The government has been urged by Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries to increase funding for human resource development at regional agricultural mechanisation centres in Uganda. This call was made during a visit to these centres by the Committee Chairperson, Hon. Janet Okori-Moe, and other MPs to assess the progress of the transition to high-end farming tools.
Okori-Moe highlighted the lack of staff at these centres, emphasizing the need for trained personnel to operate the machinery. She commended the government for establishing and equipping the centres with good machinery but emphasized the importance of addressing the staffing challenges.
Hon. Christine Akello also stressed the need to increase staffing at the mechanisation centres in order to enhance output and service delivery to farmers. The Assistant Project Engineer, Eng. Thomas Epet, mentioned that the limited land has hindered the expansion of these centres and urged the government to acquire more land for this purpose.
The Committee also visited several agricultural mechanisation centres in different districts to assess their operations. These centres were established by the government to ease the deployment and maintenance of farming equipment in different regions of Uganda, bringing the service closer to the people.
Overall, the Committee called for increased funding and staffing at these mechanisation centres to strengthen the mechanization agenda and better serve the farming community in Uganda.