By Kiyimba Bruno
Kiyimba.bruno@gmail.com
Farmers have expressed concern over the recently passed national budget which was presented by minister for finance Matia Kasaija.
These were represented by Mr Okori Moses, a policy research, capacity building and advocacy coordinator in Eastern Uganda who said that they feel they were let down by government as farmers.
Okori noted that farmers generate 60% of the county’s GDP but to their surprise, only 3.8% was allocated to they yet they were promised 10%. Of the national budget to go back to the sector.
He added that he is surprised too to find that government spent Shs5b on Rukungiri Member of Parliament elections yet in Manafwa, people are dying of floods.
He advised government to take agriculture into accounts since it’s the backbone of Uganda.
“We need to undertake agriculture into accountability. NAADS spends a lot of money in agriculture without consulting the local farmer on the grassroots. So are they really doing a service or a disservice to us? inquired Okori
He added that farmers were given a Shs5b insurance to boost them in agriculture but instead, it’s only the rich who have benefited from it and the poor do not even know about it.
This was during the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG) budget debate that was organised at the Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) in Lugogo.
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