Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja presented the Agriculture Development Campaign in Mubende, Kasanda, Mityana, and Kyankwanzi Districts on Wednesday, which will run from August 18 to August 20, 2023.

PM Nabbanja told journalists at the President’s Office in Kampala that the campaign will involve key Ministries in the development of the Agriculture Sector, including Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs, and all Ministries in the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Unlike in the past, when Ministries worked in isolation,” she explained, “this time we in Government must work as a team to ensure the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Manifesto is implemented.”

According to Nabbanja, the campaign will be blessed by numerous Agriculture value addition organizations such as agriculture processors, agriculture seeds and inputs manufacturers, agriculture disease control, and experts in farmer education such as the National Research Organization (NARO), among others.

She also stated that farmers could use a portion of the Parish Development Model (PDM) funds to purchase seeds for agricultural productivity, as each parish in Uganda received UGX 100 million as part of the PDM Fund.

According to Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, State Minister for Agriculture, the major goal of the campaign is to encourage Ugandans to transition from subsistence farming to money-making commercial agriculture.

“It’s past time for farmers to engage in money-making economic ventures rather than growing food solely for domestic consumption,” he said.

He stated that Uganda has registered 61 percent of farmers who have transitioned from subsistence to money economy farming. He listed some of the campaign strategies as eradicating land fragmentation, misusing money from agricultural products, and discouraging farmers from exporting coffee as a raw material.

“We will campaign for farmers to embrace value addition and modern farming technology, as well as set up NARO and Fisheries Desks to answer public questions,” he added.

Esther Nyakun, Minister of State for Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs, stated that her Ministry will work to keep farmers informed about climate change anomalies through early warning climate updates.

“We will also advise farmers to grow short rain crops during rain scarcity seasons due to prolonged drought,” she said, “to avoid situations where communities run out of food supplies during dry spells.”