How Museveni’s big mistake became a rich lottery (Part 2)

He also spoke of a good chap in Kapchorwa who is growing so much barley, he’s run out land. He alone supplies a beer company with 80 per cent of its barley!

In addition, with a community now able to title land, it can lease it to a “mufuruki” (internal immigrant). Until now in Uganda the primitive practice was that you could only farm land that you owned.

Museveni thus became the accidental “revolutionary” spark for the growth of commercial agriculture. These developments couldn’t have come at a better time for the Ugandans investing in crops.

Recent events in Kenya and, over the last two years, in South Sudan and Rwanda have been a boon. In fact, some argue, the gods of Uganda’s gardens live in Rwanda and South Sudan. Here (see “What happens in Uganda’s gardens could ‘save’ Uhuru’s presidency in Kenya”, page 25) is why.

cobbo@ke.nationmedia.com