Uganda cabinet approves policy initiated by IDRC grantee

The Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), an IDRC grantee under the Think Tank Initiative program, reached a major milestone on May 4, 2016, with cabinet approval of their National Fertilizer Policy. The organization was heavily involved in supporting and influencing the entire five-year policy development process, from policy formulation through to cabinet approval.

EPRC’s research found that Uganda’s soils were no longer fertile, and that fertilizer was required to bolster soil nutrients for better agricultural yields. The process to develop the fertilizer policy, the first that EPRC initiated using their research evidence, commenced in 2010.

The strong case for the use of fertilizers attracted the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to finance a project supporting the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries (MAAIF) in the process of formulation and approval of the national fertilizer regulations, strategy, and policy.

Through several public and nationwide consultations, and the use of strong policy linkages, MAAIF and EPRC engaged various policy actors in the development and eventual endorsement of the National Fertilizer Policy. The Policy regulations and strategy have also been endorsed and will guide and promote the use of fertilizer by Ugandan farmers.