The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) today commissioned and handed over 150 Single Axle Tractors and Implements commonly known as power tillers or walk-behind tractors to farmer groups and institutions drawn from districts across the country, in the latest phase of Government’s agricultural mechanisation programme.
The handover took place at the MAAIF Kampala Offices in Wandegeya and was presided over by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Hon. Desire Muhooza, as Guest of Honour. He was joined by the Chairperson and Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, together with representatives of the beneficiary farmer groups.
Speaking at the event, the Minister said the handover was aimed squarely at Uganda’s smallholder farmers, who make up 68% of the population, and reflected Government’s vision of a competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector built on modern mechanisation rather than the hand hoe.
“This support has been extended to farmers to enable them access equipment for bush clearing and land opening, ploughing, transportation, value addition, and many more,” the Minister said.
Today’s handover builds on equipment MAAIF has already distributed nationwide: 650 high-capacity tractors and 1,000 Single Axle Tractors have gone to farmers in all 146 District Local Governments in previous years, significantly expanding the acreage under cultivation.
In the 2025/2026 Financial Year, the Ministry allocated UGX 57.2 billion to procure 200 additional Walk-Behind Tractors with accessories, with further mechanisation units still under procurement.
Equipment is allocated according to farmer category: 135 Hp tractors go to the Ministry’s Zonal Agricultural Mechanisation Centres, 90 Hp tractors to large-scale farmers, 75 Hp tractors to medium-scale farmers, and Single Axle Tractors to small-scale farmers under the Parish Development Model (PDM).
Access to the equipment is structured to ensure it is used productively and lasts. Beneficiaries sign a renewable three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry, which continues to support routine maintenance for up to 1,000 hours of use.
MAAIF will also train and skill equipment operators ahead of deployment, with training beginning on 28th September 2026, and will carry out regular monitoring of equipment use and maintenance to curb breakdowns and extend the machinery’s working life.
The Ministry is also investing in longer-term capacity to support the mechanisation drive. The Namalere National Agricultural Mechanisation Referral Centre is being rehabilitated into a Centre of Excellence, where equipment and machinery operators, mechanics and technicians will be trained, upgraded and accredited.
The Centre will also test, evaluate and certify new equipment and machinery models before they are imported and sold commercially, helping to keep substandard or unsafe equipment out of the market. Separately, MAAIF plans to construct 20 Zonal Agricultural Mechanisation Centres countrywide, starting with Mbale, Dokolo, Iganga, Nabilatuk, Soroti, Mpigi, Kiryandongo and Kiruhura.
