Commercial agriculture will create wealth, jobs - Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni has said that commercialization of agriculture will create wealth and employment especially if people made proper cost-effective enterprise selection and mix.

Speaking to the people of Lango via radio link at a show moderated by the minister for lands Betty Amogi, at Lira Hotel in Lira Municipality recently, the President urged leaders to guide communities to do proper calculations for the enterprises they engage in.

"People should do proper calculations before embarking on any venture. There should be proper enterprise selection and mix. People can make money in large scale production of items such as maize, cotton, indigenous or zebu cows and the growing of tobacco.

Those with small land acreage should use our four-acre plan of engaging in coffee, fruits, fish farming poultry for eggs or piggery. What is important is that everybody is involved. We should not allow a situation of spectators in wealth creation," he said.

Museveni gave a detailed account regarding his role in sensitising the people of Ankole sub-region about transforming from their indigenous cows to the rearing of exotic breeds that maximise milk production for the small scale landowners.

He said that he convinced them to stop nomadic lives and today they are earning good incomes from milk.

He observed that there were a few families that were engaged in commercial farming and that the rest were not generating any income. He informed the people of Lango sub-region and Uganda at large that through sensitization the villagers have the opportunity to learn and improve in their livelihoods.

The President said with the prevailing peace, there are more factories operating on both small and large scale and provide good employment prospects.

He revealed that there is a group of investors planning to establish 50 factories that will employ 12,000 people in Uganda.

Museveni revealed that today a total of 4,900 factories provide jobs to 700,000 people, a figure far higher than the 470,000 people that are employed in government service.

He outlined other sectors as services sector which has got 8,400 enterprises employs a total of 1.3 million people and ICT sector which employs another 1.3 million.

He assured the nation that the government create more enterprise centred SACCOs geared at facilitating the people in the fight against poverty.

He gave the example of the youth of Kasanda district who have launched 13 SACCOs in various sectors, noting that they have made a big contribution towards improved income generation.