Why Uganda wants private money to help transform farming

What the report says

Uganda’s government is urging banks, investors, technology firms and development partners to put more money into agriculture, arguing that public spending alone cannot fix the bottlenecks that keep farmers from earning more. The Observer reported that unreliable electricity, limited cold storage and scarce affordable credit can cause milk, grain and vegetables to spoil or miss buyers, reducing incomes for farmers and cooperatives.

State minister for Agriculture Dr Bright Rwamirama Kanyontore made the case at the Climate Finance Nexus Forum, held by Heifer International during the Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali, Rwanda. He said agriculture needs financing models that link productive businesses, appropriate technology, markets and credit in ways that can attract private capital, especially for climate-resilient tools such as solar irrigation, renewable energy, cold storage and better water management.

Heifer International Uganda country director William Matovu said banks often struggle to view agricultural projects as dependable loan clients. He described a model being tested with dairy cooperatives in which a cooperative runs a solar-powered milk cooling centre, a processor provides a market, and a bank lends against the equipment rather than farmers’ land. The article said one example, Migina Milk Collection Centre, cut milk losses to zero after installation of the system and increased monthly milk handling and supplier numbers.

The broader point, according to the report, is whether such approaches can be expanded across Uganda’s dairy sector and other value chains, turning climate finance into practical investment for rural businesses and jobs.