The opposition behemoth, Dr. Kizza Besigye has claimed that president Museveni’s approval of the plan to empower Uganda Prisons Services, National Enterprise Corporation, Uganda People’s Defense Forces, and big farmers in Northern Uganda to engage in large-scale food production in another plot to grab public resources.
In a call for deliberate interventions to boost food security, President Museveni endorsed the proposed plan to empower these entities and other farming entities in different parts of the country with a reasonably big piece of land to produce food on a large scale effective next season of August 2022.
Besigye questioned why this plan was not included in the budget.
“This new initiative which Mr. Museveni has “directed the whole government to implement starting Aug 2022 wasn’t planned for or budgeted for! Yet, this is the first month of the financial year 2022/23,” said Besigye.
Besigye said this could be another ploy to grab land and plunder public resources.
“What does the planning authority do; shouldn’t it be scrapped? Where will money for it come from? Is this the 1st Supplementary budget this year? “he queried.
In a letter copied to the Vice President, Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Museveni directed the government to implement this plan by providing agricultural machinery, seeds, fertilizers and equipment for irrigation.
The Minister of Agriculture Frank Tumwebaze said these strategic interventions will help supplement production of small holder farmers under Parish Development Module and thus increase the collective national crop yields to secure both food for human consumption & feeds for animals respectively.
Currently, media reports show that food insecurity in many areas of Karamoja region continues to worsen and that many are losing lives due to famine. The region has experienced harsh drought and last year witnessed damaging floods and landslides.
There have also been plagues of locusts and army worms, and raids by heavily-armed cattle thieves which have left little to eat.