Uganda just announced its biggest farming budget ever and business leaders say the government cannot handle this massive job alone. The country needs private companies to step up and help transform agriculture across the nation. Finance Minister Matia Kasaija revealed a huge 72.3 trillion shilling spending plan for the coming year. The money will go toward helping farmers grow more crops and build better businesses. Agriculture keeps 70 percent of Ugandans employed and brings in about one quarter of all national income.
Mabel Ndawula runs the new dfcu Foundation and believes her organization can fill important gaps left by government programs. Her foundation wants to reach 100,000 farmers and small business owners over the next five years. Most of these people will be women and young adults who need better access to loans and training. The foundation already helped 59,000 people and created 22 million dollars worth of business connections since 2018. Their online learning platform teaches farmers smart methods for dealing with climate problems.
Government programs have been spreading money around the countryside through the Parish Development Model. This program has delivered over one trillion shillings to more than 10,000 parishes across Uganda. About 2.6 million people have received help from this massive effort. Nearly half of the recipients spent their money on crops like corn and over one third bought livestock. The country wants to build a 500 billion dollar economy by 2040.
Mabel Ndawula runs the new dfcu Foundation and believes her organization can fill important gaps left by government programs. Her foundation wants to reach 100,000 farmers and small business owners over the next five years. Most of these people will be women and young adults who need better access to loans and training. The foundation already helped 59,000 people and created 22 million dollars worth of business connections since 2018. Their online learning platform teaches farmers smart methods for dealing with climate problems.
Government programs have been spreading money around the countryside through the Parish Development Model. This program has delivered over one trillion shillings to more than 10,000 parishes across Uganda. About 2.6 million people have received help from this massive effort. Nearly half of the recipients spent their money on crops like corn and over one third bought livestock. The country wants to build a 500 billion dollar economy by 2040.
