The Minister of Local Government, Raphael Magyezi, on Thursday officially launched the Area-Based Commodity Development (ABCD) Portal, a digital platform designed to consolidate data and information on commodity value chains at sub-regional level.
The portal is aimed at enhancing private sector competitiveness, supporting evidence-based planning, and driving productivity and value addition in line with the government’s area-based development strategy under the forthcoming National Development Plan (NDP IV).
Speaking at the launch, Minister Magyezi said the portal provides a practical solution for ensuring timely and localized data is available to decision-makers across Uganda’s decentralized system.
He emphasized that planning, budgeting, and service delivery at parish, sub-county, municipal, and district levels will now be anchored on real-time evidence.
“This launch affirms our commitment to a results-oriented, area-based approach to local economic transformation,” Minister Magyezi said, adding that the portal will strengthen the Parish Development Model (PDM) by feeding geo-referenced intelligence from parish level into planning processes.
Minister Magyezi highlighted specific use cases of the portal that local governments can immediately apply, including value chain development in strategic areas such as cattle corridor beef, Lango oilseeds and sesame, Elgon Arabica coffee and horticulture, as well as Kigezi Irish potatoes and passion fruit.
On behalf of the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST) Ramathan Ggoobi, the Director for Economic Affairs, Moses Kaggwa, underscored the importance of the portal for both producers and investors.
He said the platform will enable producer organizations to track prevailing sub-regional prices and production trends, while investors and financiers will use it to identify viable opportunities.
Kaggwa further noted that policymakers will leverage the portal to improve planning, budget effectiveness, and service delivery efficiency.
“The portal is expected to provide cheaper, faster, and greater uptake of statistics and information for all stakeholders, thereby improving economic management and planning,” he said.
The ABCD Portal is expected to play a pivotal role in transforming Uganda’s sub-regional economies by empowering local governments, investors, and communities with accurate, accessible, and actionable data.
