Presented in October 2014 at the 4th ISOFAR Scientific Conference 'Building Organic Bridges' at the Organic World Congress 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey. The original report is online at Organic e-prints http://orgprints.org/23253/

1. Ugandan homegardens are complex farming
systems 1
They contain many underutilized food plants 2. Strong potential
exists for the expansion of agrobiodiversity, the promotion of
indigenous plants 3, and the promotion of this underutilized
diversity in Ugandan Organic. However, a clearer understanding
of the influencing factors on agrobiodiversity 4, and the dynamics
of homegarden systems 1 is needed at the local level 4.
Homegardens in Uganda: Diversity and Potential
C. W. Whitney1,2,*, J. Gebauer1,
1 Faculty of Life Sciences, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Marie-Curie-Straße 1, 47533 Kleve, Germany
*contact: cory.whitney@hsrw.eu, +49 2821 80673 +664
Introduction
Potential
• Potential exists for the expansion of homegardens in Uganda
and the subsequent promotion of indigenous plants for
traditional food and nutrition.
• Potential exists for the Organic movement to meet the diverse
demands of the Ugandan people, to utilize the agrobiodiversity
of homegardens, and to include indigenous plants.
Future Research more information is needed at the local
level to help create ecologically sound, economically appropriate
and socially relevant solutions.
• Consider the dynamics of homegarden systems
• Consider the influence of the structure of these systems on
biodiversity retention, and in understanding how to minimize
loss of biodiversity with changing agricultural practices
Results & Discussion
Materials & Methods
Conclusions
Research Aims
In determining the importance of Ugandan
homegarden diversity for Organic Markets the
aims of the review were two-fold:
• Ascertain plant diversity in homegardens in Uganda
• Ascertain plant diversity in Organic markets in Uganda
• Literature review was conducted to ascertain the
biodiversity in homegardens and Organic markets in Uganda.
• Interviews and data review from the National
Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) and
the Uganda Organic Certification Ltd. (UgoCert).
Acknowledgements
Funding
This study was undertaken as part of ‘Screening Crop Varieties
Against Post Harvest Performance’ (031A247B) financially
supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and
Research (BMBF) within the collaborative research project
GlobE-RELOAD.
Support
This work would not have been possible without the support
of the National Organic Agriculture Movement of Uganda
(NOGAMU) and the Uganda Organic Certification Ltd.
(UgoCert)
Figure 1. Map of Uganda
Figure 2. Bunches of the common local varieties of Musa accuminata (Ebitoke and Bugoya) on daily Ugandan wet-markets
Literature Cited
1. Tabuti, J. R. S. Important woody plant species, their management and conservation status in Balawoli Sub-county, Uganda. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 10, 269-286 (2012).
2. Tabuti, J. R. S., Muwanika, V. B., Arinaitwe, M. Z. & Ticktin, T. Conservation of priority woody species on farmlands: A case study from Nawaikoke sub-county, Uganda. Applied Geography 31, 456-462 (2011).
3. Scales, B. R. & Marsden, S. J. Biodiversity in small-scale tropical agroforests: a review of species richness and abundance shifts and the factors influencing them. Environmental Conservation 35, 160-172 (2008).
4. Buyinza, M. Land-use intensity in the tree cropping homesteads in Kamuli, Eastern Uganda. Agricultural Journal 4, 46-51 (2009).
5. FAO. State of the World’s Forests, 2011 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2011).
6. Eilu, G., Oriekot, J. & Tushabe, H. Conservation of indigenous plants outside protected areas in Tororo District, eastern Uganda. African Journal of Ecology 45, 73-78 (2007).
7. Kakudidi, E. K. Cultural and social uses of plants from and around Kibale National Park, Western Uganda. African Journal of Ecology 42, 114-118 (2004).
8. Niñez, V. Introduction: Household gardens and small-scale food production. Food and nutrition Bulletin 7, 1-5 (1985).
Keywords: Uganda, homegardens, Organic potential, rare plants, indigenous crops, agrobiodiversity
Ugandan homegardens
Ugandan homegardens are complex and small-scale farming
systems 1 optimized to meet multiple needs and maximize
resources with multi-purpose plants 5,2 including many indigenous
plants 6,3 selected over generations to fill farm-ecological niches 3.
Figure 3. Typical homegarden with plants filling a diversity of
niches e.g. Amaranthus, Ananas, Carica, Malus, Mangifera, Musa,
Passiflora, Persea, Solanaceae, and Zingiberaceae spp. cf. 8.
Ugandans uses of indigenous plant species
Ugandans use many plant parts 7, primarily for food 5, but also for
a diversity of technical, economic 6, and socio-cultural uses 6,7.
Despite this variety there are many underutilized food plants in
Uganda 2,5, threatened by more crop species, more intensive
management and shortening of cultivation cycles 4.
Figure 5. Weekend wet-market stall containing a variety of
underutilized indigenous plants e.g. Ocimum, and Pennisetum,
Crassulaceae, and Zingiberaceae spp.
Ugandan Organic markets
National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) and
their company Uganda Organic Certification Limited (Ugocert ) offer
fresh and dried fruit, herbs, tea and spices nuts and butters, and processed
essential oils with around 20 species of bark cloth.
Typical Ugandan daily wet markets contain Musa spp. with little
else (Fig. 2). However, weekend wet markets have a greater variety
of indigeous species (Fig. 5)
Homegardens are on the decline in Uganda, mainly due to social
and economic pressures 1. The indigenous plants that many of
them contain are also in danger 2 due to over-harvesting 6,
destructive harvesting, pests, lack of farmer’s knowledge, and
droughts 2,3.
Figure 4. Landscape view of a typical Ugandan Homegarden
less than 1 hectare containing multiple crops and indigenous
species around the home (after Jacke & Toensmeier’s book
‘Edible Forest Gardens’ 2005)
Threats to Uganda Homegardens and
Indigenous Plants