Minister, Makerere don clash over cooperatives

By Francis Emorut                                                  

The minister of trade, industry and cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde, has clashed with the Makerere University don, Prof. Julius Kiiza who criticized government for neglecting cooperatives.

"Uganda must rebrand from pedestrian farming to transformative agriculture in which cooperatives as social enterprises control full spectrum," Kiiza said.

He pointed out that smart agriculture speaks a language of structural transformation from primitive to transformative agriculture technology, from willing seller-willing buyer to strategic state guided land reforms and from government that is missing in action to a developmental state.

He noted that 75% of farmers are small holders with limited access to agricultural inputs and capital and a substantial proportion are landless people.

The Professor said poverty stricken farmers primarily sell raw material coupled with lack of storage facilities.

"This has made agriculture unrewarding. Youth sell land to buy boda-bodas or gamble and yet youth are the strength of the nation," Kiiza said.

He was speaking during the policy dialogue on agricultural transformation in Uganda at Golf Course Hotel in Kampala.

The dialogue held under the theme: "Revitalizing Cooperative for 'Smart' Agriculture and Structural Socio-economic Transformation was organized by UNDP in conjunction with Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA).

Kiiza told government officials, development partners, academia, researchers, heads of private sector organizations, civil society and heads of cooperatives that Malaysian model of cooperatives was widely successful because it transformed into industrial and knowledge economy.

He implored government to restore integrated cooperative movement and link cooperative produce to industrial manufacturing from what he referred to as cosmetic value addition to transformative value chain.

He also called for the restoration of Cooperative Bank and dethroning of SACCOs.

The minister of trade, industry and cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde didn't take Kiiza's remarks lightly and informed the audience that government had not ignored cooperatives but has made some efforts to their revival.

"We are in the preliminary stages of cooperatives. You can't wake up one day and start cooperatives," Kyambadde said.

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The minister of trade, industry and cooperatives, Amelia Kyambadde (in black blouse) shares a light moment with Professor, Julius Kiiza (right)

The minister advised the Makerere don to do some research and separate politics from development before criticizing government.

She emphasized that government's priorities at the moment are infrastructure, energy and transport and water development.

"If you don't have transport, water how will you balance the economy?" she asked.

To drive her point home the minister said inspite of the collapse of the economy in 1980s, Uganda's economy is now the fastest growing in the world at a rate of 6% compared to Netherlands and UK at 3.4% and 3.2% respectively.

The UNDP country director, Almaz Gebru stressed the importance of revitalizing cooperatives as they are strategic for socio-economic development of the nation.

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Budadiri MP and the secretary general of FDC, Nandala Mafabi addressing participants

"United Nations values cooperatives as a key people-centered approach to development. Cooperatives embody the principle of strength in numbers by uniting together to prosper as one rather than individually," Gebru said.

Victoria Sekitoleko, the former minister of agriculture appealed to government in corporate cooperatives policy into all government institutions and agencies documents like it has been done to HIV/AIDS.

Budadari West MP and the secretary general of FDC Nandala Mafabi informed the audience that the only way to eliminate poverty in Uganda is through cooperatives. 

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