Government targets 10,000 tractors in five years to boost Agricultural production

By Our Reporter

The Government plans to provide 10,000 tractors over the next five years as part of a renewed push to mechanise agriculture, expand cultivated land, boost productivity and transform rural economies, the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Hon. Frank Tumwebaze, has said.

Presenting a statement on the performance of the agriculture sector during Wednesday’s plenary sitting on October 21, 2026, Tumwebaze said Uganda’s agricultural production has for a long time been constrained by reliance on human labour and unpredictable weather patterns.

He said mechanisation would enable farmers to cultivate larger areas with less effort, support value addition, create jobs and stimulate the growth of businesses and infrastructure that serve the agricultural sector.

Tumwebaze added that expanding irrigation would help farmers produce more consistently throughout the year, reducing their dependence on rainfall amid increasingly unpredictable weather conditions.

To achieve the mechanisation target, the minister said the government intends to establish and operationalise 21 mechanisation centres while introducing a cost-sharing arrangement involving government, commercial farmers and producer groups to make tractor acquisition more accessible and affordable.

“Our policy strategy proposes two lines of intervention, that is the establishment and operationalisation of 21 mechanisation centers and a cost-sharing approach to tractor acquisition involving government, commercial farmers, and producer groups,” he said.

Since 2018, government has acquired and deployed 1,080 assorted tractors, together with their matching implements, as well as 1,350 single-axle walk-behind tractors equipped with various accessories.

Tumwebaze explained that the machinery is allocated directly to farmers, farmer groups, associations and institutions under memoranda of understanding signed with the ministry.

“This equipment is directly allocated to farmers, farmer groups, associations and institutions through a memorandum of understanding signed between the beneficiaries and the ministry,” he said.

He further reported that 2,036 tractor operators and technicians had been trained at the Namalere Mechanisation Centre and deployed across the country to ensure the machinery is operated safely, efficiently and productively.

Beyond mechanisation, Tumwebaze identified irrigation as a major government priority in efforts to stabilise agricultural production and protect farmers against erratic weather patterns.

He said the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, working with the Ministry of Water and Environment, had submitted a comprehensive National Irrigation Development Plan to the Ministry of Finance for funding under the proposed National Irrigation Development Project (NIDEP).

The proposed project is intended to cover the entire country and support resilient agricultural production, food security and household incomes through sustainable commercial farming of suitable enterprises.

“Following guidance from H.E the President and the directive from Cabinet, the ministry in collaboration with Ministry of Water and Environment has submitted a detailed National Irrigation Development Plan to Finance Ministry for funding under a project called the National Irrigation Development Project (NIDEP) proposed to cover the whole country,” he said.

According to the minister, the two ministries have so far completed the construction of 10 large-scale irrigation schemes, expanding the total area under formal irrigation by 7,203 hectares.

Among the completed projects are the Doho II Rice Irrigation Scheme in Butaleja District, the Ngenge Irrigation Scheme in Kween and Mubuku II in Kasese.

Other schemes under construction include Kabuyanda in Isingiro, Namaitsu in Bududa and Chembobai in Bukwo.

The planned expansion of irrigation infrastructure is expected to support more reliable production, particularly for farmers seeking to move beyond dependence on seasonal rainfall.

Tumwebaze also credited the Parish Development Model (PDM) with transforming household economies by improving access to financing, particularly for smallholder farmers whose livelihoods largely depend on agriculture.

He said the programme had helped close gaps in the country’s financial inclusion system by extending financial services to communities that have traditionally faced difficulties accessing formal credit.

Since its inception five years ago, the government has cumulatively injected up to UGX 4.4 trillion into parish SACCOs under the programme.

For medium- and large-scale farmers who fall outside the PDM framework, Tumwebaze said the government would continue rolling out other support interventions guided by the Agriculture Value Chain Development Strategy.

The interventions are intended to support farmers at different levels of production and strengthen agricultural value chains.

Assessing the sector’s overall performance, Tumwebaze reported that agriculture’s contribution to Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had risen from a 10-year average of 23 per cent to 26.2 per cent by the end of the 2025/2026 financial year.

He added that the sector accounts for an average of 40 per cent of the country’s export earnings, underscoring its importance to economic growth, employment and foreign exchange generation.

The minister’s presentation highlighted mechanisation, irrigation, agricultural financing and value-chain development as key pillars of the government’s strategy to strengthen the sector over the next five years.

Members of Parliament are expected to comprehensively debate the minister’s report during next week’s plenary sittings.