Farmers are set to get more hand hoes after Parliament approved the request by the Ministry of Agriculture to have additional UGX70Bn for the same purpose despite lack of clear distribution guidelines on earlier hoes given out.
due to conflicts and unfair distribution process.
While tabling the report for the 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper during the 29th January 2026, plenary sitting, Remigio Achia, Vice Chairperson of Parliament’s Budget Committee, said: “The Committee observes that the distribution of these hand hoes lacks proper distribution guidelines, supervision, and a clear roadmap. Furthermore, the Committee observes that other government agencies, such as the Office of the Prime Minister, are also engaged in the same activities and this amounts to duplication of roles. Government should enhance funding for the hand hoes programme by increasing the total budget allocation to UGX70Bn to enable completion of the planned quantities, improve nationwide coverage, and ensure orderly and coordinated implementation of the programme.”
According to the Budget Committee, the Ministry of Finance released UGX20Bn in FY2025/26 through a supplementary out of the required UGX56Bn for the procurement of the planned 7 million hand hoes. The released funds enabled Ministry of Agriculture to issue call-off orders for 2,400,000 hand hoes, to be distributed countrywide, and many districts have received their allocation of these hoes. It should be noted that this is the third batch of the 18Millon hand hoes as promised by the President in 2015.
In 2017, approximately 420,000 hoes were distributed by Ministry of Agriculture focused on the West Nile and Northern regions. In the FY2020/21, the Government through NAADS procured and distributed 2,500,000 hoes especially in Karamoja, West Nile and Teso sub-regions.
Achia thus wants the Ministry of Agriculture to develop and adhere to comprehensive guidelines for the procurement and distribution of hoes, to mitigate conflicts and unfair distribution.
