HUMAN RIGHTS AND AGRICULTURE

 

 

AGROREF UGANDA

HUMAN RIGHTS AND AGRICULTURE PERFORMANCE IN UGANDA

 

ABOUT AGROREF UGANDA

Agriculture Reform (AgroRef) Uganda is a Non-Governmental and Not-for -Profit Organization focusing on advancing agricultural policy reforms, budget advocacy and supporting building of systems; fostering values of equity, accountability, transparency and sustainability of organisations especially small holder farmer organizations including but not limited to agricultural cooperatives using a Human Rights Based Approach.

Background

The relationship of human rights and agriculture is a topic that is attracting attention as issues of human rights continue to define how the entire eco-system of agriculture relate and affect each other.

AgroRef Uganda has a privileged position as it deals directly with people whose wellbeing and livelihood stem from agriculture and therefore shares great interest on issues that affect farmers in particular and the agriculture sector in general but also with this experience remark on issues of human rights that affect the sector. It is suiting to note that Human Rights Based Approach to agriculture is a new phenomenon that is or should be adopted if the sector is to be relevant and contribute to economic development and poverty eradication.

Taking a Human Rights Based Approach is about using international human rights standards in the agriculture sector that will ensure that farmer’s human rights are put at the very centre of public policies. This will empower farmers to know and claim their rights and increase their ability to organize, fulfil their human rights obligations and create solid accountability.

Human rights issues like low prices paid to farmers, resulting in extreme poverty which violates producers’ rights to a decent standard of living and often causes further infringements of other rights, for example, the right to health and well-being, discrimination against women and other minorities: this keeps people locked in exploitative labour situations and denies them their rights to equal protection and fair remuneration and employers deterring workers’ attempts to unionize: union busting in any form violates freedom of association.

Agriculture being the major economic activity in Uganda and employing the largest proportion of the population, by default, means that human rights issues within the sector contribute a lot to the general status of human rights in the country. The international framework through which rights of farmers and those employed in the agricultural sector, are enshrined in international instruments like Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) indirectly under Article 25 (1), but also under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In December 2018, the United Nations further adopted a resolution by the General Assembly Declaring on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) of the UN General Assembly voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas.

The UN Declaration aims to better protect the rights of all rural populations including peasants, fisher folks, nomads, agricultural workers and indigenous peoples and to improve living conditions, as well as to strengthen food sovereignty, the fight against climate change and the conservation of biodiversity. The endorsement of the UN Declaration also constitutes an important contribution to the international community’s effort to promote family farming and peasant agriculture.

In 2022, Uganda went through the Third Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the final outcome of the review of Uganda was adopted by the Human Rights Council at its 50^th Session. Some of the recommendations given during the review were speaking to government fulfilment of its obligations in improving the agricultural sector.

In its submission on the right to adequate food, the government Uganda stated it has continued to ensure access by all especially the vulnerable to nutritious and sufficient food and is taking steps to end all forms of malnutrition in line with SDG2.  That in the last five years, Government has been implementing the Uganda multi-sectoral food security and nutrition project in the 15 most malnourished districts in Uganda as indicated by the levels of stunting and dietary diversity.

During the same UPR, Djibouti and Iraq recommended respectively that Uganda should, “Pursue efforts to set up extended social protection for all categories of the population, particularly agricultural workers, and ensure their equal access to quality health services, and continue to provide social assistance and increase support for individuals and families with limited income.”

In Uganda, the Constitution guarantees the economic rights of citizens, for example under objective XI Role of the State in Development asserts that;

(i)                  The State shall stimulate agricultural, industrial, technological and scientific development by adopting appropriate policies and the enactment of enabling legislation.

Article 40 offers more protection for economic rights;

(1) Parliament shall enact laws-

(a) To provide for the right of persons to work under satisfactory, safe and healthy conditions;

(2) Every person in Uganda has the right to practice his or her profession and to carry on any lawful occupation, trade or business.

(3) Every worker has a right-

(a) to form or join a trade union of his or her choice for the promotion and protection of his or her economic and social interests; to collective bargaining and representation.

Mechanisms like the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and Ministry of Trade, Industries and Cooperatives (MTIC) where issues of farmers including human rights can be channeled. The State further enacted the Co-operative Societies Act (1991) Cap 112 and the Cooperatives Societies regulations of 1992.

The government has put in place a favorable legal and regulatory framework for promotion and protection of the rights of farmers though a lot is left to be desired.

THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

According to the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2019/20, the highest percentage of the working population (68.1 percent) works in the Agriculture sector and taking the largest share in employment (47 percent). Agriculture is the third most important sector, contributing about 24.0 percent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The Uganda National Population and Housing Census (NPHC 2014) indicate that approximately 80% of households in the country are engaged in agriculture where approximately 90% reside in the rural areas. The Annual Agricultural Survey (AAS) 2019 confirms that the agricultural sector ranks first in terms of labour force in the Ugandan economy. Approximately 6.9 million households operated / cultivated land and/or reared livestock during the agricultural year 2019. 76.8% of Agricultural Households (Ag HHs) heads reported to be mainly engaged in agricultural activities. The percentage increases to 86.7 percent when focusing solely on the female heads.

Around 85 percent of Ag HHs engage in crop production both for own consumption and income-generation and only 14.4 percent of Ag HHs cultivate crops exclusively for own consumption. Further, 70.8 percent of Ag HHs raised livestock both for own consumption and income and only 3 percent raised livestock solely for own consumption. As such, agriculture remains a backbone in securing subsistence and income to a large portion of the population.

The Annual Agriculture Survey 2019 confirms the presence of gender-based disparities on tenure rights, which were already observed in 2018. 40.8% of adults (18+) living in agricultural households own or have tenure rights over the land they cultivate. Such percentage gets as high as 52% among men, while it goes down to 30.4% among the women. Yet, women cultivate crops more frequently than men and for longer hours. Indeed, the survey indicates that, during the first season, female household members dedicated on average 45.6 person-days to crop production against 35.1 of their male counterparts.

SALIENT HUMAN RIGHTS CHALLENGES IN THE SECTOR

Agribusinesses have a responsibility to ensure that human rights are respected within their operations and across their supply chains. However, many of farmer organizations in Uganda have significant land footprints, operate in complex value chain networks, and are major employers with fragile social and economic environments.

Several different challenges are faced by actors interested in food security and the human right to adequate food which include trade agreements with unbearable consequences for small-scale farmers; already tangible climate changes; mining and other development projects destroying livelihoods and evicting millions of people in the rural areas, uncontrolled use of pesticides and shared fear of consumers and small producers concerning GMOs. In the light of all these challenges, the debate about food sovereignty appears to be necessary and legitimate. Today, Uganda is symptomatic of the persisting and emerging challenges to food security and nutrition. The right to adequate food and the tools it offers are attracting growing attention by both government and civil society.

Labor rights including child labor, excessive hours with low wages and human trafficking are often the leading human rights concerns in the agriculture sector. These rights are protected in several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Core Labor Conventions, and they are incorporated into the Guiding Principles. According to a report published by ILO, “The role of social protection in the elimination of child labour”, recent statistics from Uganda show that the prevalence of child labour rose from 21 to 36 per cent during COVID-19.

According to the ILO, 60 percent of global child labor occurs in the agriculture sector. The ILO guidance suggests setting a minimum age of 15, and defines child labor as becoming an issue when the work “harms a child's well-being and hinders his or her education, development, and future livelihood."

In Uganda, distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate child labor can be difficult. Many parents living on small farms are proud to teach their children agricultural skills. In some rural areas, full-time child laborers often come from poor families who lack access to educational resources. Removing children from work and placing them in school could exacerbate their family’s poverty and increase vulnerability.

Secondly, agricultural workers are particularly susceptible to excessive hours and low wages. According to Article 23 of the UDHR, “Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring, an existence worthy of human dignity.” Article 25 adds that, “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food clothing, housing and medical care.” Work in the agriculture supply chain is labor-intensive and often occurs in seasonal bursts, requiring more temporary labour. Temporary workers are often employed with short-term contracts that do not always include protections or benefits provided to full-time workers.

Right to Water and Sanitation is also another human rights concern in the agriculture sector. Accounting for approximately 70 percent of the world’s water usage, the agricultural industry’s impact on the availability of clean water is significant. Heavy water use can create problems when it comes to determining who has the right to this scarce natural resource, and in assessing the quality of water returned to the system. Industrial agricultural practices can affect water quality from excess nutrients, pesticides, and other pollutants. Examining water usage through a human rights lens requires an understanding of how water use in operations and supply chains affects local communities, and will reveal better ways to reduce water inputs and increase efficiency.

Land Conversion and Resettlement in Uganda also possess human rights challenges. The growing population coupled with increased incomes places more pressure on available land for agricultural production. Land conversion can result in significant environmental damage, and it also raises human rights issues under ILO and UN conventions when companies do not fairly compensate legitimate but unofficially recognized landowners; when they fail to obtain free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from relocated communities; or when they fail to provide equal or better standards of living in resettlement communities. Human rights are also affected indirectly through conflicts that arise when land expansion occurs without community consent, land ownership is not recognized by the State, the rightful property owners are not consulted or fairly compensated, resulting in local resistance to the projects.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The parliament of Uganda should fact track the enactment of the contract farming bill 2022 that would protect the rights of farmers in Uganda
2. Build farmer’ capacities to understand and operationalize the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and safeguard human rights in their supply chains.
3. Mitigate the risk of child labor and address its root causes, it is important to conduct awareness-raising and training for all employees; strengthens school access through the provision of school feeding, scholarships, and materials; invests in childcare centers; and more
4. Agriculture and food companies must work with labor unions, Cooperatives, local and national governments, and stakeholders across the supply chain to address wider challenges such as poverty, social norms, land ownership, plus local access to education, justice and remedy.
5. Companies and farmer organizations should begin by conducting human rights risk or impact assessments, identifying key issues, and then formulating a human rights policy around those risks.
6. Famer organizations ought also to adopt internal human rights policies, which demonstrates the organization’s commitment to address its issues and provides a useful tool to drive internal compliance.
7. To ensure consistency in compliance and remediation, sector-wide expectations on respecting human rights are necessary. It should be noted that commodity or organization-specific siloed approaches do not work, as human rights abuses will simply shift into different supply chains within a given local economy. There must be a united, zero-tolerance stance on human rights abuses from all actors in government and business.         

CONCLUSION

Context-specific approaches to prevention and remediation of human rights abuses are necessary, given the different social and economic complexities in agricultural regions that drive the root causes of these challenges. What works well for coffee farmers in Masaka cannot simply be applied for Cocoa farmers in Bundibugyo given the differing cultural norms, regulations, social services and other factors.

The inalienability, universality, individuality and interdependence of human rights, if well promoted and respected in the agricultural sector in Uganda, and are upheld by the rule of law and strengthened through legitimate claims for duty-bearers to be accountable to international standards and national policy frameworks, then farmers will be able to work in a more favourable operating environment and ultimately improve their general standards of living and contribution to national growth and development.