Joseph Ayolo, Moroto – Uganda is one of the richest countries in East Africa, whose citizens wouldn’t be begging in the streets if its resources were managed and utilized well.
This publication sheds light on how government officials in the Ministry of Agriculture blew millions on a tractor hire scheme in the Karamoja region.
In April last year, the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, without carrying out consultations, spent millions of shillings procuring eight tractors to hire out to poor Karamoja farmers for opening up their land. However, these tractors have done nothing to help address the food shortage in Karamoja.
At that time, the entire Ministry of Agriculture went to Karamoja to launch the tractor hire scheme, whereby each farmer was supposed to pay UGX 50,000 to UGX 70,000 per acre. Surprisingly, the farmers, who are expected to pull together UGX 50,000 to UGX 70,000, cannot even afford one meal a day, making it hard for them to use the tractors.
The tractors remained idle, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Mr. Francis Tumwebaze, the Minister of Agriculture, launched the scheme, stating that all the tractors would first start ploughing gardens in Nabilatuk District before being shifted to other districts.
Interestingly, the scheme has not created any significant impact in addressing food security in the region, as most farmers could not afford to hire the tractors.
Same Lodim, one of the farmers, said the tractor scheme by the Ministry of Agriculture was just a scam that needs to be investigated.
“They were just launching to eat the money, pretending to help Karamoja grow crops,” he said.
Mary Nakut, another farmer in Lorengedwat Sub-county, said the only scheme they believe did something was during the tenure of the First Lady Janet Museveni, who ploughed thousands of gardens in Karamoja, and people got food.
“The First Lady Janet Museveni did wonders for us because there was no scam but results, unlike these ones who are after getting money from Karamoja and taking it to their homes,” she said.
Mark Nangiro, a student of Agriculture at Arapai Campus in Soroti, said all efforts geared toward making Karamoja food stable would become meaningful if the government accepted the calls to establish an irrigation system in Karamoja to make water available throughout the year.
According to Nangiro, it is not the first time the government has wasted resources through the Ministry of Agriculture by procuring tractors for Karamoja districts, but these tractors end up being taken by politicians and other civil servants who have money.
“This is not the first time the government has introduced a tractor scheme in Karamoja, but at the end of the day, nothing is realized,” he said.
Peter Lokut, another resident, said connecting water from Lake Opeta in Katakwi to Napak Hill, which is about 100 kilometers, would end famine in Karamoja.
According to Lokut, Karamoja soils are very fertile and can produce enough food to feed the entire country if water was available throughout the year.
Mathew Mudong, a retired agriculture official, said the tractor scheme will not be sustainable, adding that not everyone can afford it.
