Germany to help in rural development

The Germany government will next week initiate talks with government as they seek to enlarge the support they are offering in rural Uganda as a means of making the residents became economically viable, Germany ambassador Peter Blomeyer has said.

The country is set to start talks with the government on how to help the rural Ugandans make a step from subsistence to market economy farming, as they look at offering more help to the Ugandan citizens.

Through their different programmes  in helping the rural   Ugandans access  financial services , clean water and   energy,  Blomeyer  believes that  they can offer  a hand  in  helping the country  realize their dream of  achieving  middle income status. He explained the path that German treaded after World War II.  Blomeyer was speaking ahead of the Germany National day celebrations on Monday at the ambassador's residence.

Germany suffered severe losses of men, infrastructure, industries and destruction of many towns during the World War II but managed to get on a recovery path that has seen them become one of the leading world economies

"We have been supporting rural  projects and our priority now is to enlarge the  rural income  by focusing more on intensive farming and agriculture and  also seeing how  the rural population can live together  in peace with the natural environment for sustainable development,'  Blomeyer said.

"With an estimated 68% Ugandans living in a subsistence economy, and with land becoming scarce, we need to help them realize how to boost their production by using limited resources more intensively."

"What we want is to help Ugandans focus more on intensive agriculture which can help them participate in market economy. We need to see that their products correspond to worldwide standards," he said.

Among the interventions being discussed is the proposal of how agriculture and tourism can be reconciled, to avoid encroachment of those people living near game parks and national reserves  but also  supporting each other and  to  help in boosting production using limited land.

Blomeyer noted that  the education is  a big problem in the country because it is not skills based and was happy that they  were discussing with some academicians on how they can be able to skill the  students. He explained a variety of vocational training programs Germany is pursuing in Uganda.

"In Germany, many students enter vocational training after secondary school, training on the job at a company and attending practical schools. For Uganda, the problem is that there are few companies in the country who could provide this kind of training.