In the state of the
nation address, president Museveni promised that government is fully committed
to restructure National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) in the coming
financial year. He clarified that NAADS which has been given huge resources to
execute its activities, spends most of the shs 203 billion we each year on
salaries and seminars, they only spend shs 57 billion on buying materials for
plantation and breeding.
Recently,
not once, president Museveni praised veteran UPDF officers for demonstrating
exceptional delivery of services to intended beneficiaries centrally to
fleecing practice of NAADS officer. With just 5 billion shillings, UPDF have
delivered more than what NAADS offices distributed to wananchi. Now everyone
has cognised the chanted corruption and embezzlement that brought programme to
its knees.
The struggle continues. 13 years
later, NAADS is still far behind its objective which was to assist poor male
and female farmers to become aware of and be able to adapt to improved
technology and management practices in their farming enterprises so as to
enhance their productive efficiency, their economic welfare and the
sustainability of farming operations.
Travel to the country side, you
can only glimpse at NAADS demonstration farm posters. If you make a stopover to
have a stare at a farm, alas, it will be nowhere. If you enquire, responses
will be in spiritual tongues-long and unclear. And a clever chap must easily
understand that such a demonstration farm no longer exists.
We must thank our industrious
president for tirelessly touring ghost NAADS projects. Let me specify here;
when Museveni accompanied by first lady toured our parish, they inspected fish
ponds belonging to a local ‘Mzee’ and these ponds have never been liaised to
NAADS.
Government is about to rock door
of the second NAADS phase (July 2010-June 2015), under the Agricultural
Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Services (ATAAS) project. Its estimated
cost at least $450 million. Agricultural research and research extension is the
main target of this segment. It will be thwarting if government open third
phase of NAADS without visible achievements from the first and second phases.
It is imperative as government
plan to restructure NAADS to either turn it into a campaign platform of
delivering political goods or a training medium which will equip farmers
lifetime skills, information, technological development and market linkages.
It will also be imprudent to hand
NAADS to political failures than technocrats. However, president Museveni seems
ready to hand the project to UPDF who have surprised him with high level of
competence. To me, technocrats can do a praiseworthy job than UPDF soldiers.
Innovated NAADS must pay ultimate
attention to mechanisms of delivering services-high quality seed and training
to farmers and people living with disabilities (PLWDs) than bourgeoisie and
politicians. The latter groups have always been chief beneficiaries of NAADS
from all corners.
Dream to modernise agriculture has
been one of NRM’s ultimate target and NAADS presents a chance to catalyse this
vision through equipping all Ugandans with skills and better quality seeds. This
can easily enable agriculture modernisation to take off and poverty
eradication, increasing tax base, GNP, and so forth can straightforwardly be
achieved in a shorter period.
NAADS final assessments will
after 25yrs, its estimated duration and that will be in 2026. About 12yrs from
now. If this project totally fails, shall we again inscribe project papers to
move around begging donors for funds???.
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