President Yoweri Museveni has urged Ugandan youth to embrace commercial agriculture as a pathway out of poverty, saying it holds the greatest potential to create jobs for low-skilled workers and transform livelihoods.
Speaking as chief guest at the International Youth Day celebrations held Friday at the Masindi Golf Course grounds, Museveni said Uganda’s fertile soils were a natural blessing that young people must exploit productively.
“We must teach our people commercial agriculture because it is the solution to poverty and joblessness,” the President said. “God gave us good soil. Let us use it to create wealth.”
While acknowledging the role of technology in speeding up processes for educated youth, Museveni stressed that government remains focused on agriculture as the most inclusive tool for improving livelihoods. He highlighted the Parish Development Model (PDM) as one of the initiatives designed to lift communities from poverty if properly utilized.
“The PDM is meant to help the poor at the village level. If used well, it will create jobs for our children and improve standards of living across the country,” Museveni said.
The event, held under the theme “Youth Advancing Socio-Economic Transformation Through Technology and Partnerships,” brought together thousands of young people and leaders from across the country.
Outgoing National Youth Council chairperson Jacob Eyeru raised concerns about the challenges many grassroots youth face in starting and sustaining businesses. He noted that high taxes were forcing some to abandon enterprises such as small retail shops, boda boda businesses, and other informal ventures that young people depend on to survive.
“Many young people hire land to farm, others use boda boda income to pay school fees for themselves and their siblings, but when they try to start businesses, they are suffocated by high taxes,” Eyeru said. He appealed to the President to consider a tax exemption for youth-owned businesses until they reach adulthood.
During the ceremony, Eyeru awarded dummy cheques to beneficiary groups from 10 local governments in the Bunyoro sub-region under the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP). He also recognized the three best-performing groups under the two schemes.
Eyeru further launched, Planet Youth Partners Uganda, an initiative aimed at combating drug and substance abuse among young people, and received a patronage plaque in recognition of the programme’s role in tackling social challenges.
He emphasized the importance of innovation and collaboration in driving national progress, noting: “Technology and partnerships are the engine of progress, but grassroots youth are the fuel. Our greatest national efforts must be sharp, clear, and focused on generational purpose.”
The International Youth Day celebrations in Masindi stressed government’s commitment to engaging the country’s growing youth population in agriculture, technology, and enterprise as key drivers of Uganda’s socio-economic transformation.