25 August 2026 | Kawempe, Uganda
Uganda’s Energy Ministry pledged to use evidence-based recommendations from PEP-supported research to refine regulatory frameworks and support an inclusive low-carbon transition.
Participants and speakers at the CEDCA National Policy Conference on clean energy for development in Uganda.
Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development committed, in remarks delivered on the Minister’s behalf, to using evidence-based policy recommendations from a PEP-supported research project to strengthen regulatory frameworks. The pledge came at a National Policy Conference hosted by the project team from Makerere University. The recommendations will also support Uganda's inclusive low-carbon transition.
The conference built on the research team’s engagement with stakeholders throughout the project’s implementation, bringing together over 100 participants. These engagements established strategic relationships with government ministries and agencies, agricultural technology companies, research institutions, civil society organisations, local governments, extension workers, the media, and farming communities.
Representatives from seven government ministries and agencies responsible for energy, agriculture, finance, the environment and social development attended.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Development's representative told the research team that he had shared the Minister’s remarks to feature in the Ministry’s end-of-quarter newsletter, creating an additional opportunity for the findings to reach officials across the Ministry.
Recommendations and research findings
Members of the research team, Prof Edward Bbaale, Dr Aisha Nanyiti and Dr Florence Lwiza presented findings from the study, while Gyaviira Ssewankambo outlined the project’s broader outputs and stakeholder engagement.
The study recommends piloting Community Service Centres that would bring suppliers and technical support closer to farmers. These centres could reduce inspection costs, improve farmers’ access to agricultural technology companies and build confidence in the available equipment.
The research team examined whether community information sessions and radio promotions could increase farmers’ awareness, demand and adoption of low-carbon agricultural technologies.
The community sessions provided information about the benefits and availability of solar irrigation and processing equipment. Some farmers also received information about the Electricity Access Scale-up Project, through which the Government provides a 60% subsidy on eligible low-carbon equipment.
The sessions increased farmers’ awareness of the financing programme but did not lead to greater ownership of agricultural machinery during the study period.
The radio promotion also produced no measurable increase in awareness of the subsidy programme or adoption of drip irrigation. Although farmers expressed considerable interest in irrigation and processing equipment, their willingness to pay remained below the market price.
The researchers identified inspection costs, limited access to agricultural technology suppliers and poor responses from some suppliers as additional barriers. Women and younger farmers may face particular constraints.
More policymakers respond to the evidence
The conference generated discussion on how government institutions, researchers and private companies could work together to improve farmers’ access to low-carbon technologies.
Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries called for greater collaboration among the Ministry's departments and with researchers at Makerere University.
Rebecca Ssabaganzi, District Natural Resources Officer for Wakiso District, contributed to discussions on how institutions could collaborate to improve the proposed models.
Isaac Rubagumya, representing the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, commended the research team for disseminating the findings and convening stakeholders from across the sector.
Engagement continues after the conference.
Alfred Kizza, Risk Manager at the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company and a conference panellist, requested the research and policy briefs for internal circulation within the organisation.
Participants also encouraged stakeholders to advocate for uptake of the recommendations. They called for further testing of financing mechanisms, including preferential credit and other forms of support that could help farmers overcome the cost of adopting new technologies.
The research team will continue engaging conference participants and other stakeholders, particularly representatives who could not attend, to gather additional feedback and explore opportunities for collaboration.
The conference demonstrated the value of bringing government, researchers, technology providers, and farmers together to consider what prevents smallholders from adopting low-carbon agricultural technologies.
The research was conducted with financial and scientific support from the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) as part of the Rural renewable energy MSMEs operating to modernize agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia programme, implemented in partnership with the Environment for Development (EfD) network, with funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) as part of the Clean Energy for Development: A Call to Action (CEDCA) initiative.
