Uganda needs knowledge- based economy

 By John Walugembe

That agriculture is the backbone of our economy cannot be disputed.

It employs over 80% of the population and it is, therefore, best suited to be the catalyst for Uganda’s rural transformation and poverty reduction. This is what compelled the Government to come up with plan for the modernisation of agriculture and NAADS.

These moves were not unique to Uganda. Other African governments tried to replicate the Asia’s ‘green revolution’ that was a great success in the 1970s and 80s.

Unfortunately, similar attempts in Sub-Saharan Africa have largely been unsuccessful because most African countries failed to redesign their African farming systems which are incompatible with modern farming.

Secondly, there has been minimal public investment in agricultural research, extension, and infrastructure.

Uganda needs to start transforming itself into a knowledge- based economy on production, distribution and the use of knowledge.

This is because our demographics are changing. We have one of the youngest populations in the world; most of who never aspire to lead a future in agriculture. Secondly, our education programmes prepare people for some kind of formal employment.

Thirdly, the diminishing land for large scale commercial agriculture means we may take a while to create a niche for ourselves in the sector and yet the global economy is changing, and along with it, the landscape of economies.

Increasingly, greater value is being created by national economies from services than from industry or agriculture. Wealth creation through application of human knowledge and creativity is steadily outpacing wealth creation through extraction and processing of natural resources.

Therefore, the Government’s emphasis on agricultural value addition may be overtaken by time and dynamics in the global village where knowledge has increasingly become an important means for value creation.

There is need to strengthen the link between education and technology through appropriate technologies, responsive policies, development of more innovative and research-intensive educational institutions.