The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group has urged the government of Uganda to develop an investment plan for agriculture in order to increase the government budget allocations to the agricultural sector.

Uganda's Finance Minister Syda Bbumba

Whereas agriculture is a major sector of Uganda’s economy with the National Service Delivery Survey revealing that two thirds of Uganda’s population that is aged above 10 years is employed in the agricultural sector, many people are concerned that agriculture still receives a very dismal percentage of Uganda’s national budget funding estimated at about only 4%.

In its alternative proposals to the Budget Framework paper of 2009/2010, the group has said though the poor performance of the agricultural sector can largely be attributed to crop and animal diseases, deteriorating soil fertility, poor pastures and feeds and destruction of fish breeding grounds, the poor funding of the agriculture sector and lack of an investment plan for the agricultural sector worsen the problems that already exist in the sector.

The group says the underperformance of Uganda’s agricultural sector is the principal reason why the percentage of Uganda’s population that food insecure rose from 59% in the financial years1999/2000 to 66% in 2005. This situation has resulted into poor nutrition, stunting of children and low labour productivity in Uganda.

By Tiberindwa Zakaria, Ultimate Media