Frank Tumwebaze the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries on Sunday led the ministry’s leadership and management to the National Leadership Institute (NALI) in Kyankwanzi for a five-day policy and strategy retreat.

Tumwebaze noted that while there, they would unpack sectoral policies, strategies and programs and draw a harmonised blueprint for the sector for the next five years.

In attendance was the Minister for State for Animal Industry Bright Rwamirama, State Minister for Fisheries Hellen Adoa, Permanent Secretary Maj. Gen. David Kasura Kyomukama among others.

“It’s like three in one. You have fisheries, you have animal and crop husbandry, and they are all in one. So it is sometimes a challenge that people are not coordinating and yet the challenges of production cut across. The infrastructure in this is the same in the other. Some diagnostic laboratories could be shared let’s say in fisheries and crops or animals,” Tumwebaze noted about the agricultural sector.

Tumwebaze said one of the key purposes of the retreat was to make sure that the ministry had a coordinated and cohesive strategy.

He also noted that the other reason for the retreat was to review the ministry policies and strategies and see how they are aligned to the National Development Plan 3 programme of agro-industrialisation and see how they are aligned to President Yoweri Museveni’s strategic guidelines that he gave out at the beginning of this new five-year term.

Tumwebaze also said that they wanted to see whether policies and strategies are aligned to the manifesto of the ruling National Resistance Movement and aspirations like the Parish Development Model.

“We will also review the sector focus for the next five years. By trying to set targets for each department. Why should Agriculture continue to contribute decimally or minimally to GDP? What is not working right? What kind of extension policy do we have? Are farmers producing for markets or do they have no clear guidance? What are the dictates of the different market segments, national markets, regional markets, international markets?” he said.

Tumwebaze noted that it is the Ministry of Agriculture to cascade the message to the farmers.

“If a farmer is growing for exports, then right from the time of enterprise selection and production he or she must bear in mind the standards of production, standards of post-harvest, the standard of storage up to the marketing,” Tumwebaze said.

He also noted that the ministry must also look at areas like sustainable markets.

“Should farmers be growing and selling raw materials? Should they move to add a little bit at primary value addition or should they go to full-scale processing level?”

He noted that those are the issues that had taken them to Kyankwanzi for an in-house discussion. 

“When we finish our in-house collective thinking then we will now have interaction with other agencies that we relate within the programme approach of the NDP 3 framework.”

He noted that they expected Vice President Jessica Alupo to be at Kyankwanzi on Wednesday and then Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to close the retreat on Friday.

“When all this is done, we will write down our comprehensive policy and strategy document and present it to the cabinet and when it clears us, we shall also brief Parliament and then the country. Agriculture is primarily private sector-led. All we need is to build linkages with the private sector and the farmers and support each other to ensure that each party’s role in the value chain is well played. That is how we will make agriculture rewarding and sustainable as a business,” Tumwebaze further noted.

On Monday, the group started off by unpacking the components of each stage of the value/enterprise selection, production and productivity, post-harvest handling and storage, value addition and market. They later broke into groups to discuss the strategies.