Uganda: Tumwebaze Says Uganda, World Bank Target Irrigation, Mechanisation Boost

By Muhamadi Matovu

The Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze has said Uganda is strengthening its partnership with the World Bank to boost agricultural productivity through investment in irrigation, mechanisation and private sector-led farming.

Tumwebaze made the remarks after a meeting with a World Bank delegation led by East Africa Division Director Qimiao Fan, where both sides reviewed ongoing projects and discussed new interventions under the AgriConnect framework.

"I had a very productive engagement with the World Bank team... we reviewed the performance of the current portfolio of World Bank-funded projects in the sector and the prospective projects to come under the AgriConnect framework," Tumwebaze said.

He noted that the discussions focused on improving the impact of existing programmes while aligning future investments to address key bottlenecks in the sector.

"I thanked the World Bank Group for now focusing on supporting enablers of precision farming like appropriate irrigation and mechanisation technologies," he added.

The minister also emphasized the importance of private sector participation in driving agricultural transformation.

"Support to private sector players, especially large-scale commercial farming, and other interventions aimed at increasing production and productivity is critical," Tumwebaze said.

Officials say the renewed focus on modern farming technologies and commercial agriculture is expected to increase output, strengthen value chains and improve farmers' incomes.

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