Abstract:
The Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) is a holistic, strategic framework for
eradicating poverty through multi-sectoral interventions enabling the people to improve their
livelihoods in a sustainable manner. It is an outcome-focused set of principles upon which
sectoral and inter-sectoral policies and investment plans can be developed at both the central and
local Government levels. The PMA is part of the Government of Uganda’s broader strategy of
poverty eradication contained in the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) of 1997 which has
just been revised and updated this year. The revised PEAP has 4 main goals: creating a
framework for economic growth and structural transformation; ensuring good governance and
security; directly increasing the ability of the poor to raise incomes; and directly increasing the
quality of life of the poor. Modernising agriculture will contribute to increasing incomes of the
poor by raising farm productivity, increasing the share of agricultural production that is marketed,
and creating on-farm and off-farm employment. The poverty focus of the PMA is based on poor
people’s perspectives that are contained in various poverty studies in Uganda, especially the
Uganda Participatory Poverty Assessment Project (UPPAP) which was carried out in 67
communities in 9 pilot districts of Uganda. The PMA will be implemented through decentralised
planning processes which will identify the key constraints at the local Government level and help
to remove these constraints through “joined-up” public sector interventions involving policy
adjustments when required or public sector investments or new public service delivery
mechanisms as will be found to be appropriate.