\nBy Tobbias Jolly Owiny<\/b><\/p>\n
Africa-Press – Uganda. <\/strong><\/span>With a recent score more than 50 percent, the government is optimistic that its new agro-industrialisation programme is primed to leapfrog Ugandans into the middle-income status.<\/p>\n The government is desirous of turning agriculture into a sustainable commercial sector for farmers through agro-industrialisation. It intends to do this by transforming agricultural raw materials into higher-value products.<\/p>\n Through the project, the government has also spent huge amounts of money on mechanisation in a bid to ensure production volumes are adequate to sustain industries.<\/p>\n In May, the Finance ministry ranked the programme at 58 percent success as of December 2022. This was while unveiling the programme\u2019s Semi-Annual Budget Monitoring Report for Financial Year (FY) 2022\/2023. Of the programme\u2019s Shs1.450 trillion FY 2022\/2023 budget, 38 percent (Shs563 billion) was released and Shs431 billion spent as of December 31, 2022.<\/p>\n The report detailed that the Agriculture Production and Productivity Sub-programme topped all the other sub-programmes in the share of the programme budget. The sub-programmes\u2019 good performance\u2014as per the Finance ministry\u2014was driven by agriculture research and technology generation spearheaded by the National Agricultural Research Organisation (Naro).<\/p>\n The report stated that the highest performing sub-programme was agricultural production and productivity at 75 percent, followed by storage, agro-processing and value-addition at 74 percent. Elsewhere, the worst performing sub-programmes were institutional strengthening and coordination at 27 percent and agricultural market access and competitiveness at 42 percent.<\/p>\n Strong headwinds<\/b><\/p>\n The country\u2019s agricultural sector continues to face challenges such as low production and productivity, poor storage infrastructure and post-harvest management, low value-addition, poor market access and low competitiveness of agro-based products in domestic, regional, continental and international markets, and limited access to agricultural financial services and critical inputs.<\/p>\n Others include poor coordination and inefficient institutions for planning and implementation of agro-industrialisation.<\/p>\n This is but one of 18 programmes of the third National Development Programme (NDP III), which targets to increase the commercialisation and competitiveness of agricultural production and agro-processing.<\/p>\n In the FY 2023\/2024 Budget Framework paper, the government, through the agro-industrialisation programme, targeted to reduce agricultural post-harvest losses to 18 percent by FY 2023\/2024 from 37 percent in FY 2017\/2018. It also signalled intent to increase the value of agricultural exports to $2.2 billion while growing the agricultural manufacturing value added to 9.6 percent and boosting agricultural production by 20 percent within the same period.<\/p>\n Targets<\/b><\/p>\n In the case of agricultural extension provision under the production and productivity sub-programme, the programme targets to increase the adoption of improved agricultural technologies by 10.2 percent by FY 2023\/2024 and increase access to agricultural extension services by 22.4 percent, among others.<\/p>\n While it intends to increase the agricultural sector growth rate from 3.8 percent to 6.0 percent as well as increase labour productivity in the agro-industrial value chain from $2,212 to $3,114, it also seeks to increase the number of jobs created in agro-industry along the value chain by 100,000.<\/p>\n Observers reckon this will not be a cakewalk. Uganda\u2019s agricultural extension system has undergone several policy reforms, shifting from the centralised to parallel (National Agricultural Advisory Services or Naads alongside the Agriculture ministry or MAAIF) system and now back to the centralised single spine extension system.<\/p>\n Since the return to the centralised single spine agricultural system in FY 2015\/2016, the government effort to boost agricultural extension at local government (LG) level has come with increased expenditure for recruitment of extension staff up to the sub-county level.<\/p>\n At the June budget reading, Finance minister Matia Kasaija said the programme will receive a boost with the government increasing allocations from Shs1.449 trillion last year to Shs1.787 trillion this financial year. The increase means the sector accounts for 3.37 percent of the Shs52.7 trillion budget for FY 2023\/2024.<\/p>\n Damning report<\/b><\/p>\n Whereas access to agricultural extension and advisory services is a key determinant of agricultural technology adoption and uptake by actors along the agriculture value chain, lack of funding to ensure such access by farmers is said to be failing the agro-industrialisation programme.<\/p>\n A July 2023 report authored by Makerere University\u2019s Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) has questioned the likelihood of the programme yielding dividends. The research conducted by Mr Brian Sserunjogi, Ms Florence Nakazi, and Ms Rehema Kahunde, among others, noted that a failure to allocate non-wage operation grants at LG units to support the provision of agricultural extension services in the FY 2023\/2024 budget is particularly a major blow to the intervention.<\/p>\n No budget allocation exists for non-wage operation grants at LG level to support the provision of agricultural extension services in the FY 2023\/2024 budget.<\/p>\n Although evidence they discovered during the research revealed an upward trend in LG transfers for the programme from Shs127 billion in 2020\/2021 to Shs357 billion in FY 2021\/2022, the researchers found that the FY 2023\/2024 budget allocation for the programme only prioritised the wage component.<\/p>\n This component increased two-fold from Shs77 billion in 2020\/2021 to Shs142 billion in FY 2023\/2024, catering to salaries for the increased number of frontline extension officers at the local governments. These were recruited from FY 2015\/2016 to close human resource gaps within the single spine system of MAAIF.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, the drastic growth of the wage component has not been matched with the provision of the non-wage agricultural extension operations grant to facilitate the provision of extension service. Particularly, in FY 2023\/2024 there is no allocation for agricultural extension operations,\u201d the EPRC report states in part.<\/p>\n Out of kilter<\/b><\/p>\n This is contrary to the FY 2023\/2024 programme priorities, which aim to strengthen the agricultural extension system through increasing community sharing and mobilisation, real-time provision of e-extension services information, and monitoring of extension service delivery rolled out to 60 districts across Uganda, among others, the EPRC proceeded to note.<\/p>\n \u201cThe current budget cut of the non-wage operational grant, if not corrected, shall render the recently recruited agricultural extension staff at the local government level redundant,\u201d the researchers argued.<\/p>\n The findings also suggest that besides the FY 2023\/2024 programme priorities, the budget cut is likely to slow down the implementation of Parish Development Model (PDM) interventions at the parish and, subsequently, its anticipated impact on poverty reduction and agro-industrialisation.<\/p>\n Under the PDM implementation, MAAIF has the responsibility of re-organising Uganda\u2019s farming households through the nucleus farm model.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the current extension delivery approach of face-to-face contact, the absence of budgetary allocations to facilitate farmer-extension contacts is likely to further constrain access to extension services even during the implementation of the PDM,\u201d the researchers noted.<\/p>\n The report also expresses its dismay at the fact that the budget allocation for national coordination of agricultural extension service remains meagre.<\/p>\n Across the last three years, from FY 2020\/2021 to FY 2022\/2023), the budget allocation has not exceeded Shs5 billion. Consequently, the financing gap for coordination of agricultural extension has doubled from 21.5 percent in 2021\/2022 to 48 percent in FY2022\/2023.<\/p>\n Whereas the Local Government Act (CAP 243) states that local governments (districts and sub-counties) are responsible for the implementation of all decentralised government functions, a large portion of the agro-industrialisation programme budget is retained at the central government level. This is despite the fact that districts and sub-counties are responsible for crop, animal, and fisheries husbandry extension services, among other decentralised functions.<\/p>\n Budget allocation<\/b><\/p>\n Considering budget allocation within the agro-industrialisation programme by vote, accounts of the researchers reveal that more than 66 percent of the agro-industrialisation programme budget in FY 2023\/2024 shall be retained at the centre by MAAIF and the National Agriculture Research Organisation (Naro), among other central MAAIF agencies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe large budget retention at the centre was due to increased recentralisation of both financial resources and functions catalysed by low local government implementation capacity, inadequate human resources, and corruption at the local government level,\u201d the EPRC discloses in the report.<\/p>\n The government\u2019s expenditure through the budget presents the most feasible way to achieve agro-industrialisation, reduce poverty, boost agriculture exports, create productive employment opportunities and achieve socio-economic transformation as postulated under the PDM.<\/p>\n To effect this, the absolute budget allocation for agro-industrialisation has increased by Shs363 billion from Shs1.4 trillion in FY 2022\/2023 to Shs1.8 trillion in FY 2023\/2024.<\/p>\n While this growth is commendable in absolute terms, the researchers say, it remains small in relative terms. They note that during the study period, FY 2020\/2021 to FY 2023\/2024, the share of the agro-industrialisation programme in the national budget persistently declined from 5.1 percent in FY 2021\/2022 to 3.4 percent in FY 2023\/2024.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, just like in previous years, the agro-industrialisation programme budget has remained below 5 percent. These shortfalls could deter implementation of sector development programmes,\u201d they argued, adding: \u201cIt is, therefore, important to devise means to reduce the implementation capacity gaps at the local government level to improve utilisation of funds from the central government.\u201d<\/p>\n Taking stock<\/b><\/p>\n During the unveiling of the programme\u2019s Semi-Annual Budget Monitoring Report Financial Year 2022\/2023 in May, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, the Finance ministry\u2019s top technocrat, attributed the poor performance of some of the programme\u2019s components to delayed implementation of the PDM.<\/p>\n The secretary to the Treasury also cited incomplete markets, delayed completion of roads linking farms to markets, poor post-harvest handling, and inadequate controls and certification as contributors to the poor performance under the Agricultural Market Access and Competitiveness sub-programme.<\/p>\n The government nevertheless remains positive. In its 2022 Agro-industrialisation Handbook, the Finance ministry during a dialogue held with stakeholders, observed critical challenges relating to gender inequality, illiteracy, lack of markets and poor attitude were raised.<\/p>\n These will, the ministry added, be addressed by \u201cdevelop[ing] interventions, outputs and actions targeting the profitability index of the major cash products countrywide to include maize, beans, coffee, and cotton.\u201d<\/p>\n PDM<\/b><\/p>\n The PDM should cater to farmer markets to increase access to markets and prices, support farmers to access affordable good quality artificial insemination timely and implement mindset change programmes as stereotyping is still a big challenge among rural farmers, among others, the Finance ministry proceeded to note.<\/p>\n In its Agro-industrialisation Programme Annual Performance Report 2020\/2021, MAAIF said it planned to strengthen the agricultural extension system by undertaking institutional and human capacity building, strengthening coordination of the national agriculture extension systems, and digitising agricultural extension services, among others.<\/p>\n It, however, acknowledged that it could not recruit more extension service providers due to an absent budget in 2020\/2021 \u201cbecause there was no budget provision for their wage bill, no new public extension workers were recruited.\u201d<\/p>\n It added: \u201cTo Incorporate BTVET [Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training] institutions into the agricultural extension system and ensure that what they teach is adopted and utilised by farmers, a new agricultural extension curriculum was developed between Bukalasa Agricultural College and Dalhousie University of Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n No budget<\/b> Ms Linda Auma, the vice chairperson of the House committee, however, said in a telephone interview that they agreed to engage the Finance ministry over the matter to see that it is expeditiously handled.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a meeting with the PS (permanent secretary) and the minister of Agriculture to discuss the matter,\u201d she confirmed, adding that Mr Tumwebaze told the lawmakers that MAAIF has not received any funding for the first quarter of FY 2023\/2024.<\/p>\n Ms Auma, who described such a development as \u201cunfortunate\u201d, told Monitor<\/b> in no uncertain terms that MAAIF\u2019s budget for extension services needed to have been maintained by the Finance ministry.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen food and other agricultural products are in place, the economy can realise the revenue it expects,\u201d she said, adding that the funding gap created \u201cwill severely impact on the agro-industrialisation programme.\u201d<\/p>\n She also stated that the government cut funding towards extension service provision due to funding deficiencies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government has not put any allocation for extension services not in bad faith but as you know the economy is doing badly and we have got a lot of aid being cut as per the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that we passed recently,\u201d she disclosed, adding that \u201cthe cut was part of [the Finance ministry\u2019s] plan to work within its means.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless, Ms Auma is convinced that the absence of extension service providers in the local governments will hamper attempts to move from subsistence farming to commercial farming.<\/p>\n \u201cExtension workers are very key, but I know as Parliament we are going to help the Agriculture ministry overcome this challenge,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need these extension workers to guide our farmers, neighbouring countries have accused us of trading in contaminated food and this is due to lack of such [extension] services.\u201d<\/p>\n For More News And Analysis About Uganda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Tobbias Jolly Owiny Africa-Press – Uganda. With a recent score more than 50 percent, the government is optimistic that its new agro-industrialisation programme is primed to leapfrog Ugandans into the middle-income status. The government is desirous of turning agriculture into a sustainable commercial sector for farmers through agro-industrialisation. It intends to do this by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":53038,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-53039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nMonitor<\/b> established that MAAIF officials and the House Committee on Agriculture met on Thursday to find a solution to the ills bedeviling the agro-industrialisation programme. We could not independently verify the outcome of the meeting as attempts to reach Mr Frank Tumwebaze, the MAAIF minister, were fruitless.<\/p>\n