DAVID MUWANGA

KAMPALA,UGANDA- The country could become the food basket for the East African region if the funds provided by the World Bank and other development partners are used effectively.

The bank's board of executive directors recently approved a $120m International Development Association (IDA) credit to increase agricultural productivity and incomes of participating households in Uganda.

Over 2.5m Ugandan farmers are expected to access more services from the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) and new products to be developed by the national research organisation.

However media reports last week quoted President Yoweri Museveni saying he suspended the NAADS programme after it was discovered that officials were misusing the money.

But the five-year Agricultural Technology and Agribusiness Advisory Services Project (ATAAS) supported by the World Bank will also benefit from a $7.2m Global Environment Facility (GEF) grant to address land degradation and climate risk issues.

The bank's financing is only part of the larger total project cost amounting to $665.5m, of which the bulk of $497.3m will be contributed by the government.

The remaining $41m will be financed through development partners including International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) which will contribute $14m, $20m from the EU and $7m from the Danish International Development Agency (Danida).

World Bank Uganda Country Manager Kundhavi Kadiresan said the project represents the next step in the bank's long-standing engagement in the agriculture sector in Uganda which is among the top five priority sectors for public investment under the National Development Plan (NDP).

"Over 1.7m Ugandans are expected to benefit from this project directly, and an additional 850,000 indirectly, making this operation of key importance for the structural transformation of the economy through value addition, export growth, and employment," she said in a statement issued last week.

Over the past 18 years, the World Bank, through the IDA has invested in and provided technical support for the institutional development of National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) and tNAADS.

This project seeks to further improve performance of agricultural research and advisory services that would contribute to increased agricultural productivity in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.

"Uganda is increasingly seen as a potential breadbasket for East Africa and this project is very timely because it coincides with regional integration initiatives," said Madhur Gautam, World Bank Task Team Leader for the Project.

"If Ugandan farmers can increase the quantity of their agricultural produce and address quality issues, they can tap into the East African market and raise greater revenues," he explained.