Otim Otim Francis

RANDOM THOUGHT: WHAT IF WE PUT GOVERNMENT LAND TO WORK? I was just thinking… Uganda has quite a good amount of land owned by government and its agencies, some of which is either underutilised or being used for activities that could perhaps generate much more value. For example, what if our @UgandaPrisons services started shifting some of their agricultural activities from maize and cotton growing to high-value cash crops like coffee and cocoa? So prisons services start establishing commercial coffee and cocoa farms where inmates are trained in agronomy, farm management, harvesting and value addition. By the time someone completes their sentence they could walk out with practical agricultural skills and possibly an opportunity to start their own farm. That’s rehabilitation through productive agriculture! Or mayb what if government agencies with large idle or underutilised land considered leasing some of it to young agripreneurs, investors and organised farming groups looking for sizeable land to establish commercial farms? There are people out here looking for 20, 50, 100 or even 500 acres to invest in coffee, cocoa and other high-value crops but accessing affordable land remains one of their biggest challenges. Of course, this would require proper land audits, transparent leasing arrangements, environmental safeguards and policies that protect public assets. We keep talking about creating jobs, increasing coffee production, growing exports and empowering young people. But perhaps some of the opportunities we are looking for are already sitting on government land! Sometimes development is not just about acquiring more resources; it is about rethinking how we use the resources we already have. Perhaps the next big coffee estate in Uganda doesn’t have to start with someone buying land. Perhaps it could start with government making idle land productive! Just a random thought. Or maybe there is a serious agricultural policy conversation hiding in this thought. What do you think? For God and my country