CSOs call for more funding for agricultural extension services

Apr 18, 2016

government needs to invest more in agriculture, where the country has a ‘comparative advantage’ to offer inclusive growth

Civil Society Organisations under their umbrella body, Civil Society Budget Group (CSBAG) have appealed to Government to increase funding for agricultural extension services in the FY 2016/17, as a special sub sector.

They argue that improving agricultural extension services will automatically increase productivity, thus boosting economic growth through increased exports.

While submitting their perspective paper titled; "CSBAG perspectives on the Macro Economy and its impact on the FY2016/17 budget" to the Parliamentary Finance Committee in Kampala Monday, the group said government needs to invest more in agriculture, where the country has a ‘comparative advantage' to offer inclusive growth.

The CSBAG budget specialist, David Walakira, said this can be attained by establishing better post handling methods for sustainability.

"Government needs to address the issue of post-harvest handling methods. A lot of produce is lost on farms due to lack of proper storage. That is why farmers sell off their produce hurriedly at very low prices in fear of losing out," he added.

He said improvement in postharvest methods can also help in addressing issues of food security and improving farmers' incomes.

"With better storage facilities in place, farmers will be able to bargain fairly for their produce and also access appropriate markets," he added.

CSBAG welcomed the Government's budget proposals for 2016/17, but noted that the critical areas like agriculture which accommodates 80% of the country's population needs to be prioritized.

He said agricultural extension services need to be recognized as a strategic investment for better results.

"We want to see  results of this budget which amounts to sh21trillion within our local people".

Their paper outlined key variables which Government should pay attention to including; the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), exchange rate, Debt, Fiscal and Monetary Policy management and supplementary budgeting.

They asked government to regulate prices for essential goods and services to avoid exploitation of consumers.

They also want government to establish market regulations on how to buy and sell foreign currency to curb the unnecessary strain on the Shilling, to release enough forex for necessary imports especially equipment used to add value to the agricultural produce.

Walakira said there is also need to increase funding to Agriculture Credit Facility to foster inclusive growth in the economy and ensure that the Central Bank eases on Central Bank Rate to increase access to credit.

He said a health of Macro Economy is crucial to the effective implementation of any National Budget.

They also want accounting officers who accumulate arrears on items that have been fully funded previous FYs to be dropped.

From the review of government (Treasurer), financial statements, government accumulated arrears worth sh1, 037, 262,640,671 as per June 30th, 2015.

They also highlighted the need to review the current debt acquisition process to come up with indicative dates for each borrowing activity to ensure timey acquisition of loans.

"This will enable government maximize loan benefits and thus achieve Value for Money for loans acquired," Julius Mukunda, the coordinator of the group said.

The biggest delays were noted in Parliament and Attorney General (AG) where approval of loan agreements took between 17 to 336 days and between 14 to 534 days, respectively.  It was also noted that the time taken between submission of loan agreements to the Solicitor General and there submission to the AG, ranged from 141 to 769 days.

Anthony Okello, (MP Kioga County) and the Vice Chairperson of the committee, said there is need to address the issue of time in approving budget loans, saying it takes a long process and affects many projects. Mathias Nsubugam ( MP Bukoto South), asked CSBAG to always involve key stakeholders like Bank of Uganda, Ministry of Finance and Uganda Revenue Authority as key implementers of the budget.

The committee chairman and outgoing MP (Nansana Municipality), Kasule Sebunya asked CSBAG to induct the 10th Parliament on public finance management to help while analyzing the budget

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