In her address, at the summit in Rome, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, gave a brief historical account of Uganda and Africa in general as well our country’s potential to feed many parts of the world, it has been reported.
It is indeed true that we as a country have the potential to be a food basket for millions of people in Africa.
However, big questions still continue to linger.
How do you talk of being a food basket for the world when you are failing to feed your own people? Knowing that we could have the potential of being a world food basket is a fact that we have all sung for decades. Even Sir Winston Churchill declared it more than a century ago. But, let us just look around us and see if there is any practical steps being undertaken to make that potential a reality. Let us first work on feeding those of us in our midst in Karamoja, Lamwo, Amuru, Teso and elsewhere. Peddling illusions won't turn Uganda into a food basket of any sort by itself!
What is buffling more is that with this potential that Uganda and actually others countries of Africa equally poses we are seeing the African leaders making desparate trips to Europe and particularly Russia for food bail outs.
One would have hoped that these African leaders would have been galvanised to may converge here in Kampala with the sole aim of drawing up concrete plans on how Uganda's fertile soils can be worked into becoming a food basket source for the African countries. For how long is Africa going to continue depending on Russia's wheat, maize, sun flower oil and fertilizers?
Africa is reported to be one of the most vulnerable regions in the world in terms of food security, despite agriculture employing more than 60% of its labour force and contributing to about a third of the continent’s GDP.
It is further reported that approximately 278mn people, 20% of Africa’s population, are suffering from chronic hunger.
This is the magnitude of the problem for Africa. This problem won't be solved by benevolent gestures of Moscow or Kiev.
African leaders should be discussing how the African agricultural potential can be fully utilized in order for the continent to achieve food and security sovereignty.
