Ugandan farmers in South Africa have received a financial contribution from President Yoweri Museveni to boost their farming activities.
The support was delivered through the Office of the National Chairperson headed by Hajjat Hadijah Namyalo. She toured Ugandan communities in South Africa on August 2-6.
The tour kicked off with engagements with business communities in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces.
She followed this with an interaction with over farmers in Mpumalanga Province, which climaxed with a visit to two big farms.
Namyalo also visited two major farming enterprises. The first was one of the largest Ugandan-owned agricultural enterprises in Southern Africa, a 45-hectare vegetable farm in Kwamhlanga owned by Williams Bagala.
Specialising in cabbage and sukuma wiki production, the farm employs both Ugandans and South Africans.
“When we came here, we did not expect to become farmers. However, we soon realised that it was an option we could pursue,” Bagala said.
The farm’s produce is sold in South Africa and is also exported to Zimbabwe and Malawi.
“The market is big. It is a matter of maintaining the quality and quantities of our products to sustain it,” Bagala said.
The second enterprise Namyalo visited was a poultry farm in the same province. The proprietor, Denis Kiwanuka, employs modern farming techniques to rear thousands of broilers, which are sold on the South African market.
“We have been running this poultry farm with limited resources. This boost will help us increase our poultry stock and earnings,” Kiwanuka said.
Namyalo (right) on a vegetable farm in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, during her tour of agribusinesses run by Ugandans. (Courtesy photo)
The two farmers received $10,000 (about sh35.5m) each in development funds from President Museveni.
While handing over the money, Namyalo offered three key commitments: to connect them with Uganda’s agriculture ministry for technical exchange, to facilitate training opportunities for Ugandan farmers, and to advocate for more support from President Museveni. On the benefit of the tour, Namyalo remarked that it has revealed the tremendous potential of Ugandan farmers in the diaspora.
“These farms don’t just create jobs abroad – they represent knowledge banks that can transform Uganda’s own agricultural productivity when properly harnessed,” she said.
Agricultural experts noted the significance of supporting established operations like Bagala’s and Kiwanuka’s, which demonstrate the scalability of Ugandan agribusiness ventures in the region.
“These are modern farms and it will also be important for some of these entrepreneurs to visit Uganda and pass on this knowledge to farmers back home,” Namyalo said.
With similar engagements planned for other provinces, Namyalo’s tour is focused on creating sustainable bridges between the diaspora and Uganda’s development priorities, particularly empowering Ugandans and also mobilising support for President Museveni.
Funding other groups Namyalo also met groups in different provinces in South Africa. The first was one led by SarahJamil, who crossed from the National Unity Party to the National Resistance Movement when Namyalo visited South Africa last month.
“We met Namyalo two weeks ago and presented our challenges. She has delivered as promised. We are thankful to President Museveni for thinking about us,” Jamil said.
Namyalo handed over a presidential donation of $10,000.
“I will mobilise my fellow SACCOS [savings and credit co-operative society] members and other Ugandans in South Africa to make use of this presidential donation appropriately so that we are not arrested for being ‘idle and disorderly’,” Jamil said.
Other groups that received a presidential donation of $10,000 were the Turffontein team headed by Sowed Kasim, Sandton Single Mothers, Limpopo Women Development, Women Empowerment in Pretoria and Women Development Centre Kabalaza led by Brenda Kantalama.
Namyalo urged the recipients to use the funds to establish businesses and earn a livelihood. She also promised to engage with the President on solutions to other issues.
Such issues involve funding for those who want to study in South Africa, presidential clearance for those who wish to return home, and assistance with placement in formal businesses and organisations for those with relevant skills and qualifications.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Namyalo (right) with Ugandans living in South Africa, during her tour of their farms recently.
