By Joseph Mary Buwule
The Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, has commended commercial farmers who are investing in value addition and sustainable agricultural practices, saying such initiatives are key to creating jobs and driving Uganda’s economic transformation.
During a visit to Tripple J Agro Farm in Bombo on Tuesday afternoon, Tumwebaze expressed admiration for the farm’s integrated dairy production model, which combines modern livestock management, renewable energy, and value-added processing.
The 80-acre dairy farm currently keeps 140 dairy animals under a zero-grazing system and powers all its operations using biogas generated from animal waste, creating a fully sustainable and zero-waste production system.
“It is exciting to see commercial farmers investing and developing whole value chains on the farm and therefore creating jobs,” Tumwebaze said after touring the facility.
In addition to dairy production, the farm has ventured into yogurt processing and is gradually expanding into pasteurized and powdered milk production, a move aimed at increasing the value of its products and improving market opportunities.
The minister noted that such investments align with the government’s broader strategy of promoting value addition and industrialization within the agricultural sector.
He revealed that over the next five years, the government intends to strengthen support for all categories of farmers—small, medium, and large-scale producers—to enhance productivity and competitiveness.
According to Tumwebaze, interventions under the Parish Development Model (PDM) will be scaled up to benefit more smallholder farmers, while affordable financing options will be rolled out through the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) and other government-backed financial institutions to support medium and large-scale agricultural enterprises.
“Our strategy as government is to ensure that all clusters of farmers get the support they need to fully produce with added value,” he said.
He emphasized that expanding value addition across agricultural value chains will not only create employment opportunities but also contribute significantly to the government’s ambitious target of achieving tenfold economic growth.
Tumwebaze added that strengthening agricultural production and agro-processing industries will be critical in sustaining Uganda’s industrialization agenda and improving household incomes across the country.
The visit highlighted the growing role of commercial agriculture in promoting innovation, renewable energy use, and agro-industrial development, which government officials view as essential pillars for the country’s long-term economic growth.