Govt considers scrapping NAADS program

By Vision Reporter

President Yoweri Museveni has said that Government is considering dissolving the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) since it has not lived to its expectations and instead funds be directed towards strengthening SACCOs to provide affordable working capital to the grass root people.

The President was over the weekend meeting a delegation of leaders from Busoga sub region led by the Chairman Moses Mugoya at his country home in Rwakitura, Kiruhura District. He urged them to promote attitude change to enable the people to engage in projects that generate incomes and create wealth.

NAADS is a government programme which was put in place by the NAADS Act (2001). It was designed with the overall development objective of supporting the transformation of agriculture from subsistence to commercial farming. In 2007, the programme was revised by

Cabinet and given a new mandate focusing on; increasing household incomes, improving household food security and commercialisation of agriculture

Following complaints by various stakeholders about malpractices in the implementation of the programme, an inter-ministerial committee directed that a taskforce be constituted to investigate, cause arrest and prosecution of those involved in theft and misuse of NAADS resources. The National Task Force (TF) noted that in most cases NAADS guidelines were flouted and resources misappropriated. Procurement exhibited the highest number of irregularities at all levels.

The President also assured the delegates that salaries of public officials are to be increased as soon as priorities such as infrastructure have been addressed. He pledged to provide more funds to the SACCOs to enable Bodaboda operators to borrow and finance the purchase of motor cycles. He briefed them about governments proposal to launch a student loan scheme where loans would be recovered when the students get employment.

He said that the change of attitude towards work by the people will enable them to tap into the abundant resources in the region. He noted that infrastructure and service delivery are crucial in the process of national development but added that this alone would not achieve the set development goals unless people improved their incomes.

Museveni thanked the Busoga sub region leaders for appreciating the issue of wealth creation. He challenged them to demonstrate to the people how best to eradicate poverty.

He advised the people of Bugiri, Kidera and Buyende to do large or medium scale farming.

Museveni strongly warned them against land fragmentation which has mainly occurred through inheritance. He warned “There must be no more land fragmentation.” He asked them to float shares in their agricultural ventures and share the profits thereafter rather than share the land.

The Secretary General of Busoga lower Local Governments Association Ms. Rose Kauma thanked the President for his contribution to through the Government aided Schools. She revealed that the facilitation for the councilors is too low.