Uganda’s government through its Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has made many interventions to improve upon value addition to agriculture through projects like the national oil palm project of Uganda, the Goat Export Project and many more. However, among these interventions, the Agriculture Value Chain Development Project(AVCP) has proven to be the most extensive so far, aiming to add value to key agriculture products like rice, maize, and dairy.
The AVCP’s main objectives are to employ effective agriculture methods to increase agriculture yield, enhance agribusiness for the products, and equip value chain stakeholders with technical knowledge in areas such as animal extension services, soil testing and weather updates. These efforts have increased productivity and have gone a long way to improve upon citizen’s living standards which has therefore translated into economic growth in Uganda.
The project runs deep into various parts of the country. Districts like Luwero,Gomba, and Buhweju for instance have been marked for the production and the addition of value to dairy, whiles Soroti, Mbale, Kamuli district projects are among those assigned for the addition of value to maize. Namutumba,Buvuma and Gulu are among districts dedicated for rice value chain.
The Agriculture Value Chain Project uses ICT tools and is modelled after the Feed the Future Program implemented by the USAID. The platform has reached many by linking together farmers, buyers and mechanical and technical personnel among other service providers.
So far, the AVCP had yielded thousands of tons of rice and maize and contributed about 1 billion litres to milk production in Uganda every year.
The Agriculture Value Chain Project has many supporting projects which have been completed or are at various stages of completion. For example, an irrigation system is being developed across the Sironko River to provide water to farms in various districts of Uganda. Also a 1,000m² grain store is being constructed with grain drying yards. A meteorological laboratory is now running in Uganda to support the project.
If Uganda can ensure the sustainability of the Agriculture value Chain Project, it could real economic growth in the near future.
