PRESIDENT MUSEVENI URGES FARMERS TO GROW RICE SAFELY AS HE COMMISSIONS SHS71 BILLION ACHOMAI IRRIGATION SCHEME

President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has today commissioned a Shs71
billion Achomai Irrigation Scheme in Kamutur Sub-county, Bukedea
District, with a call to farmers to embrace irrigation-based rice growing
on dry land rather than wetlands, in order to safeguard the environment
while increasing agricultural productivity.

Speaking at the commissioning ceremony attended by local leaders,
residents, and government officials, the President expressed delight over
the project’s completion, describing it as a significant step towards
agricultural modernization and water management in the Teso and
Bugisu sub-regions.

“I’m very happy to be here to commission this Achomai irrigation
scheme,” President Museveni said.

“I don’t eat rice myself; I eat cassava and bananas and our indigenous
foods, but some of our people eat rice, so it’s good to grow it, but grow it
safely, not in the swamp. You should take water from the swamp to the
dry land and then irrigate,” H.E. Museveni added.

He cautioned farmers against cultivating rice in wetlands, explaining that
such practices destroy the ecosystem and interfere with nature’s
balance.

“I don’t want rice in the swamp (Osamai). I want it in the Aroo (dry land),
and then you irrigate. That is good because you’re now helping God to

make rain. You’re creating rain in months when God is not bringing it.
That is healthy and very good,” he emphasized.

The President underscored the dual benefits of irrigation – boosting
yields and taming floods, through effective water capture and
management systems.

“When you irrigate, you yield and produce more per hectare, but there is
also another element of taming the floods and water from destroying
everything. When you make a dam, you capture water from the surface
and retain it somewhere, and then you can use it by pumping when you
want,” he said.

According to President Museveni, the Achomai Irrigation Scheme
symbolizes the government’s broader strategy of transforming
subsistence farming into commercial agriculture by enhancing
productivity per acre through technology and infrastructure.

“The result of all this is increased production from the same land, but
you harvest more,” he said.

The Speaker of Parliament and Woman Member of Parliament for
Bukedea District, Rt. Hon. Annet Anita Among hailed President
Museveni for fulfilling his development pledge to the people of Bukedea,
describing the project as a dream turned into reality.

“These people are excited to see you, Your Excellency,” she said.
“Before you brought this dam here, I used to think it was a myth.

Now I’m seeing it in reality. This place used to flood, but now we have a fully-
fledged irrigation scheme serving nine villages – seven from Bukedea
and two from Bulambuli. I want to thank you for also working on the

road, which now makes it easy for us to cross into Bulambuli. These are
the gains we are protecting,” she added.

Rt. Hon. Among, who launched the construction of the project on
December 18, 2021, by then as the Deputy Speaker, praised the
contractor, Dott Services Limited, for delivering quality work.

“They’ve done a very good job. You’ve commissioned the Achomai
Irrigation Scheme and the breeding center that’s just in the next village.
As the people of Bukedea, we thank you,” she said, adding that the
President’s visit had turned the day into a “public holiday” for the district.

Engineer Athanasius Ssebugwawo, the Contract Manager for the
Achomai Irrigation Scheme, explained that the project was implemented
under the Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme (AVCP), a
government initiative supported by the African Development Bank
(AfDB). The program aims to improve access to water for agricultural
production, boost productivity, and enhance post-harvest handling and
value addition.

He revealed that before the project’s inception, Achomai and the
surrounding areas faced extreme climatic conditions – droughts during
dry seasons and severe floods during rainy seasons due to their low-
lying terrain.

“During the dry season, it would experience the worst droughts; we
could hardly see anything green. And during the rainy season, it would
flood, and the area was hardly inhabitable,” Eng. Ssebugwawo said.
He noted that with the project’s completion, the community’s fortunes
had changed dramatically, and the issue of excess floods is history.

“People now produce different crops throughout the year, and livelihoods
have improved,” he said.

According to the engineer, more than 1,800 acres were planted and
harvested in the last season, with projections to expand to 2,000 acres
in the next planting cycle.

“People now have the right to plant whichever kind of crop they want,”
Eng. Ssebugwawo explained.

The Achomai Irrigation Scheme sits on approximately 2,200 hectares in
Achomai Village, Kamutur Sub-county, Bukedea District, and extends
into neighboring Bulambuli District.

It includes key facilities such as an
administration block, two drying yards, a warehouse, workshop, bridge,
and 58 kilometers of access roads.

The Shs71 billion ($19.9 million) investment was jointly funded by the
Government of Uganda and the African Development Bank, and is part
of the national agenda to enhance the agricultural value chain, from
production to processing and market access.

The commissioning of the Achomai Irrigation Scheme came as
President Museveni wrapped up his Teso sub-region tour and began his
campaign rallies in the Bugisu sub-region ahead of the 2026 general
elections, where he is the Presidential flagbearer of the National
Resistance Movement (NRM).

Throughout the tour, the President has emphasized irrigation and value
addition as key pillars of his vision to transition Uganda from a peasant
to a middle-income economy.