaceful coexistence, the initiative seeks to turn livelihood opportunities into lasting improvements in household food security.
World Vision’s wider refugee response demonstrates how complementary interventions can contribute to this ambition. Its 2025 annual report records support for 3,590 acres of farmland, including 638 acres for block farming; 1,018 village savings and loan association groups with 30,540 members; and 1,051 businesses supported, with a reported survival rate of 94.25%. The report also documents continued food and cash assistance, illustrating why immediate relief and longer-term resilience must work together. These are encouraging building blocks, although their lasting value must ultimately be measured by improvements in household food consumption, income stability and resilience. (World Vision Uganda, 2025 Annual Report)
The Government of Uganda has an important role in sustaining this progress through refugee management, agricultural extension, access to land and productive resources, financial inclusion, infrastructure and local economic development.
Through the Office of the Prime Minister and relevant district authorities, government leadership also provides a framework for coordinating the many actors involved in refugee and host-community support. Development partners can complement these efforts with technical expertise, financing, market connections and innovations that respond to local realities.
However, providing farming inputs alone is not enough. A household may receive quality seeds and agricultural training but still struggle if rainfall is unreliable, produce prices collapse or transport costs make markets inaccessible. Self-reliance therefore requires a stronger connection between production, processing, storage, finance and reliable buyers.
This is where innovation must become practical. First, climate-smart agriculture should be expanded through drought-tolerant crops, water harvesting, small-scale irrigation, soil conservation and locally appropriate farming methods. Better access to weather information can help farmers make informed decisions about planting and harvesting.
Second, digital innovation should connect farmers to market prices, buyers, agricultural advice and financial services. Digital platforms must be accessible to women, young people and households with limited literacy or phone access. Where connectivity is weak, community-based extension workers and local farmer groups can bridge the gap.
Third, savings groups should be connected to appropriate financial products, affordable credit and business development services. Refugee and host-community entrepreneurs need opportunities to invest in enterprises, process agricultural produce and create jobs beyond seasonal farming. Cooperatives, aggregation centres and partnerships with private buyers can help smallholder farmers negotiate better prices and reduce post-harvest losses.
Equally important is ensuring that self-reliance does not come at the expense of children’s wellbeing. A household's progress should be reflected in whether children have nutritious meals, attend school consistently and access healthcare. Women, persons with disabilities and the most vulnerable households must not be left behind as programmes transition towards livelihood-based support. Food assistance should be reduced only through responsible, evidence-based processes that protect people from falling back into hunger.
Finally, partnerships must move beyond parallel projects towards coordinated, locally owned solutions. Government, WFP, World Vision, other humanitarian and development partners, financial institutions, private businesses and community organisations need shared priorities, reliable data and clear measures of progress. Refugees and host communities themselves must help shape the interventions intended to transform their lives.
As Uganda joins the global community to celebrate World Food Day 2026, the challenge is not simply to produce more food today, but to build systems that enable households to access nutritious food tomorrow and long after individual projects end.
The author is the National Director, World Vision Uganda.