The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The mandate of the National Agriculture Advisory Services (NAADS) remains intact after government failed to complete its restructuring process.
The plan which began with the introduction of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) in 2014 came to a complete halt after Cabinet issued a moratorium stopping creation of new authorities.
Agriculture Minister Vincent Ssempijja says the moratorium means NAADS will continue its normal operations unaffected.
The Ministry was planning to take a bill to Parliament to repeal the NAADS Act for Operation Wealth Creation or another authority to take over the mandates of the agriculture agency for transformation of Agriculture.
NAADS started as an agency providing advisory services to farmers in 2012. In 2014, Cabinet directed it’s restructuring and removed many technical staff for soldiers of Uganda people’s Defense Forces to take charge of its mandates under Operation Wealth Creation (OWC).
Three years later, Operation Wealth Creation remains at the periphery of implementation of NAADS mandates particularly distribution and monitoring the supply of farm inputs to farmers.
Khadijjah Nakakande, the Head of Communications and Public Relations at the NAADS Secretariat says the 2014 Cabinet decision only expanded the mandates of NAADS to distribution of farm inputs under direct supervision of soldiers of Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF).
Khadijjah says procurement of farm inputs remains the core mandates of the NAADS secretariat. The others are distribution of value addition equipment, conducting farmer training and tractorization of agriculture.
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