CSOs want 2014/2015 budget focused on agriculture, health & education
Jun 11, 2014
The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group wants next financial year''s budget 2014/15 to focus on agriculture, health, education, and youth unemployment.
By John Agaba
The Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group wants next financial year's budget 2014/15 to focus on agriculture, health, education, and youth unemployment.
At a briefing on the ‘budget we want’ at the SEATIN offices in Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb, the coalition stressed the need for prioritizing agriculture.
“We are talking of sustainable development. How we can create more jobs for our youth, export more and stop relying on foreign aid? What we need is to focus on our strength as a country which is agriculture,” Nelly Busingye Mugisha, the SEATIN-Uganda program officer said.
“We need to increase agriculture extension services to over 50% of the farmers so that they can have access to these services. We need to improve on the provision of good quality seeds and provision of appropriate technology for value addition to make agriculture attractive.
You don’t have to carry a pig and give it to a farmer when you have not taught them how to look after one. Over 60% of our farmers’ produce is lost in poor post-harvest handling. This is unacceptable,” Agnes Kirabo, the Food Rights Alliance national coordinator said.