KAMPALA, July 7 — For farmers in eastern Uganda, a government initiative is changing what a single acre of land can do for a family. The National Oil Seeds Program, run under the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, has been working through local cooperatives to boost production of soybeans, sunflower, and groundnuts. The human side of this is farmer Moshebo Moses.
He has been part of the program for at least two years, working with the Magada Co-operatives in Namutumba district. For families like his, the difference comes down to the seeds in the ground.
The program provides training on improved seed varieties and best practices for planting, harvesting, and post-harvest handling. It works through district administrations and farmer cooperatives to reach rural communities. The goal is straightforward: increase what farmers earn and reduce how much Uganda depends on imported oilseeds.
What this means for families is a measurable shift in yield. The program recommends varieties like Mak soya3N.
Under good management, these can produce between 700 and 1,500 kilograms per acre. Traditional varieties, by comparison, yield 300 to 450 kilograms per acre. That jump matters.
For a farmer with a few acres, doubling or tripling output can mean the difference between subsistence and savings, between sending children to school or keeping them home. Behind the breakthrough is a broader push to modernize Ugandan agriculture. The National Oil Seeds Program is part of that effort, aiming to improve food security by making farming more productive and reliable.
It is not about high-tech gadgets or flashy startups. It is about training, better seeds, and working through the cooperatives farmers already trust.
The program has been active for at least two years. That is long enough to see results on the ground, and long enough for farmers like Moshebo Moses to tell their neighbors whether it works. What to watch next is whether the model can scale.
The program works through district administrations and cooperatives, which is a deliberate choice. It keeps the support local.
But reaching more farmers will require more training, more seed distribution, and consistent follow-through on post-harvest handling. For now, the numbers tell the story. A variety like Mak soya3N, planted with good management, can yield more than triple what traditional seeds produce.
For families in Namutumba district, that is not just an agricultural statistic. It is a change in what is possible on their own land.
