The Government Should Invest in Farmers During The New Normal
In spite of the anxiety surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic and the negative effect it has had on the economy, agriculture has continued to deliver.
So, government’s impressive strategies to transform agriculture from a subsistence sector to a commercial sector should start at the grassroots level to empower farmers, writes CHRISTABEL TUMWEBAZE.
The outbreak of Covid-19 has got the entire world rethinking the definition of essential. President Museveni, in his state of the nation address, distinctively divided the economy into two parts; the part dealing with basic human needs such as health, education and food; and another dealing with luxuries that people can do without when they have to.
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While national strategies such as the National Development Plan (NDP) II and III, as well as the National Agriculture Policy and National Agricultural Extension Policy highlight the need to support farmers, the government has variously been accused of failing to treat farming like the essential service it is.
For instance, by 2013, agriculture contributed 24.6 per cent of Uganda’s gross domestic product (GDP) even though it employed more than 80 per cent of the population. On the other hand, the services sector contributed 44 per cent of GDP even though it employed only about one per cent of the population. Government was under criticism for investing in the services industry that benefited a few while ignoring agriculture which, for a decade, ranked among the slowest-growing sectors of the economy.
While reading the last budget, the agricultural sector saw an increase in funding from Shs 1 trillion in 2019/2020 financial year to Shs 1.3 trillion for the 2020/2021 financial year. Also, the agricultural sector grew at 4.2 per cent, up from 3.8 per cent last financial year.
This growth is above the overall growth rate of the economy which stood at 3 per cent. Overall, even though the amount allocated to the agricultural sector increased, it comprises less than three per cent of the Shs 45 trillion budget. This is also less than the 10 per cent commitment the country made under the Maputo declaration.
Still, the slight growth in the agricultural sector and government’s recognition that it is among the most essential – as highlighted by Covid-19 pandemic – is a reason for optimism.
For even though most of the poor and vulnerable are found in this sector, Covid-19 has cajoled out grandiose plans to overhaul it and make it more productive. In the previous financial year, agriculture comprised 49 per cent of exports and brought in over two billion dollars in export revenue. Better infrastructure and government grants are expected to make the sector even stronger.
However, the danger with looking at agriculture through the grandiose lens is that, many times, the presumption is that big commercial farmers are at the front of agricultural production. Yet, the fact is that the bulk of Uganda’s agricultural output comes from smallholder subsistence farmers, many of them women in rural areas.
At 80 per cent, rural areas experience more poverty rates than urban areas (whose poverty rate is 30 per cent). Those in paid agricultural labour and people in subsistence farming are more likely to be poor than those whose main income is commercial farming or other non-agricultural enterprises.
The poverty rate for subsistence farmers is 35 per cent while that for those who are not farmers is 11 per cent. The poverty rates for subsistence farmers is thus more than triple than that of those who do not rely on farming for a livelihood. This is clearly unfair on the people who feed and prop the country.
Without recognizing the inherent vulnerability of poor subsistence farmers, we miss out on building their potential. These farmers are one failed harvest, drought, flooding or illness away from destitution. In case of even the most minor shocks, they will not be able to look after themselves and their families.
Government interventions must recognize the multiple vulnerabilities that poor farmers face, and how they stand in the way of basics needed for farming to thrive. For example, there may be government funding open to all farmers. However, some subsistence farmers may be left out because they cannot read or make the application online.
When you work with small holders, you realize that the common thread when it comes to their challenges is the lack of knowledge about the opportunities, carrying out farming business informally and lack of access to formal banking services. These challenges are also prerequisites for access to better services.
You must know about the opportunity, carry out proper bookkeeping and bank in a formal institution. It is not enough for government to simply announce grandiose agricultural plans, it must also ensure that farmers at the grassroots know of these opportunities.
Making use of traditional leadership structures and local government goes a long way in reaching farmers with important information on opportunities. Agricultural extension services should include such information. It should also include support in preparing for and applying for such opportunities.
We must put our money where our mouths are when it comes to celebrating essential farmers who are keeping the entire country afloat during Covid-19, and invest in making the smallholder farmer more productive.
The author is a livelihoods expert
