Museveni wants Ugandans to ditch subsistence farming

As he concluded his countrywide tour on poverty alleviation late last week, President Yoweri Museveni underscored the dangers of people working "for the stomach" in his latest swipe at subsistence farming.

In his letter to Ugandans on Thursday, Museveni re-echoed his case for more Ugandans to join the money economy as the most viable means to halt creeping poverty - especially in the countryside.

In his letter, Museveni urged Ugandans, especially the youth he described as his Buzukuulu (grandchildren) to embrace the changing dynamics of a modern economy where money is the lifeblood of life itself.

To achieve the aforesaid, Museveni noted, ditching the colonial mentality where basic existence through growing food crops for home consumption was the goal of labouring will be prerequisite.

"There was very little use of money and families or communities were self-sufficient but at a low - level of technology," Museveni said in reference to colonial days.

In his ‘gospel' about "putting money in Ugandans' pockets", Museveni has encouraged Ugandans to embrace nontraditional cash crops and zoning of the country according to weather conditions.

Zoning of the country would entail a particular region specializing in a particular agriculture product according to its comparative advantage in terms of weather.

The president has also discouraged land fragmentation saying it undercuts any attempt at commercializing agriculture.

During his recent state of the nation address, Museveni made a case for families to register companies where siblings receive shares instead of subdividing land upon the death of their parents.

Below is the President's letter in full

H.E. the President's Message to Buzukuulu by The New Vision on Scribd