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The President made the remarks on Thursday while addressing residents and local leaders of Bunyangabu District after visiting the home of Deo Katuramu, a beneficiary of the Parish Development Model in Kyakahinda village, Kibiito Town Council.
The president and the first lady, Janet Kataaha Museveni, started a three-day zonal visit to the Tooro region to assess the impact of PDM to different beneficiaries.
While using Katuramu, who used the one million given to him under the program to start rearing pigs, the president emphasized the importance of harmonized planning in achieving meaningful socioeconomic progress. He said that scattered planning has historically slowed grassroots transformation.
President Museveni further highlighted that fully enrolling all households engaged in subsistence agriculture into the money economy is a critical step in enhancing purchasing power across Uganda.
He explained that many of Uganda’s commodities suffer from a lack of market due to the limited purchasing capacity of those still outside the formal economy.
“To grow all sectors of our economy, we must increase demand for goods and services, and that starts by bringing everyone into the money economy,” the President said.
According to Katuramu, he borrowed one million shillings through the PDM fund to start a piggery project. The venture has since enabled him to establish a banana plantation, acquire a cow, build a manure deposit, and grow grass that he now sells to earn over 500,000 shillings monthly.
However, he noted that he has faced challenges like a lack of water for his animals and banana plantation, poor roads and a lack of a vehicle to transport his bananas to the markets.
The president also visited Rosette Mukundane, a resident of Kasojo village, Kiko Town Council, Kabarole District, who used the PDM money to buy two goats.
Mukundane revealed that these have since multiplied to 19 goats, and she has sold some of them to be able to buy two cows and start up a poultry project.
