The Senior Presidential Advisor on Diaspora Affairs, Amb. Abbey Walusimbi has asked Ugandans living abroad to utilize the several opportunities in the agricultural sector through investment back home.
Walusimbi made the call during the closure of the one-day Ugandan diaspora Agri-food investment e-conference organized the diaspora department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with FAO and the Uganda Agribusiness Alliance (UAA).
“There is improved agricultural investment opportunities, better understanding of the market dynamics, better networking and partnerships between the rural institutions and Diaspora organizations,” he said.
He noted that President Museveni has always expressed commitment to ease the challenges that would deter them from engaging in the agricultural sector which accounts for more than 23% of the country’s GDP.
He noted that as a person who has lived and coordinate diaspora at different levels, he is certain that it is not enough to be successful on foreign land and urged them to invest home.
“This is the reason many of our people have shifted from constructing residential properties to procuring space with an agribusiness mindset. As the saying goes that East or West, home is the best, so is the case with Ugandans in the diaspora who have always relished the feeling that comes with eating home food. When you are in Diaspora, one of the ways to feel at home is eating local dishes from our African food outlets,”Walusimbi said.
During the event, the acting head of the diaspora department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dickson Ogwang noted that engagement is aimed at transforming the society towards a better and quality population that is productive as well as encouraging Ugandans in the diaspora to return and invest in the agricultural sector.
Ogwang said that the event is in fulfillment of the diaspora department’s core objective of mobilizing Ugandans in the diaspora for national growth and development.
“We are working on achieving mindset transformation that will encourage our diaspora people to bring back home the right skills, necessary technology and financing that will promote investment in the various sectors of the economy to facilitate rapid growth and development,” Ogwang said.
“We believe that with the right skills, needed technology and financing we shall achieve great improvement in not only the number of our products but also the quality as there will be value addition on our products to be able to attract and retain good markets with great pricing both within the local markets, the region and in the global market.”
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