Advertise on podcast: Climate Talk Uganda With Josephine Karungi

Iganachi Razaki Omia is the founder and CEO of Omia Agribusiness Development Group, which provides farmers in northern Uganda with a huge range of sevices from agricultural inputs and extension support services to effective linkages to markets. In this full, unedited interview with Josephine Karungi he talks about how the business started, his personal motivations, and how women and refugees face particular challenges when it comes to farming and making an income in an unstable climate. As one of the major service providers in the region, Omia Agribusiness Development Group is seen by many as a real-world example of how the private sector can help farmers adapt to the challenges of climate change. As part of this process, Omia Agribusiness has been working in partnership with the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative, which is the parent organisation behind this podcast. The Climate Smart Jobs Initiative is funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. You can find Omia Agribusiness Development Group here: https://omiaagribusinessdg.com/ And you can find out more about the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative here: https://csj.co.ug/ As always, thank you for listening. If you have comments or feedback, please drop us a line: [email protected] is where you'll find us. Until next time, stay well. Josephine.

Iganachi Razaki Omia is the founder and CEO of Omia Agribusiness Development Group, which provides farmers in northern Uganda with a huge range of sevices from agricultural inputs and extension support services to effective linkages to markets. He joins Josephine Karungi to talk about how the business started, his personal motivations, and how women and refugees face particular challenges when it comes to farming and making an income in an unstable climate. As one of the major service providers in the region, Omia Agribusiness Development Group is seen by many as a real-world example of how the private sector can help farmers adapt to the challenges of climate change. As part of this process, Omia Agribusiness has been working in partnership with the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative, which is the parent organisation behind this podcast. The Climate Smart Jobs Initiative is funded by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. You can find Omia Agribusiness Development Group here: https://omiaagribusinessdg.com/ And you can find out more about the Climate Smart Jobs Initiative here: https://csj.co.ug/ This episode is an edited version of a longer conversation I had with Iganachi Razaki Omia. You can find the full audio of our chat by going to our episode called Climate Talk Extra - Iganachi Razaki Omia in Conversation with Josephine Karungi. As always, thank you for listening. If you have comments or feedback, please drop us a line: [email protected] is where you'll find us. Until next time, stay well. Josephine.

Looking back on it, 2025 was a big year: we covered climate change, electric boda-bodas and reducing food waste; innovations to improve the shelf life of fruit and increase moisture retention in soil; coffee prices, food prices and how climate change affects them, including at the local market; we've talked mental health, public health more broadly and how AI might be used to predict future needs; climate change as a hazard for humans, flood impacts, and environmental protection. Resilience at a community level, why wetlands matter and climate change journalism; COP30, how it unfolded and what it means for Uganda. And our most listened to episode: an up close account of the closure of USAID in Uganda, the unfinished projects left behind and the possible cost to Uganda's future. It's a lot, and yet there's so much more to do. Which is why we're so excited about the year ahead, when we'll continue exploring the day to day impacts of climate change across Uganda, and bringing you analysis, stories and perspectives. We hope you'll continue to spread the news about the podcast among your networks of friends and colleagues, and thanks for listening. With best wishes, Josephine

So much stuff in this episode. Big stuff. Uganda is now co-chairing the Green Climate Fund: 'You can't be the one that is slaughtering a cow and then you don't give your family a big part of that cow.' Then there's the green list, the red list and the blue zone; the promised tripling of adaptation finance and the adaptation plan for Uganda. There's the fossil fuel roadmap that wasn't; a phased approach to a phase-out that won't; rich countries' double standards; the indigenous takeover of the conference and the Ugandan government lobbying to retain the use of fossil fuels. Jackson Muhindo Rukara of OXFAM Uganda joins us with his personal reflections and big picture view of the negotiations and the politics. If you'd like some good summaries of various aspects of COP30, go here: From The Coversation: 'Petrostates-block-climate-deal-once-again-but-some-countries-are-taking-their-own-decisive-steps-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels' https://theconversation.com/cop30-petrostates-block-climate-deal-once-again-but-some-countries-are-taking-their-own-decisive-steps-to-phase-out-fossil-fuels-270580  From Carbon Brief: 'Cop30 key outcomes agreed at the UN climate talks in Belem' https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop30-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-belem/ And also from Carbon Brief': 'Why COP30’s ‘tripling adaptation finance’ target is less ambitious than it seems' https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-cop30s-tripling-adaptation-finance-target-is-less-ambitious-than-it-seems/ And so, this episode brings to an end our special season focused on COP30. We hope you've found it as insightful and revealing as we have. It feels like we have a whole new understanding of the significance of the COP meetings, and how they actually work. Special thanks to all our guests who took time to speak with us. We'll see for our next episode - a COP30-free zone. Until then, thanks for listening, and drop us a line any time - [email protected] Josephine

Bart Dewaele is a General Director at Join For Water. Recorded on 21st November 2025, while negotiations at COP30 were still underway, he shares his clear-eyed reflections on how things were playing out. Touching on many of the key issues for Uganda including the Global Goals on Adaptation, water, finance and fossil fuels, his insights are thoughtful, articulate and - despite the setbacks - focused on positive outcomes. It's really a fascinating conversation that gives a real sense of what's been going on at COP30 and what it means. COP30 details can be found here: https://unfccc.int/cop30 Keep an ear out for future episodes when we'll be exploring what COP30 means for Uganda. And drop us a line any time at [email protected] if you'd like to suggest a topic for us to cover. Or even if you just want to offer us some feedback. Thanks for listening, and see you soon. Josephine Karungi

The future of the world's freshwater resources in an unpredictably changing climate is a vital issue. Vanessa Thompson, Communication and Development Advisor for Join For Water, Africa, joins us to outline what we might expect from COP30. She also describes the work Join For Water is currently doing in Uganda, and why it matters. You can find out more about the work of Join For Water here: https://joinforwater.ngo/en/about/uganda/ And all the latest info from COP30 is here: https://unfccc.int/cop30 Thanks for listening and see you soon.

As COP30 gets up to speed we're joined by Jackson Muhindo Rukara of OXFAM Uganda. Before he leaves for Belem on Friday 14th he gives us a rundown on the priorities for OXFAM and other African countries. With an over-arching emphasis on payments for loss and damage, he identifies the key objectives that can make this happen. Despite the difficluties, he's excited and optimistic about the possiblity for positive outcomes, and gives us a few examples of work now underway in Uganda as a result of previous COP meetings. You can find a rundown of OXFAM's events and partner events here: https://www.oxfam.org/en/oxfam-and-partners-cop30-featured-and-parallel-events Climate Action Network Uganda which Jasckon spoke about is here: https://can.ug/ And here's the official page for COP30: https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/cop30 Keep an eye out for our ongoing episodes from COP over the next couple of weeks, and drop us a line anytime. [email protected] is where you'll find us. Thanks, and see you soon.

The first of a series of special episodes on the UN Conference of Parties in Brazil - COP30 - the world's biggest climate shindig. I mean conference. In this first episode we hear three perspectives on what it's like to go to a COP (70,000+ people went to the one last year in Baku...that's a lot of sandwiches...), what goes on there and why it matters. Dr Francis Mwesigye is a Chief Economist at Uganda Development Bank; Andrew Aijuka is a journalist and multimedia producer with InfoNile; and Peninah Atwine of Environment Alert represents the collective interests of Ugandan civil society groups. Together they begin to paint a picture for us of this extraordinary annual gathering of world leaders, thought leaders and innovators; governments and non-governmental organisations; lobbyists, academics, chancers and pretty much every other specialism you can think of. You can find out more about the Uganda Development Bank here: https://www.udbl.co.ug/ Peninah Atwine is a Program Office for Environment Alert - you can find out more about that organisation's work here: https://envalert.org Thanks to our guests on this episode - do get in touch if there's something to do with COP that you've always wanted to ask. [email protected] And thanks. See you next time.

A conversation about a report from the World Bank might not be your idea of a fun time. But as Cyril Desponts explains, the Uganda Country Climate and Development Report is fascinating, and a significant step on the journey towards a climate resilient future for the country. It's a journey that's already underway and, as this conversation reveals, it touches on every aspect of Ugandan society from economics to agriculture, infrastructure to education, health to innovation. This is an epic take on where we're at and where we're going. You can find the report itself here. Weirdly, at this point it seem that it's only avalable in English. https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099062825014052486 Our heartfelt thanks to Cyril Desponts, Senior Economist at The World Bank. And thanks to you for listening. As ever, drop us a line if you'd like us to focus on something climate change related that's important to you. Our email, [email protected] See you next time. JK.

Veteran journalist Samuel Ssettumba explains why informed, dedicated climate change coverage matters in 2025. The Nation Media Group now has a dedicated Climate Change Desk. He gives us an inside perspective on why that's a huge step forward for Uganda: making climate change reporting a priority and explaining it in ways that will make sense to Ugandans as they think about their everyday lives. We talk about the impacts of climate change on people and how they live; communicating those impacts to different communities; and presenting complex issues in ways that show that climate change is not abstract - it's about people: 'My mother, my grandfather.' The Nation Media Group's Climate Change Desk was established in partnership with the parent organisation of this podcast, the Climate Smart Jobs Project. You can find out more about the Nation Media Group here: https://www.nationmedia.com/ And you can find the Climate Smart Jobs project here: https://csj.co.ug/ Thanks so much to Samual Ssettumba for joining us for this episode. Drop us a line any time at [email protected] And we'll see you next time.

Amayiko Martin's three part documentary aired on Radio Simba. It's called 'Sub-counties are in tears - assailants destroyed over 300 hectares of Nkambwe Forest.' He joins us on Climate Talk Uganda to talk about the story of the destruction and restoration of the forest, how communities reacted to his documentary, and how it feels to win such a high profile award for his work. It's a fascinating glimpse of the commitment it takes to report well on climate change and respect the communities you work with. You can fnd out more about the other Uganda National Journalism Award winners here: https://acme-ug.org/2025/05/29/uganda-national-journalism-awards-2025-meet-the-winners/ As always, thanks to all of you for listening - if you'd like to drop us a line please do: [email protected] is where you'll find us.

On July 1st 2025 USAID officially shut down. For many countries around the world it represents a massive blow to a range of development programmes covering everything from health, agriculture and education to governance and climate change mitigation. In today's compelling episode, Robert Bagyenda joins us to share his insights into the likely consequences of this change. At the time of USAID's closure Robert was the team leader for the Environment Climate and Engineering Unit. Here you can fiind a report published in The Lancet in 2025 forecasting that the closure of USAID could lead to the deaths of as many as 14,000,000 people. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01186-9/fulltext And you can find the shuttered USAID website here - https://www.usaid.gov/

The 23rd to the 31st July 2025 saw the 15th meeting of the Conference on Wetlands in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The Wetlands COP15's theme was "Protecting Wetlands for our Common Future," and today's guest was one of Uganda's representatives. Asadhu Ssebyoto is a Senior Wetlands Officer in the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment. And to say he's a man with a passion for wetland preservation would be an understatement: to use his own words, it's a subject he eats, drinks and sleeps. In this episode he talks us through the common types of wetlands found in Uganda, how we should understand their importance, and why long term preservation is only possible when the livelihoods of local communities are taken into account. You can find out more about the Wetlands COP15 here: https://www.wetlandscop15.gov.zw/ Thanks as always to our guest, Asadhu Ssebyoto, and thanks to you for listening.

In this in-depth interview, Pauline Nantongo Kalunda talks to us about her own personal and professional growth. She has moved from being a scientist with a specialist interest in insects to entreprenurial activism and passionate advocacy for smallholding communities. She details the workings of the ECOTRUST model of incentivising environmentally sustainable practices, and offers many other fascinating insights along the way. Pauline is the Executive Director of the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda: ECOTRUST. You can find out more about their work here: https://ecotrust.or.ug/about-us/ This interview was recorded in August 2024.

Where to start with this amazing episode? Clarity, insight and perspective from Dr. John Bosco Isunju, of Makerere University, on the hazards we face as humans in the face of climate change, and the unique challenges that will shape the future of life in Uganda. Dr. John Bosco Isunju brings a formidable depth of knowledge to these subjects, having worked across many areas of public health from environmental pollution, geospatial health, disaster risk reduction, and infection prevention to issues around occupational safety and health, and safe water and sanitation. And many other points in between. Dr. Isunju recently led the Climate change vulnerability and adaptation assessment and development of Uganda's Health National Adaptation Plan. He is a member of the WHO Global Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health. At Makerere University, he is a cluster lead of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA)’s Nature-Based Solutions cluster for climate change adaptation. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the Makerere University Press. He also serves on the Grants and Research Capacity Building Committee and is the Secretary for the MakSPH Research and Ethics Committee. He is a Focal Person for the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa, where he also serves on the Board of Management. As always, thanks to all of you for listening - if you'd like to drop us a line please do: [email protected] is where you'll find us.