Kampala — News that the Ministry of Agriculture has failed to utilise sh760b in the last four years is bad. This is because for many years, the Ministry of Agriculture has been complaining about the meager budgetary allocations.

As if that was not enough, the minister lamented that sh142b meant to enhance irrigation in the country 'did nothing' but facilitate workshops!

On the ground, the farmer continues to suffer. For example, only 1% of Ugandan farmers use any kind of irrigation. Only 6% use enough fertilisers on their farms and only 5% have got any kind of mechanisation on their farms.

This means that production of many crops has stagnated or even drastically dropped. While sh760b is lying somewhere, drought is ravaging many parts of the country.

For the last few years, areas of the east and north-east have had a permanent state of food insecurity.

Farmers still use hand tools for 'commercial' agriculture. Last year, the Government started distributing hand-operated tractors to at least 500 parishes across the country.

With sh760b, the Government should have supplied big tractors. A tractor costs between sh35-55m. Just sh1b can buy at least 18 new, multi-purpose tractors. This means that sh760b can acquire 13,680 tractors! With just three tractors per sub-county, medium range mechanisation can be achieved in Uganda.

It is also amazing that over sh142b was used to enhance irrigation in Uganda, yet the prevalence of irrigation agriculture in Uganda remains the lowest in recognizable agriculture countries in the world. Like the finance minister said, this money was spent in workshops held in lavish hotels and not on practical promotion of irrigation.

It is not so difficult to practice irrigation agriculture in Uganda. This is because the country is criss-crossed by many rivers. Even simple water pumps stationed in parishes can create some change.