The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group has officially approved a $140 million loan to expand climate-resilient irrigation, strengthen food security systems, create new job opportunities, and support economic transformation driven by agro-industrial development in Uganda’s Bunyoro subregion.
This massive project is estimated to cost a total of $207 million, with the African Development Fund providing $140 million of the total cost in the form of a loan. Additional financial support for the remaining cost will be provided by the OPEC Fund for International Development, the End School Age Hunger Fund, the Government of Uganda, and the project’s beneficiaries.
The main objective of the Uganda Multipurpose Water for Climate Resilient Irrigation Development and Agro-Industrialization Programme is to address food insecurity and boost agricultural productivity for rural communities that rely heavily on rain-fed agriculture.
The programme primarily includes building extensive water conveyance systems and irrigation networks. In its first phase, it will benefit more than 4,000 hectares of farmland, with plans to scale up this capacity to 13,000 hectares during the second phase.
Local farmers and pastoralists will receive multifaceted support to help them adopt modern, climate-resilient technologies.
This includes providing certified high-quality seeds, soil restoration activities, constructing watering points for livestock, and widely delivering mobile veterinary services.
Furthermore, modern post-harvest practices will be introduced to reduce losses after crops are gathered. To prevent food spoilage and ensure better market access, shared storage units, aggregation centers, and cold chain warehouses will be constructed. Financial access and business development support will also help cooperatives, small enterprises, and agribusinesses expand their operations and create additional jobs across the agricultural value chain.
More than 121,000 households are expected to benefit directly from this grand project. In the process, over 13,000 permanent jobs will be created through investments in processing, logistics, and rural enterprises. Fulfilling its social responsibility, the project will also strengthen school feeding programmes linked to local agricultural production, reaching around 21,000 children. About half of all beneficiaries are targeted to be women, while 30 percent will be youth.
Alex Mubiru, the Bank’s East Africa Director General, stated that this is therefore not simply an irrigation project, but rather a programme that addresses a binding constraint, unlocks a clear opportunity, and does so through an approach that is integrated, scalable, and focused on delivery. This programme aligns with the African Development Bank President’s Four Cardinal Points strategic compass, demonstrating a commitment to advancing climate-resilient agriculture, rural development, and inclusive economic growth across Africa.
Furthermore, it fully integrates with Uganda’s Country Strategy Paper 2022-2026, which prioritizes developing quality and sustainable infrastructure in transport, energy, water, sanitation, and agriculture to support industrialization and private sector development.
