On the 2nd of December,2008 Monitor Publication, Mr.Moses Byaruhanga submitted his observations of the high level of India's agricultural mechanization and commercialization of the sector as a strategic engine for national development. While I entirely agree with his observations and the need to revamp and re-invigorate the agricultural sector in Uganda, my surprise was in his tone of presentation. He sounded like an information broker to the much patronized and derided Ugandan rural farmer, especially for a Special Presidential Advisor on Political Affairs. Like many government projects, The National Agricultural Advisory Services(NAADS) has often been found wanting in its delivery of services to the rural farmer causing the President to suspend the program in 2007 till it was "reviewed". Problem? Over politicization of government programs for tactical rather than strategic national goals by the political elite in Kampala. The President's apparent election slogan was "Bona Baggagawale" during the 2006 election. He promised access to low interest micro-credit for rural farmers and the urban poor similar to "Entandikwa" to invest in small enteprise development. It is from this camapign that SACCOS mushroomed around the country all waiting to tap into the Presidents committment to fight poverty head-on. It is from this pledge that Gen. Salim Saleh became the State Minister for Micro Finance. As usual this was but political manouvery in a country yearning for a radical political shift. Todate, the Micro Finance Minister is the most invisible face of the President's large cabinet. In the end, Ugandans have lost millions of shillings to shoddy organizations such as boda boda associations, Dutch International alias TEAM, COWI and many others as a state suffering from political inertia looks on. The effect has been loss of trust to a sector so important for an agro-based economy. Cooperatives are not a problem but the lack of necessary policy reforms, regulatory mechanisms and institutional oversight that is lacking in everything going on in Kampala. Cooperatives provide, through resource pooling access to market information, collective storage and technology adoption in value and commodity market chains. It would be interesting to know what Mr.Byaruhanga's brief was for that trip. Who funded this trip? What were the core objectives for the pilgrimage? That would help readers know whether Mr.Byaruhanga and his team have put down a blue-print to the National Planning Authority(NPA) as accountability for public funds for that trip to India. I would wish to know if there is any effort in the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate farmers obtain and adopt appropriate technology through innovative policy reforms. Mr.Byaruhanga's observations are actually all over the internet. As a policy advisor to the President, it is prudent that he uses his influence to fast-track the establishment of a more effecient, effective and accountable goverment through technology adoption vertically and horizontally in public service as this will help facilitate information and knowledge sharing. This approach, for a political advisor, means him understanding the intricate requirements for the state at strategic level to be more progressive and reformist in orientation. It means developing a strategy to reform the structure of public administration to a small but effective, efficient and accountable structure of government. It calls for a radical approach in adoptiong smart-technologies, flattening of the decision making process as well as establishing policy reforms needed to implement the strategy.Mr.Byaruhanga, a key political player in President Museveni's government,mentions that it is his dream to have a tractor in each Sub-County. This has been a pipe dream for many political talkers in Kampala since 1986. Tractors are not a new invention anyway. They have been part of the cooperative movement since the 1960s till the collapse of the same movement with the advent of World Bank/IMF economic reforms that liberalized the agricultural sector. The drive for SACCOS in government political circles by default is admission by the NRM government that actually the cooperative movement was the right vehicle to emancipate the rural poor, majority of whom are farmers. Deregulation and markets were adopted with alot of excitement in return for donor aid to run government in 1987 resulting into the collapse of the cooperative movement and now the white elephant that formerly housed the Coffee Marketing Board(CMB)in Bugolobi and just recently the Agoa Tri Star factory. Coffee Marketing Board(CMB), Lint Marketing Board(LMB) and other parastatals were part of various agro-value chains and fed into the cooperative movement that brought synergy into the agricultural sector in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Our Kenyan neighbours despite their gradual adoption of market reforms have preserved some of this cooperative movement infrastructure not mention a controlled privatization of public corporations. In France, 9 out of 10 farmers are members of agricultural co-operatives; co-operative banks handle 60% of the total deposits and 25% of all retailers in France are co-operatives. (Source: GNC Newsletter, No 348, June 2007). In Kenya, co-operatives are responsible for 45% of the GDP and 31% of national savings and deposits. They have 70% of the coffee market, 76% dairy, 90% pyrethrum, and 95% of cotton. These facilitate effeciency at every level of the value and commodity market chains. It is therefore of concern that Kampala does not seem to have a visible strategic plan with any sustainable broad social impact. Rather you see a sexy mentality from those supposed to public policy for good of country.I must submit Mr.Byaruhanga sounds awed by India strategic shift and seems helplessly hostage in a rough public policy management environment. And that is my only problem with the presentation from a Special Presidential Advisor.
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