The government has secured US$7 million to revamp the Hotel and Tourism Training Institute in Jinja, the Minister of Tourism Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu has disclosed.

Speaking at the launch of the 5th Annual Hotels and Restaurant Expo that takes place at Hotel Africana early next month, Minister Kamuntu said the government wants to transform the institute into a regional centre of academic excellence in hands-on hospitality training in a bid to tap into the lucrative industry.

According to Kamuntu, Uganda is one of the top world tourist destinations to visit in 2017, based on the study by a UK company – Rough Guides, a reputable world travel guide, which ranked Uganda fourth behind India, Scotland and Canada.

Uganda boasts of fascinating features such as national parks, mountains, lakes and rivers and the diverse culture. All these, though underexplored put Uganda in the limelight when the topic of tourism in Africa comes up.

Currently, the minister said, the number of foreign tourists into Uganda has hit 1.3 million against government target of four million tourists by the year 2020.

In a related development the Minister said that Uganda would earn more revenue if the citizens embrace domestic tourism.

“Tourism is everybody’s business; we want Ugandans to know and enjoy their own country because tourism has become a global phenomenon” Kamuntu said at the government-owned Uganda Media Centre.

Minister Kamuntu said the on-going upgrading and construction of roads across the country is partly geared towards serving the tourism industry.

Economically, the minister said tourism is important to Uganda as the number one foreign exchange earner, bringing in over one billion dollars annually.

Speaking at the same occasion Mrs Susan Muhwezi, the Chairperson of Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA), noted that despite the challenges faced by the tourism industry today, it directly employs over 450,000 people, 90 percent of whom work ply trade in the hotels and restaurants.

“The hospitality sector is the backbone of the tourism industry and thus the need to harness its potential through events like the hotels and restaurants expo,” she said.

Mrs Muhwezi further said hotels would give special rates to all Ugandans and foreign residents as a way of promoting domestic tourism.

Speaking of the upcoming hotels and restaurants expo, Mrs Muhwezi said it gives local hotels and restaurants platform to market themselves especially to domestic tourists.

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The 25th Source of the Nile National Agricultural show to be held at Jinja Show Ground is expected to attract 400 companies.

According to Captain Esau Tisasira, the Vice President of the Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFF), 280 of them have already confirmed participation.

UNFF is an umbrella of farmers’ organizations representing 3.2 million farmers in the country and is the organiser of the show.

The show, now in its 24th year is expected to be officially opened by President Yoweri Museveni, and will run from July 17-23, 2017.

Addressing the media at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala today, Capt. Tisasira said this year, unlike the past years, the show will be strictly for agricultural exhibitors such as farmers, agro-dealers, agricultural service providers.

“In the past we included trade but we have realised trade does not serve our objective of helping farmers,” Capt. Tisasira said, adding that exhibitors will come from the EAC countries like  Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania as well as Egypt, that is expected to showcase irrigation technologies.

Capt. Tisasira said that one of their objectives is to move the Ugandan farmers from peasantry status to commercial. “We want every Ugandan to practice agriculture as a business,” he said.

He added that key government ministries, agencies and NGOs will also grace the show, giving farmers information and services.

At the same occasion UNFF’s Chief Executive Officer, Augustine Mwendya, said that the show will help farmers and exhibitors share information on market access, financing, products, diseases and pests, government policies and networking during the week-long event.

Mwendya said there will also be training in poultry, piggery, dairy farming, pasture growing, coffee and banana management.

Status

Agriculture is a core sector of Uganda’s economy. About 60 percent of Uganda’s population is engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishing. It presents immense opportunities for growth in other sectors like manufacturing especially agro-processing.

It is for these reasons that the sector has been given priority in the national development plan. The Agricultural sector is structured along the following lines: traditional cash crops-include coffee, cotton, tea, cocoa, tobacco,sugarcane

Non-traditional Cash Crops- maize, rice, beans, soya beans, palms, and horticultural produce.

The Livestock Census (UBOS 2008) indicated that the national cattle herd is estimated at 11.4 million,12.5 million goats, 3.4 million sheep, 3.2 million pigs and 37.4 million poultry birds. The Census also showed that livestock numbers had increased across all animal types: cattle, sheep, goats, poultry and others. But livestock production levels could only meet half of the domestic and regional demand.

The fishing subsector accounted for 3.1 % of GDP at current prices in the 2011/12 financial year. 20% of Uganda’s surface area is covered by water. The country has enormous potential for fresh water fisheries and aquaculture production. Uganda’s fisheries resources are diverse in aquatic ecosystems and in fish species bio-diversity.

The agricultural sector is fragmented and dominated by small farmers most of whom combine subsistence farming with cash crop and livestock farming. Most farmers own land individually except in parts of Northern Uganda where pastoralists land is owned communally.

Farming is gradually becoming mechanised although the bulk of cultivation is still done by hand or cattle driven ox ploughs. Commercial scale farming of cash crops is found in parts of the Central, South and South Western parts of Uganda. There are commercial plantations of tea, palms, rice, and sugarcane.

Coffee and banana plantations tend to be small although in some parts of the south west, there are some commercial scale banana plantations that supply produce to Kampala and other urban centres.

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