By Nanteza Ruth Walusimbi
JINJA
As Busoga grapples with poverty that has reached alarming levels, stake holders have embarked on a strategic plan aimed at accelerated wealth creation. Busoga region is ranked in the 10th position among poor regions according to the multi-dimensional poverty index report 2022 by Uganda Bureau of Statistics.
This has been attributed to solely relying on Sugarcane farming as an economic activity in Busoga, land fragmentation and social aspects among others.
This makes Busoga as one of the regions that require special intervention and hence the development of a strategic plan to address 95% of the problems of Busoga at grass root level, through multi-level consultative meetings with the help of the office of the President under Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), National Planning Authority, State House and Busoga Kingdom among others to help transform Busoga from Subsistence to Money economy.
Mayuge Chief Administrative Officer, Abdul Batambuze said that Sugarcane will not save Busoga from poverty saying this should be left for the small-rich population in the region.
“I visited Busede Sub County in Kakira Town Council Jinja District and found out that it is the poorest sub county with a budget of Shs.5 million annually, with the highest rate of school drop outs because parents can’t afford school fees for their children who in turn have to work as cane cutters on Sugarcane plantations.” Said Batambuze.
Batambuze castigated residents for hiring out land to sugarcane growers and said the money they get will only solve problems at hand and in the long run will end up surrendering the land due to recurring problems.
“Given the fertile soils and availability of water from Lake Victoria, the Basoga should embark on palm oil and cocoa growing which has been ranked the second-best cash crop globally after coffee.” Emphasized Batambuze.
However, Kataba Sauba the Iganga District Planner attributed the poverty levels in Busoga to lack of coordination between the political leadership and technical wing.
In Busoga, we have political Offices that have not helped the region, these Legislators, ministers and other leaders have the audience that they can use to lobby for special intervention but this has not been done.” Said Kataba.
In a 5-day strategic planning meeting underway at Nile Village Hotel in Jinja City, Kisadha Alex, a Senior Agricultural Officer in Luuka district expressed concern that a lot of ventures in agriculture and businesses have been done in the guise of improving the economy but end up in losses.
Kisadha who is the team leader for Busoga Think-Tank reveals that after consultations, the team developed a tool called ‘KIBALO APP’ that will help Ugandans who wish to invest in business ventures to know their viability.
