RDCs Urged to Mainstream Four-Acre Model to Fight Poverty and Boost Intensive Farming

What the report says

Former Lands Minister and Uganda Railways Corporation Board chairman Daudi Migereko has urged Resident District Commissioners and other local leaders to make President Yoweri Museveni’s four-acre model a working district-level plan for reducing poverty and improving farm incomes. According to Nile Post, he delivered the appeal while closing a three-day meeting with RDCs at Source of the Nile Hotel in Jinja City.

Migereko said the approach is meant for households with small landholdings and should move farmers away from low-return practices, especially sugarcane on limited plots. He argued that the model is better suited to intensive farming, including zero grazing, poultry, coffee, piggery and high-value crops such as onions, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, cabbages, sukuma wiki and passion fruits. He also pointed to farmers in Busoga and other regions as examples that small acreage can still support meaningful income when the right enterprise is chosen.

The former minister pressed RDCs to take responsibility for implementation, saying districts should identify suitable enterprises, involve agricultural officers and planning committees, and help farmers access financing and irrigation. He also noted that some areas have returned irrigation funds in the past, but said new boreholes, reservoirs and financing tools could support year-round production. He argued that local food imports from neighboring countries show there is demand for produce and that Uganda should expand domestic output.

The remarks matter because the four-acre model remains a key government agriculture message, especially in areas where land is fragmented and households depend heavily on rain-fed farming. Migereko’s call placed local administrators at the center of turning the policy into practical production plans.