The Ugandan government has announced plans to establish a Food and Agriculture Authority, modeled after similar entities in the US, Germany, and the UK.
The proposed authority will oversee food, veterinary drugs, agricultural chemicals, and inputs, integrating various functions currently managed by different agencies.
Lt. Col (Rtd) Bright Rwamirama, the Minister of State for Animal Industry, informed legislators about the new initiative, which will involve merging the Dairy Development Authority (DDA) and Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) into the new body.
He assured that the rationalization process will not halt the functions of these agencies but will instead empower the respective divisions under the new structure.
“In rationalization, we don’t intend to stop their functions, but the ministry shall empower the respective divisions where they fall. We also don’t intend to reduce the workforce in the regions where they have been operating,” Minister Rwamirama stated.
He was addressing members of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Caucus at State House Entebbe during discussions on rationalizing and merging government agencies.
Rwamirama further clarified that services provided by the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) will be executed under the Department of Agribusiness, and no technical staff will be laid off in the process.
On the matter of distributing quality coffee seedlings, he emphasized that the ministry plans to empower farmers to purchase their own seedlings.
“We were requested as a Ministry of Agriculture to provide a list of certified seed dealers who will supply the necessary quality of coffee needed and for many other enterprises. We are not going to lose any functionalities,” he added.
President Yoweri Museveni, who also spoke at the meeting, assured citizens that the merger of agencies would not disrupt service delivery.
He explained that returning agencies to their parent ministries is aimed at eliminating redundancy and focusing on core functions.
“We need to remove what is not necessary and retain only what is absolutely necessary,” President Museveni stated, addressing concerns about the capacity of ministries to handle expanded responsibilities.
The creation of the Food and Agriculture Authority is seen as a step towards streamlining operations within the sector, ensuring more efficient use of resources and strengthening Uganda’s agricultural framework.
