By Our Reporter
SOROTI
Local leaders and civil society organizations (CSOs) operating under their umbrella body of PELUM Uganda and working in Soroti District are calling on the government to increase the budget for the agricultural sector, recruit more agricultural extension workers, and provide farmers with affordable irrigation systems to combat poverty and climate change effectively.
This call to action arose during the regional post-budget dialogue for the 2026/2027 financial year, held at Strikers Hotel in Soroti City on June 18, 2026. The event supported by PELUM Uganda brought together farmer representatives, local leaders, technical officers, and CSO members.
For the 2026/27 financial year, the Ugandan government has allocated a historic Shs 2.26 trillion to the Industrialization programme, marking the highest funding ever designated for agriculture in the national budget. However, farmers, leaders, and CSOs remain dissatisfied with the allocation, saying it can not adequately respond to the various challenges that Farmers are faced with.
In his opening remarks, Hon. Bob Owiny, the Soroti district LC5 Chairperson, emphasized the need to raise the agricultural budget to 20 percent of the national budget.
He highlighted the pressing demand for investment in extension services, noting that Soroti, with its 12 sub-counties and town councils, only has three or four veterinary and agricultural officers, often spread thin across multiple sub-counties.
Hin. Owiny called on the government to recruit additional extension workers and agricultural officers in each sub-county to better support local farmers and promote development.
He underscored the impact of climate change, which has adversely affected many farmers, leaving only the wealthy capable of accessing irrigation schemes, fertilizers, and swampy areas to cultivate, even during dry spells.
Mr. Samuel Lukanga Musisi, the team leader of Community Integrated Development Initiatives (CIDI) on his turn, shared similar concerns, pointing out that the agricultural budget has consistently fallen short of expectations.
He advocated for a target of 10 percent of the national budget for agriculture, as outlined in the Malaba Declaration and now the Kampala Declaration.
Musisi argued that the current Shs 2.26 trillion allocation remains significantly below this benchmark, and appealed to the government to uphold its commitment to the Malaba Declaration in the upcoming financial year.
He highlighted critical issues affecting farmers in Teso region, such as unpredictable weather patterns—which include prolonged dry spells and flooding—poor selection of low-value crops and enterprises, and an ongoing need for mindset shifts among farmers.
Musisi believes that with adequate investment in agriculture, poverty among the majority can be addressed, subsequently boosting the overall economy.
Betty Rose Aguti, the chairperson of the Advocacy thematic working group at PELUM-Uganda and who also doubles as the Policy and Advocacy Specialist at Caritas Uganda highlighted that farmers are confronted with many challenges that are beyond the budget allocated to the agricultural sector.
Aguti pointed out that, while the government prioritizes irrigation systems, the requirement for farmers to co-fund 25% is not feasible given their financial constraints. Although last year they appealed for a reduction, leading to a decrease to 15%, Aguti argues that this remains too burdensome; it is the prayer of CSOs that timr shall come when the co-funding for small scale irrigation drops to 10%.
She noted the shortage of extension workers, stating that it would take over 15 years for a single extension worker to adequately reach all farmers.
Aguti called for an increase in the number of extension officers, emphasizing that these experts should proactively engage with farmers in their parishes rather than waiting for farmers to seek them out.
For over 20 years, the government has failed to raise the agricultural budget to 10% as committed by government during the different internation platform s. Aguti urges an increase to at least 4% to ensure soil fertility and overall agricultural improvement.
“Let government at least increase the agricultural sector budget to 4 percent so that even fertility of our soils is improved,” Aguti said.
Closing the dialogue, David Agwanyi, the Soroti district speaker, suggested training model farmers at the parish level to provide local agricultural extension support to their communities.
Grace Arionget, a 64-year-old widowed farmer and treasurer of the Amoroto multi-purpose cooperative society, stressed the need for government assistance in implementing irrigation systems and enabling farmers to cultivate crops three times a year.
She pointed out that climate change has exacerbated agricultural challenges, with excessive sunshine and insufficient rainfall leading to crop failures.
“Currently, my groundnuts are drying up due to lack of rain. If affordable irrigation were available, I wouldn’t have faced such losses,” she explained.
Arionget also mentioned that the existing agricultural extension workers are not providing adequate support; instead, farmers often rely on guidance from non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Joseph Okello, a farmer from Aloet cell A in Soroti City East, called for governmental support in supplying irrigation systems to mitigate ongoing drought conditions.
He urged an increase in the agricultural budget, emphasizing its essential role in the economy of Teso and Uganda as a whole.
Okello expressed disappointment at the absence of agricultural extension workers over the past four decades, with farmers relying primarily on limited information broadcasted through radio and provided by NGOs.
The agricultural funds allocated for the next financial year aim to promote commercial agriculture, shift away from exporting raw commodities, and enhance economic growth. Key areas of focus for this funding include infrastructure and inputs, value addition, research and extension, and financing.
