Government will prioritise mechanised agriculture as a central enabler of agricultural production and rural transformation in the next five years, the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon. Frank Tumwebaze has said.
Presenting a statement on the performance of the agriculture sector during the plenary sitting on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, Tumwebaze said the sector’s biggest hindrance has been farming that depends on human labour and nature.
He said that mechanised agriculture will enable farmers cultivate more land with ease, support value addition, create jobs and service businesses and infrastructure, while irrigation will help farmers to produce more often and reliably following the current unpredictable weather patterns.
To attain this, Tumwebaze said government plans to provide 10,000 tractors over the next five years to bridge the gap in arable land utilisation and make agricultural mechanisation both accessible and affordable.
“Our policy strategy proposes two lines of intervention, that is the establishment and operationalisation of 21 mechanisation centers and a cost-sharing approach to tractor acquisition involving government, commercial farmers, and producer groups,” he said.
Since 2018, government has acquired and deployed a total of 1,080 assorted tractors with their matching implements, alongside 1,350 single-axle walk-behind tractors equipped with various accessories.
“This equipment is directly allocated to farmers, farmer groups, associations and institutions through a memorandum of understanding signed between the beneficiaries and the ministry,” Tumwebaze said.
The minister added that 2,036 tractor operators and technicians have been trained at Namalere Mechanisation Centre and deployed across the country to ensure efficient, safe and productive operation of the machinery.
To address the erratic weather patterns and cut reliance on nature, Tumwebaze also flagged irrigation as one of the core priorities needed to support and stabilise agricultural production.
“Following guidance from H.E the President and the directive from Cabinet, the ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Water and Environment has submitted a detailed National Irrigation Development Plan to Finance Ministry for funding under a project called the National Irrigation Development Project (NIDEP) proposed to cover the whole country,” he said.
The project objectives will include; to support and guarantee food security through resilient agriculture; to support and guarantee income security through sustainable commercial farming of suitable enterprises, etc.
Currently, the Ministries of Agriculture and Water have completed the construction of 10 large-scale irrigation schemes, increasing the total area under formal irrigation by 7,203 hectares. Some of these schemes include; the Doho II rice irrigation scheme in Butaleja, Ngenge in Kween and Mubuku II in Kasese.
Others under construction are; the Kabuyanda scheme in Isingiro, Namaitsu in Bududa and Chembobai in Bukwo.
In his statement, Tumwebaze noted how the Parish Development Model (PDM) has revolutionalised the household economy that majorly relies on agriculture. He said the flagship programme has caused a financial revolution in the country by closing the gap in the financial inclusion ecosystem, especially among smallholders.
To date, government has cumulatively injected up to Shs4.4 trillion in parish SACCOs since its inception five years ago.
For medium and large-scale farmers not covered under PDM, Tumwebaze said they plan to continue rolling out other support interventions following the Agriculture Value Chain Development Strategy.
Commenting on the general outlook of the agriculture sector, Tumwebaze said the sector’s contribution to the country’s GDP has increased from a 10-year average of 23 per cent to 26.2 per cent by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year, thus accounting for an average of 40 per cent of earnings from the country’s exports.
Members of Parliament are expected to comprehensively debate the minister’s report during next week’s plenary sittings-Ug. Parliament. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
