Uganda: Minister Kyakulaga Cautions Farmers On Land Usage

The current pressure on land in Uganda, mainly due to population growth, has reduced the land available for agriculture in most areas.

According to Fred Bwino Kyakulaga, the state minister for Agriculture, majority of communities in Uganda have failed to manage land well, leading to fragmentation. For instance, in Busoga and Mbale sub-regions, the average land holding currently is less than four acres. The statistics are even worse in the Kigezi sub-region, where the average land parcel size for most families is 0.4 acres.

Kyakulaga made the remarks last week during the Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL) annual farmers' symposium that ran under the theme 'Innovations in Agrotechnology, Seed, and Other AgroInput', where he was the guest of honour. The symposium acts as a platform to foster mutual understanding, collaboration, policy alignment, problem-solving, and ultimately, economic growth and development among the various stakeholders in the agriculture value chain.

Kyakulaga said that it is only in Acholi, Lango and Karamoja sub-regions where land is still consolidated, and this is because large chunks of land there belong to clans, but land belonging to individuals has also been fragmented.

Kyakulaga, therefore, noted that based on that scenario, they have advised communities where the average land holding is 4 acres or below to engage in intensive agriculture, which can provide high yields and profits on a smaller land area.

"We carried out a study to identify which crops best suit such communities, and the crops identified include coffee, fruits, and vegetables, as well as rearing animals and poultry on zero or rotational grazing. The study also focused on demand for such crops, both regional and international, and their profitability," he said.

He added that this advice is based on the fact that if these communities engage in those enterprises, they will be able to feed their families and also generate some reasonable income from a limited land area.

During the symposium, the company announced that by 2030, it would have expanded its Farm for Success programme to benefit 50,000 farmers as it seeks to sustainably source 100 per cent of agriculture materials used in producing its various brands from Uganda, specifically from farmers of barley, sorghum, and corn.

Andrew Kilonzo, the Managing Director of UBL, stressed that as part of the company's efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in their processes, they will be looking to onboard more women and people with disabilities as part of this programme, adding that the goal will be to source over 60 percent of the agricultural produce from women farmers as well as people with disabilities.

UBL currently works with over 35,000 farmers from all over the country to purchase over 8,000 tonnes of barley, 15,000 metric tonnes of sorghum, 18,000 tonnes of maize, and 1,000 tonnes of cassava. Thirty per cent of that comes from northern Uganda, 25 percent from eastern Uganda, 35 percent from western Uganda, and 10 per cent from Buganda.

Uganda: Minister Kyakulaga Cautions Farmers On Land Usage

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