The Director General, National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Dr. Yona Baguma has commended the organisation’s collaboration with the Korea Partnership for Innovation of Agriculture (KOPIA) for driving Uganda’s agricultural sector towards transformational growth.

Speaking at a high-level policy workshop celebrating the 15^th anniversary of KOPIA in Seoul, South Korea Dr. Baguma noted that the collaboration was driving sustainable growth, improving livelihoods, and fostering economic development across the country.

He cited the impressive results among citrus farmers in Teso sub region who have experienced a substantial increase in both yield and income over the past few years following the implementation of the Citrus Model Village. 

“Farmers annual yield increased greatly by 210% in the first year (2021) and continued to increase by 194% in the second year while annual incomes increased by 208% between 2020 and 2021, and 32.7% between 2021 and 2022” Dr. Baguma revealed.

Similarly, he added, NARO and KOPIA had successfully developed and disseminated fast maturing and high yielding aromatic rice varieties such as KAFACI-39 and NARO-Rice 1, which has scaled up the production of rice in Uganda.

He further revealed that through innovative approaches like polyvinyl mulching technology, potato seed production has been boosted, leading to a considerable increase in both seed supply and farmers’ incomes. 

“The supply of quality potato seed increased from less than 150 metric tons to over 500 metric tons, while the potato farmers’ average annual household income has increased to $5,573 (about Shs21 million)” he said.

Dr. Baguma reechoed the government’s commitment to prioritize agriculture as a key driver for improving the well-being of its population because 80% of the Ugandan workforce is engaged in agriculture, mainly comprised of subsistence farmers, and the sector contributes up to 24% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

He emphasized that with 39% of households still entrenched in the subsistence economy, according to the Uganda National Household Survey of 2017, the government of Uganda has instituted multiple strategies to catalyze agrifood systems transformation. 

He enumerated the Uganda Vision 2040, the Third National Development Plan (NDPIII), and initiatives like agro-industrialization and the Parish Development Model (PDM), aimed at boosting productivity, increasing exports, and generating wealth and employment at the grassroots level.

He said NARO’s research agenda is aligned with these strategic objectives, focusing on four key result areas: niche market expansion, research product diversification, technology adoption, and institutional support for agro-industrialization.

Looking ahead, Dr. Baguma outlined areas for additional technical cooperation between NARO and international partners, including the Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI). He said the collaborations should aim to enhance value addition, provide specialized training, establish technology hubs, and ensure the long-term conservation of genetic resources. 

Also, on the delegation to South Korea is the NARO Deputy Director General in charge Research Coordination, Dr. Swidiq Mugerwa.

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President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed the date for the state of the nation address and presentation of the 2024–2024 financial year budget. The revelation was made by speaker Anita Among.

“I received confirmation from His Excellency the President that he will deliver his Address on the State of the Nation on June 6, 2024, in accordance with Article 101 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda 1995,” She said.

“I would like to inform you that the budget speech will be delivered on June 13, 2024. Please take note of these important dates,” Among said.

Last month, the Minister of State for Finance (General Duties), Henry Musasizi, presented a Shs58.34 trillion national budget for the 2024–2025 financial year. The budget is intended to focus on ‘full monetization of the Ugandan economy through agriculture, industrialization, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation, and market access.

The new budget estimates indicate a rise of Shs5.64 trillion compared to the 2023–2024 budget, which amounted to Shs52.7 trillion.

The budget also listed investments in wealth creation initiatives, investments in social sectors like education, health, and water, as well as manufacturing, as the other priority areas. The key priority areas include peace and security, road maintenance and construction of a few strategic roads and the construction of the standard gauge railway, electricity transmission, and utilisation of existing energy stock.

The proposed budget was accompanied by five tax bills, including the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Tax Procedures Code (Amendment) Bill, 2024, the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Equally, during the state of the nation address, the president is expected to discuss security, investments, and wealth creation.

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Speaker Anitah Among has revealed that Parliament will contribute Shs1 billion towards the construction of the radiation bunkers at Nsambya Hospital Cancer Unit, saying the donation is intended to complement the government’s efforts towards decongesting other institutions offering similar treatment across the country.

“The President of Uganda gives us money for donation anyway, he is the one that gives Parliament money for donation, we will make a contribution and even when I was coming here, my younger brother Muhoozi Kainerugaba promised to support the project but on behalf of the father, you know for us Catholics we believe in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, on behalf of Parliament of Uganda and the father, we will contribute in the 2024 Cancer Run, Shs1Bn,” Among said.

The Speaker made the pronouncement during the launch of the 13^th Cancer Run and site visit for the radiation bunkers at Nsambya hospital where she defended the donation.

She noted, “We are making this contribution for the good of the people of Uganda, we live in this country for humanity and where we are able to help one or the other, we will always be grateful and that is where some of us gain our pride from.”

“I get proud when I have helped somebody and they can give a smile back. And as Parliament of Uganda, the people centered Parliament, we will support the completion of the bunker. We will generously support the completion of the banker and when you need the next run next year, we shall still contribute, but we should be able to finish this banker as soon as possible. And I want to assure you that once this banker is completed, it brings a smile to Nsambya Hospital, it brings a smile to all the runners, it brings a smile to all the Rotarians,” Among added.

Among also urged the administrators of Nsambya Hospital to ensure that the cancer services offered are at the subsidized price because the Cancer unit had been built using funds raised through donations.

“What we require from you is create awareness, sensitize people about the very beautiful facility that is here that people can be able to get treatment at subsidized prices because you have said you haven’t put a penny and because so many people have put a brick, and when you create a brick somewhere, you are creating happiness in people’s families and lives. I want to wish Nsambya Hospital all God’s blessings for touching people’s lives,” she remarked.

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Members of Parliament have rejected the proposal by the government to transfer the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and roles to the Works Ministry.

Parliament’s Physical Infrastructure Committee in its report on Tuesday warned MPs against abolishing UNRA, saying this would lead to delays in the execution of projects and that the Authority should be retained because it has served the mandate for which it was created and thus, still relevant in Uganda.

Dan Kimosho (Kazo County) defended the position of Parliament’s Physical Infrastructure Committee, arguing that Uganda still requires to undertake major national road projects such as tolled expressways and managing toll operations, dualling of major road corridors, flyovers and long span bridges (such as the Nile Bridge).

He said all these projects require more specialist skills and efficient management than even what UNRA has currently and UNRA should rather be enhanced instead of mainstreaming it.

“Government is likely to suffer a setback of delayed project implementation and completion of such important and strategic road infrastructure because of the shocks that come with the rationalization process. Further, aware of the challenges that may currently exist at UNRA such as the bloated structure, inadequate stakeholder management as well as other governance challenges, UNRA has served the purpose of its creation and it is still relevant given the importance attached to the development of the national roads network,” added Kimosho.

The Physical Infrastructure Committee also rejected the government argument that UNRA’s existence has imposed a financial drain on state resources, citing the Shs75 billion UNRA collected in toll revenues from the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway which is deposited into the Consolidated Fund after operational and maintenance costs have been catered for and this revenue is expected to increase upon the completion of Busega-Mpigi Expressway.

The Committee also defended UNRA’s purported bloated wage bill noting that one of the objectives for the creation of the Authority with attractive remuneration was because the Ministry had failed to attract highly skilled staff due to low salaries.

“The same Ministry cannot at this point be indicating that attractive remuneration offered by UNRA is a problem. Furthermore, the issue of salary disparities is not only limited to UNRA and it cuts across the entire Public Service,” said Chairperson Dan Kimosho

Kimosho also said taxpayers would have to dig deeper into their pockets and raise Shs227.24 billion as payment of compensation to all UNRA staff that will be laid off, if the decision to abolish the agency is upheld by MPs.

“The Certificate of Financial Implications, Shs11.562 billion had been mentioned as terminal benefits for UNRA staff, yet from the interactions, it became apparent that UNRA would require Shs227.24 billion as severance package for staff. This is a huge cost which would erode the stated savings from the merger. It is also inappropriate to incur this unjustified cost amidst accumulated contractor debts that have to be paid,” he said.

Works and Transport Minister Gen Katumba Wamala claimed that abolishing of UNRA will see government save Shs39 billion monthly in wages, paid to the current bloated human resource structure of the Authority, and have this money used to construct roads in order to relieve Ugandans of potholes.

But the MP could have none of it. “Let UNRA stay because it is handling critical work. If it wasn’t for UNRA, we who come from Western Uganda would be cut off,” Naboth Namanya (Rubabo County) said.

With a majority of MPs backing the plan to retain UNRA, Katumba Wamala asked for more time to table fresh amendments to the Uganda National Roads Authority Amendment Bill 2024.

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