NGO calls for mechanised agriculture to employ youth

The country director of Heifer International Uganda, an NGO, has emphasised mechanised agriculture to attract more youth to agri-business and help the country address the high unemployment levels.

“Mechanisation is extremely important because it makes agri-business more attractive to young people, helps farmers to plant all the time, and creates jobs for Ugandans,” Mr William Matovu said while handing over tractors to youth from Gulu, Nwoya and Dokolo districts in Kampala last week.

He said Heifer International programme of Pay-As- You Go (PAYG) tractor financing provides tractors on credit to farmers engaged in agriculture. 

The purchases are made through hello tractors, a software tractor and tracking devices that allow farmers to book them from owners via a mobile phone App.

“We developed the PAYG product to give more entrepreneurs and small holder farmers access to tractor services at an affordable rate and boost farm productivity, employment, food security and farmer livelihoods,” Mr Matovu said.

He said the tractor financing has already attracted the participation of youth from Dokolo, Kiboga, Amuria, Luwero, and Ngora districts.

Mr Matovu also said mechanised agriculture can help Uganda to reduce expenditure on exports.
He said on average, the country spends $250m every year importing vegetable oil.

“The consumption of vegetable oil stands at 333,000 tonnes per annum while local production is only 28 percent. This means that we import 72 percent of what is consumed in the country. That is a lot of money, jobs, and livelihoods we are giving away. We need to grow more and retain the value of commodities that we grow as a country,” he said.

He also said mechanisation of agriculture will enable Uganda to fully utilise the available arable land.
Mr Matovu said about 80 percent of Uganda’s land is arable but only 35 percent of that land is being cultivated.

About 39 percent of household in Uganda thrive on subsistence farming. 

The chief operations officer for Hello Tractor, Mr Folu Okunade, said lending out of the tractors is dependent on revenues that tract owners can generate as opposed to the collateral they can pledge.

Mr Fulo also said increasing access to technology has the potential to improve the incomes of millions of small holder farmers across Africa.  

Mr Kevin Opio, a farmer from Gulu who was among the recipients of the tractors, said it would help him to utilise the 100 acres of land.

Mr Opio, who  grows soybeans, maize and gnuts, said he would also use the tractor cultivate land for other farmers at a fee.

He said cultivating an acre of land with a tractor costs about Shs80,000. 

Govt concern 

The Minister of Information Communication and Technology and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said many farmers still use rudimentary methods of farming. 

“I feel challenged as a minister of ICT. We need to transform this so that they can be part of the industrial revolution because they are the people who vote for us and get us into big offices. We must improve their livelihoods,” he said while officiating at one of the ICT meeting in Kampala recently.