KAMPALA– The Government of Uganda has expressed the need to have all individuals and companies providing Agricultural Business Development Services (Ag BDS) in the Agricultural sector formalized or registered for easy regulation.
While at the launch of training programme for Agricultural BDS providers at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Friday, Johnson Abitekaniza, Assistant , the Commissioner in charge of training and skills development at the Ministry of Trade and cooperatives, revealed that they are working towards coming up with regulations governing this profession which seems to be unregulated at the moment.
“We are trying to come up with clear standards and rules to govern all BDS practitioners in the country because currently there are no clear rules governing this sector , which has given a chance to whoever finishes University or a course at an Agricultural Institution to brand themselves as BDS experts /Consultants. Most of these people lack knowledge on most of the topics they intend to sensitize people about.”
Abitekaniza also pointed out that they are in plans of holding training and sensitization work shops for BDS service providers in the country to equip them with knowledge and skills which they will pass over to farmers.
“We are inviting all of you on the 3rd July 2025 for a meeting where we shall discuss more about certification, registration and how you can form Associations which can help you lobbying and becoming more organized. Many people have been coming to us at the Ministry seeking for your services, but being that we have no centralized data base and recognized Association, it has been hard for us to identify you.”
He also noted that it’s risky to have people without clear certification offering crucial knowledge to people in the Agricultural sector which is the back bone of the country’s economy.
Harrison Kazero, the team leader for National Alliance of Agricultural Co-operatives in Uganda, revealed that according to recent surveys and research findings, there has a been a decline in the number of farmers accessing BDS Services and if it’s not fixed early enough, there will be no hope of developing Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in the Agricultural sector.
“Businesses looking for financing, think that the finances are not available or inaccessible. Actually the financing is available, but the financial service providers are complaining that the businesses seeking finances don’t qualify for financing because their capacity is still very low and not professional enough.”
He further noted that once BDS service providers are equipped with enough knowledge to pass on to the people in the Agricultural sector, so that they can be in position to fulfill all the requirements needed.
David Wozemba, the Country Director AGRA Uganda revealed that the project was designed with a hope of building competitiveness and resilience of all actors in the space.
“We are here to do what has not been done for a couple of years, we who have been here in this space for some years.We are finding means of removing barriers for BDS service providers to be relevant in their space , valuable and offer the right services to the people.”
Alvin Kato, the Country Manager of African Management Institute (AMI) noted that this training program which will last for a period of 12 months will support Agricultural Business Development Services providers to improve on the quality of service delivery.
“We want to equip Service providers with approaches which will enable them to support businesses in the best way possible. They will be empowered with tools of how to understand challenges faced by various categories of people and solutions to those challenges.”
Kato further revealed that over 600 people had applied for the training, after a thorough transparent process, 70 people were selected and they are going to receive 12 months training.
Ronald Kyagulanyi, Coordinator Economic & Research Analyst- Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), stressed private sector alignment: “These new standards are not just about compliance- they are about transforming mindsets. As business service providers, we must first see ourselves as entrepreneurs.
That means building our internal leadership, enhancing our capacity, and delivering services that are impactful, inclusive, and accessible. Only then can we truly drive growth for the agribusinesses we serve and unlock the private sector’s full potential in Uganda.”
The training programme has been made possible by a consortium made up of the African Management Institute (AMI), which is a Pan-African leader in business training, delivering practical learning for SMEs, the Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA), which is a global network promoting professional farmer organizations and BDS, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU), Uganda’s apex body for private sector advocacy and business development as well as AGRA which is a catalyst for Africa’s agricultural transformation, supporting inclusive food systems.
The training and support to Ag-BDS providers has come at a perfect time when the Ugandan budget for FY 2025/26 allocated significant resources to agriculture, particularly for agro-industrialization and related initiatives to achieve the agricultural sector growth target of 8%.
