President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has urged farmers in Sheema District to embrace modern agricultural practices, including irrigation, pasture cultivation, and fertiliser use, to boost productivity and protect their livelihoods against drought.
Speaking at the thanksgiving ceremony for Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu (Minister of Internal Affairs and MP for Sheema County South) at the Bugongi Town Council Playground, the President emphasized transitioning from subsistence to commercial farming. He thanked the residents of Sheema for their enduring support for the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government.
President Museveni explained that the Four-Acre Model, first introduced in the 1996 NRM manifesto, remains a vital blueprint for high-yield, small-scale commercial farming
In response to prolonged dry spells damaging local banana plantations, the President directed farmers to tap underground water resources across Ankole and Kigezi to sustain yields during droughts.
Farmers were urged to abandon free-range grazing in favour of zero-grazing and systematic pasture growing to optimize land utility and prevent soil degradation.
To stop the fragmentation of agricultural land, the President advised families against subdividing property upon the death of parents. Instead, he recommended registering family companies and allocating shares to beneficiaries to keep assets intact and economically viable
The president allocated two tractors to Sheema District to improve pasture and grass quality management and pledged full government backing for the construction of Kitagata Hospital and donated Shs 300 million toward completing St. Peter’s Cathedral Bweranyangi in Bushenyi District.
While promising road network upgrades, the President cautioned residents against using poor infrastructure as an excuse for poverty, noting that development must meet economically empowered households.
he Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Thomas Tayebwa, thanked the President for allocating five square miles of land in Ruhengyere, Kiruhura District, for industrial zoning to create jobs in the Ankole sub-region.
Tayebwa also requested emergency financial relief for the struggling Igara Tea Factory. In response, President Museveni directed the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) to waive the factory’s outstanding tax arrears to avert a potential commercial bank takeover.
Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu lauded the President’s long-standing leadership and noted that grassroots wealth initiatives—such as the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Emyooga—are already transforming local economies across Sheema.
