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Uganda currently hosts about 1.5 million refugees. Only a fraction is likely to revert to their home countries. Therefore, a key policy question is how to help the displaced communities to integrate into Uganda's economic system. One strategy to integrate the refugees in the local economy is to provide them trainings on agricultural production or off-farm business opportunities. This study, using panel data coming from the Resilience Index Measurement and Analysis (RIMA) survey, estimates the causal impact of training activities on refugees' food security and market access. Potential endogeneity issues are addressed through an instrumental variable approach. Results indicate that, on average, agricultural training increases both market access and food security. However, disentangling thmic, the findings highlight substantial differences across population sub-groups. The impact of business training, instead, is never statistically different from zero, except for the households experiencing economic losses due to COVID-19, who mainly benefit in terms of food security. These results highlight the existence of challenges to integrate the refugees in the national economy and indicate that training activities are necessary but not sufficient to reach self-reliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural expansion-led deforestation in Uganda is one of the highest of the world. At the same time, internal migration patterns are strongly inter-linked with agricultural dynamics in the country, as migrants are involved in crop production activities and traditionally play important roles in major crop value chains. Migration for agricultural purposes may complicate the already difficult trade-off between agricultural development and forest preservation. This article investigates how internal migration and commercial agriculture shape deforestation patterns across Uganda. Our analysis suggests that the number of cash crop producers and the number of inter-district migrants engaged in agriculture in the recipient parishes are linked to a significant increase in deforestation. We identify cash crop production as a major channel through which migrants affect deforestation. Taken together, these findings call for an improved coordination between policies on forest, agricultural development and land use. In particular, ad-hoc policies of integration are critical to support migrants in recipient areas and avoid additional pressures on natural resources. • The expansion of cash crop activities is significantly associated with deforestation in Uganda. • Internal migrants who produce cash crops also contribute to deforestation significantly more than locals. • Incentives to commercial agriculture and easily accessible lands hint the cash crops, migration and deforestation link. • Improved coordination between measures on forests, agriculture, land use, and migration is crucial to reduce deforestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]