Kyambogo University in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has officially launched the SOWAMA project (Taking Integrated Soil and Water Management to Scale by Addressing Social and Institutional Challenges Through Experiential Learning Games).

The initiative was officially launched by Dr. Henry Opolot Nakalet, Commissioner for Extension and Skills Management at MAAIF, marking a transformative shift toward gamified, community-driven climate resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Partners posing for a group photo at the launch
Partners posing for a group photo at the launch

Uganda’s agricultural sector relies overwhelmingly on rainfed farming systems, making smallholder livelihoods vulnerable to severe land degradation, accelerating soil erosion, rising temperatures, and erratic precipitation. While Integrated Soil and Water Management (ISWM) offers proven solutions, wide-scale adoption often stalls due to entrenched social, behavioral, and governance barriers.

The SOWAMA project directly addresses these scaling bottlenecks by replacing conventional top-down extension methods with co-designed experiential learning games. These interactive tools enable farmers, community leaders, and local government actors to:

  • Simulate real-world trade-offs in soil and water management.
  • Build collective action and community-level governance structures.
  • Enhance joint decision-making to accelerate the voluntary adoption of climate-smart agronomic practices.

SOWAMA is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) under its 2024 grant theme: NL – CGIAR: The Water-Food Nexus in Agri-business Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (Social-economics and Governance).

The initiative directly aligns with and reinforces the ongoing Uganda Climate Smart Agricultural Transformation Project (UCSATP), strengthening national extension capability.

Partner Consortium

  • Lead Institutions: Wageningen University & Research (WUR), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Kyambogo University (KyU).
  • Implementing Partners: Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Uganda Landcare Network (ULN), Uganda Martyrs University (UMU), and Iwadde SACCO.