President Yoweri Museveni has said the journey to develop and transform Uganda has taken longer than it should due to lack of consensus among players.
Museveni said leaders have failed to agree on what should be prioritized if the country is to realize the much-desired transformation agenda.
Interacting with leaders of Greater Masaka during his ongoing countrywide poverty eradication campaign, Museveni said the divergence in opinions and approach, as well as failure by leaders to understand that household wealth is more important for societal transformation than development infrastructure, has made it difficult for the country to develop quickly.
“What is important in developing the Ugandan society, as well as the African continent, is educating the population to shift from the traditional way of life, that was largely subsistence, to a modern way, where people produce for food and income,” he said.
“Subsistence means of production cannot fit in modern life because it (modern life) has new unique demands. So you must engage in modern commercial agriculture to meet the new big modern demands, failure of which you will plunge your families into irreversible poverty,” Museveni told the leaders in Masaka town on Tuesday.
Greater Masaka subregion comprises Kalungu, Kalangala, Sembabule, Kyotera, Lyantonde, Rakai, Bukomansimbi, Lwengo and Masaka districts.
The President said on top of engaging in commercial agriculture, the population must make sure that production activities are profit-oriented. He revealed that the Government has put in place several funds and programs to help everyone access funding to fully engage in the wealth and job creation drive.
Museveni also used the occasion to warn the population against fragmentation of land on the basis of primitive inheritance rights. The President said the practice has made the country lose most of her valuable agricultural land.
Commenting on the continued fluctuation of prices of agricultural products, the President reiterated that the Government will not engage in fixing prices of agricultural produce because these prices are always determined by international market forces of demand and supply.
He, however, gave assurance that the Government will help add value to agricultural products to make them durable and access international markets. Museveni appealed to farmers to ensure better quality products at all stages of production.
