Agriculture production set to increase after MAAIF Kyankwanzi retreat, farmers to benefit

The recent concluded retreat of The Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries has addressed the key subject of promoting and fast tracking the Agro-industrialisation agenda for the benefit of Ugandans.

While closing the retreat, Prime Minister Hon. Robinah Nabbanja said with Agriculture being the backborne of our economy and the main source of livelihood for millions of our people, acting together to add value to our agricultural products so that our farmers get more cash in their pockets is a timely undertaking.

“As you are all aware, one of the biggest challenges our country faces, as outlined by HE the President and in our NRM Manifesto, is transforming the 39 percent of our population that is still outside the money economy,” She said.

The Prime Minister said as the government, they must do everything within their power and means to lift Ugandans out of poverty and get them engaged in productive and business oriented agriculture so that they can earn a good living.

“Agro-industrialisation is one of those ways through which we can achieve this. That is why I am very pleased to see that as one of the first actions of the new leadership of this ministry, the effort has been on this important subject. I congratulate you,” Hon. Nabbanja added.

She said a major approach in 3rd National Development plan, is the Parish Development Model. With this approach, the government is targeting making sure that all development efforts, resources and energies are directed closest to the people at the Parish level.

“People must feel the presence and touch of Government in their lives, not through abstract concepts that mean little to them. Agricultural extension workers, provision of planting materials, seeds, and other farm inputs must be targeted to the people at the parish,” she said.

The Prime Minister said beyond this kind of retreat and strategizing, she would like to see more close supervision of Government programmes and projects by the political and technical leadership.

She said in her travels across the country in the last three months, she has noted that the NRM Government has done a lot for the people, but it has not communicated it as widely and possible as it should have been. This has often made the people question what Government is doing.

She has directed that Ministers and other senior leaders of Government should regularly use radio and TV stations, social media and all other forms to tell our people what Government has done and is doing for them.

“If we don’t tell our positive stories, no one else will do it for us,” she added.

Agriculture focussed programmes such as NAADS and OWC in particular must be closely monitored and supervised to ensure that there is value for money. We must ensure that our people are not eating the seedlings given to them to plant, or that the programmes are not being hijacked by the elites, middle men and the powerful, leaving the people we aim to support empty handed.

The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Hon Frank Tumwebaze said the retreat was aimed at hermonising the Ministry’s thinking and to understand what to do in order to do it perfectly.

He said they also Discussed extension which will extend knowledge to farmers dubbed as Farmers’ knowledge.

The minister said the ministry will also partner with the media to run agriculture pullout to extend knowledge to the farmers.