SOROTI . The Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) presidential flag bearer Maj. Gen. (rtd) Mugisha Muntu has said that, if elected, his government will reintegrate agricultural extension workers into the agricultural production chain.
Muntu says that this underscores a strategic shift from viewing extension agents as mere advisors to recognising them as integral participants in the value adding process, emphasising that the enrolment will address long-standing gaps in farmer-extension services, boost productivity and ensure that knowledge translates into tangible market outcomes.
“Our farmers deserve more than occasional advice; they need partners who walk with them from seed to market,” he declared, prompting applause from area local leaders. unveiled the strategy at a campaign rally on Tuesday (November 18) at Central cell, Central ward, Tubur town council in Soroti District.
Under the proposed plan, extension workers will be embedded within key production nodes, seed distribution, mechanisation, post harvest handling, and market access.
“The program under the cooperative movement arrangement will see the Ministry of Agriculture partnering with agro processors, financial institutions, and research bodies to create a Unified Extension Platform (UEP) that synchronises information flow across the chain.
Muntu cited the Karamoja green belts project and the fostering sustainability and resilience for food security in Karamoja initiative as examples of existing frameworks that will be leveraged to finance the enrolment drive.
To sustain the system, Muntu plans to introduce a performance based incentive scheme, tying a portion of extension workers’ remuneration to measurable outcomes such as yield improvement, value addition, and farmer income growth.
Muntu, who has for the last three days been traversing the districts of Teso subregion, promised to design a deliberate program to revive the defunct cattle industry, improve the quality of education and pay pensions to those who worked for the government but have never received their pay.
“People who worked for this government have retired, but their pension is being eaten in Kampala due to stinking corruption in government,” he disclosed.
Days of a dishonest government are numbered, and I shall arrest all the corrupt to reset Uganda back to its customs and values in society, Muntu warned.
“We have plenty of resources to turn around the fortunes of our country, but corruption is cancer that we must first treat.”