Ronald Byaruhanga

Agroecology is increasingly recognized as a transformative pathway for building resilient and equitable food systems and addressing climate challenges. In Uganda, civil society organization (CSO) networks play a pivotal role in promoting agroecology through training, advocacy, and the facilitation of farmer-led innovations. This study examined the role of the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda, a CSO network, in facilitating agroecological transitions through coordinated civil society action. A qualitative case study involved review of 27 internal organizational documents and four in-depth interviews with PELUM Secretariat staff members. The research focused on five key intervention domains of PELUM Uganda: (1) capacity building, (2) research and innovation, (3) networking and collaboration, (4) advocacy, and (5) climate change engagement. Findings indicate that PELUM Uganda employs a multi-approach strategy, combining grassroots farmer training with policy advocacy at regional and national levels. The Secretariat has fostered peer-to-peer learning platforms, promoted agroecology integration into climate policies, and supported leadership development within its member organizations. However, challenges persist, including inadequate documentation systems, limited post-training follow-up, underfunding, institutional fragmentation, and inconsistent member engagement. The analysis shows that civil society networks play a central role in connecting farmers, researchers, and policymakers. Within this system, PELUM Uganda functions as a coordinating hub that facilitates knowledge exchange between farmers and research institutions while representing member organizations in policy discussions. Evidence from interviews and institutional documents indicates that these interactions have led to including agroecology in national climate and agriculture strategies and have strengthened district-level farmer training programs. The findings therefore highlight that scaling agroecology depends on sustained public investment in decentralized research, participatory extension, and structured collaboration with networks like PELUM to develop localized initiatives into national frameworks for climate adaptation and food systems transformation.