The budget allocation for the agriculture sector in the next financial year will pass the 1 trillion Shillings mark for the first time in what officials say will cater for research, fertilizers and coffee strategy.  

The allocation to the sector will grow by 300 billion to 1.2 trillion Shillings in 2019/2020 financial year, according to Patrick Ocailap, the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury.  

He said the government has decided to push the sector’s allocation from 900 billion Shillings in the current financial year to 1.2 trillion Shillings in the 2019/2020 financial year to cater for the missing ingredients like extension workers and fertilizers that have been directly affecting farmers’ productivity.  

Less than 2% of farmers in Uganda use fertilizers for farming while almost none receives consistent extension services that are expected to guide them on how best to produce their crops.

This has resulted in lower productivity in the sector and lower incomes to the farmers. The sector grew at 2% last year, below the annual growth rate of the population at 3%.    

The deputy Governor Bank of Uganda Dr Louis Kasekende said unchecked population growth was eroding the gains of wealth creation whereby per capita income, that is money earned by an individual annually remains stagnant.