The Government has injected Shs4.4 trillion into the Parish Development Model (PDM) in a bid to expand productivity, strengthen financial inclusion and accelerate economic transformation across the country.
The allocation forms part of the Shs84.3 trillion National Budget for the Financial Year 2026/27, presented before Parliament of Uganda at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds by Finance Minister Henry Musasizi.
The government says the funds will cover all 10,589 parishes, with more than four million beneficiaries expected to have accessed parish-level financing by the end of June. The programme continues to serve as the central vehicle for transitioning households from subsistence livelihoods into the money economy.
“The Parish Development Model is not merely a financing programme; it is a structural transformation programme aimed at moving households from poverty to prosperity,” Musasizi said while presenting the budget before Parliament.
In addition to the PDM allocation, the government has also strengthened development financing institutions, with fresh capital injections into the Uganda Development Bank aimed at expanding its capacity to support long-term financing for agro-industrialisation, manufacturing, tourism, and other productive sectors. The funding is expected to enhance the bank’s ability to extend affordable credit to medium and large-scale projects that are critical for job creation and value addition.
The strengthened bank will play a more prominent role in supporting private sector-led growth, particularly in agro-processing and industrial development, while also facilitating blended finance solutions for high-impact investments that commercial banks often consider risky.
Agriculture remains the backbone of the national transformation agenda, with continued emphasis on productivity improvement, irrigation expansion, extension services, and value addition under the agro-industrialisation programme. Government intends to deepen market access and strengthen cooperative structures to ensure farmers move beyond subsistence production into commercial value chains.
The next phase of PDM implementation will prioritise productivity enhancement, agro-processing, improved market linkages, and structured enterprise development at parish level, with cooperatives and SACCOs playing a central role in mobilisation, aggregation, and financial inclusion.
Government also continues to prioritise strategic sectors such as oil and gas, with ongoing investments in infrastructure development as Uganda moves closer to first oil production. The sector is expected to boost employment, expand local content participation, and generate long-term fiscal revenues that will support national development priorities.
Overall, government has invested nearly Shs11 trillion in wealth creation programmes aimed at supporting farmers, youth, women, and enterprise groups through affordable financing and structured income-generation initiatives designed to expand participation in the money economy and raise household incomes.
The combined investments in PDM, development banking, agriculture, and strategic sectors reflect a deliberate shift toward structural economic transformation anchored in production, value addition, and inclusive growth.
