By Herbert Musoke and Joshua Kato
How do you deal with a neighbour whose goats break into your farm and eat your maize?
How do you resolve a situation where your bull jumps into a neighbour’s farm and mates with their cows?
What does the law say about contract farming? What does the law say about people destroying others’ farmlands?
What legal documents should a farmer keep? What are the different types of land holdings?
Like in any other environment, conflict often arises within agricultural settings, disrupting plans, depleting resources and hindering progress. This is why Vision Group has organised a session that will explore how conflicts in Uganda’s agricultural sector can be effectively addressed, by combining interventions available within the legal sector with lessons learned from community-based processes grounded in real-life experiences.
The training session will take place on Friday, February 14 and will be led by Catherine Baine-Omugisha, a conflict mitigation and alternative dispute resolution advocate at Baine-Omugisha Legal Consultants and Advocates in Kampala.
The presentation will examine the legal framework governing agriculture, the roles of stakeholders across the supply chain and common triggers of conflict.
“You have likely heard of many conflicts on farms, among farmers, and with other stakeholders. Solving them is never easy. Many end up devastating farmers. We will discuss all of these issues at the expo,” Baine-Omugisha said.
Using real-life case scenarios and insights from community-based knowledge, the presentation will address disputes, such as land wrangles, strained labour relations between farmers and employees and the limited recognition of women’s significant contributions to the agricultural sector.
Other topics include domestic violence related to land access and farm proceeds, management and disposal of agricultural waste, contamination of feeds and food, counterfeit agricultural inputs, cattle theft, farm animals straying into neighbouring farms, wild animals damaging crops, access to markets and the challenge of middlemen/ women exploiting farmers.
What to expect
The presentation will showcase examples of how disputes have been resolved through litigation and alternative dispute resolution (ADR), highlighting the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of ADR methods, such as mediation.
It will also demonstrate the impact of unresolved conflicts on agricultural productivity and profitability, providing practical strategies for conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution.
“By the end of the presentation, attendees of the Harvest Money Expo will have a clear understanding of the role of ADR in fostering harmonious agricultural operations, ultimately contributing to agripreneurship and the sector’s growth,” Baine-Omugisha emphasised.
