The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, has called on district leaders to provide accurate and verified data to guide the design of Uganda’s proposed National Irrigation Development Project.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day engagement with district leaders at Imperial Royale Hotel in Kampala on October 7, 2026, Tumwebaze said the meeting is focusing on irrigation development, compulsory Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccination, the regulatory framework for wild-capture fisheries and fisheries resources management, and agricultural extension services.
He said less than two per cent of Uganda’s agricultural land is under irrigation, compared with about 3.5 to four per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa and 28 per cent in North Africa.
With increasingly erratic weather patterns, Tumwebaze said Uganda can no longer depend solely on rainfall to sustain agricultural production.
He said President Museveni has prioritised mass irrigation development to stabilise production and increase productivity.
The proposed irrigation project will cover on-farm water conveyance where reliable water sources already exist, irrigation systems near seasonal rivers and streams, and the profiling and rehabilitation of non-functional irrigation schemes developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and the Ministry of Water and Environment.
It will also provide bulk water systems for water-stressed communities, support fish ponds, particularly in Bukedi, Busoga, Luwero and Kigezi, and increase access to agricultural machinery.
Tumwebaze said MAAIF is finalising the project concept for submission to the Ministry of Finance and urged district leaders to provide verified information on existing irrigation facilities and last-mile water connectivity.
On agricultural extension services, he identified staffing, mobility and facilitation as critical to effective service delivery.
He challenged district leaders to account for vacant extension positions, available wage provisions, transport for extension workers and the utilisation of Government-provided motorcycles and vehicles.
Tumwebaze questioned why farmers continue to report inadequate access to extension services despite improvements in staffing, mobility and facilitation.
He urged district leaders to strengthen supervision, ensure regular farm visits and use radio platforms to promote good agronomic practices.
The minister also directed MAAIF’s extension department to update his previous circular on extension roles into a comprehensive extension services handbook.
He said leaders must address service-delivery gaps and ensure farmers see and benefit from Government services in their daily economic activities.
The Minister of State for Animal Industry, Mr Bright Rwamirama, has called on district leaders, veterinary officers and farmers to strengthen efforts to control Foot and Mouth Disease, warning that outbreaks are undermining farmers’ incomes, livestock trade and access to lucrative markets.
Rwamirama said protecting Uganda’s national herd from disease is critical to growing the livestock sector and transforming agriculture into a commercial enterprise.
Uganda has about 16.4 million cattle, 17.5 million goats, five million sheep and eight million pigs.
Rwamirama said diseases such as FMD threaten this productive base and restrict access to markets where livestock and livestock products can fetch better prices.
He cited the dairy industry as an example of the sector’s potential, saying milk production has increased from about 750 million litres in the early 1990s to approximately five billion litres today.
Uganda now has 871 milk collection centres, 23 regional processing centres, 371 milk tankers and 162 small, medium and large processing plants, with an installed processing capacity of about 5.4 million litres per day.
The dairy sector earns about $380 million (about Shs1.4 trillion) annually in export revenue and supports an estimated 2.7 million jobs across the value chain.
Rwamirama warned that FMD outbreaks have far-reaching consequences for farmers, processors, traders and the wider economy.
“One person who refuses to observe disease-control measures can actually spoil the whole industry and cripple the economy,” he said.
Government has shifted from providing free FMD vaccines to a cost-sharing model. Farmers are required to contribute Shs8,000 for cattle and pigs and Shs4,000 for sheep and goats, while Government continues to meet other costs of the vaccination programme.
Government has procured 44 million doses of FMD vaccine and invested in cold-chain infrastructure, including refrigerators, solar-powered systems and ice boxes, to maintain vaccine efficacy.
Rwamirama said FMD vaccination should be carried out twice a year, at six-month intervals, and urged district leaders to ensure full implementation.
He also warned against the illegal sale or diversion of Government vaccines, saying veterinary officers found engaging in such practices should be arrested and prosecuted.
The minister challenged districts to strengthen agricultural extension services and ensure veterinary and extension workers regularly reach farmers with practical support.
He urged farmers and leaders to treat livestock farming as a business, warning that disease restrictions can leave farmers with animals they cannot sell.
“If you have 300 cows and you cannot sell even one cow because of disease restrictions, you have 300 animals but you are not in business,” he said.
Rwamirama said Uganda is expanding markets for milk and other livestock products across Africa and beyond, but access to higher-value markets will depend on effective disease control.
He said forthcoming regulations will increasingly link animal movement, access to livestock markets, slaughter facilities and milk collection centres to vaccination status.
“If we have to develop tenfold, we must do things differently,” Rwamirama said.
He called for coordinated action by national and local governments, veterinary officers and farmers to protect Uganda’s livestock economy and unlock its commercial potential.
The State Minister for Local Government, Justine Nameere, has directed local governments to prepare reports on non-functional and underutilised agricultural facilities within two weeks.
Nameere said the reports should indicate why the facilities are not operating, including possible challenges related to electricity, land, infrastructure, corruption or other institutional constraints.
She said the reports would enable Government to coordinate interventions to restore the facilities to full functionality.
“We need to put our Ministries together, coordinate with the Prime Minister and make a case for these facilities in Cabinet, and make sure that as we move forward, all these facilities are functional,” Nameere said.
She said effective decentralisation remains central to improving service delivery, with local governments playing a critical role in implementing national policies and programmes at community level.
Nameere said agriculture remains fundamental to Uganda’s livelihoods and economic transformation, requiring stronger coordination between central and local governments to improve production, productivity, markets and value addition.
She outlined the responsibilities of local governments in agricultural transformation as establishing and maintaining production infrastructure, organising agricultural extension services, mobilising communities to participate in Government programmes, promoting climate-smart agriculture, supporting mechanisation, and planning and implementing agriculture-related budgets and programmes.
Local governments, she added, should also facilitate access to agricultural inputs and markets, connect producers to buyers, provide market information and promote value addition to support the transition of households from subsistence to a commercial money economy.
However, Nameere identified weak extension services, inadequate staffing, limited funding and resource constraints as some of the challenges affecting agricultural transformation at local government level.
She urged local governments to strengthen extension services and ensure farmers receive practical, timely and relevant technical guidance.
Nameere also called for greater investment in irrigation, saying climate variability and recent droughts had demonstrated the need to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
She cited farmers who have invested in small-scale irrigation as examples of what can be achieved when water is made available for production.
She further emphasised the need for stronger coordination between central and local governments to ensure agricultural interventions deliver value to communities.
Nameere reaffirmed the Ministry of Local Government’s commitment to coordinating, supporting and monitoring local governments to ensure they effectively deliver their delegated functions and remain accountable for results.
She urged local government leaders to use available resources efficiently and work closely with MAAIF and other stakeholders to ensure Government interventions translate into tangible improvements in the lives and livelihoods of farmers.
