BUKEDEA, Uganda — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni commissioned the 71 billion shilling ($19.9 million) Achomai Irrigation Scheme in Bukedea District and called on farmers to grow rice using the system on dry land rather than in wetlands.
Speaking at the ceremony in Kamutur Sub-county, Museveni emphasized that the environmental cost of wetland cultivation is too high. He described the project as a significant step toward agricultural modernization and water management for the Teso and Bugisu sub-regions.
“I don’t want rice in the swamp,” Museveni said. “I want it in the Aroo (dry land), and then you irrigate. That is good because you’re now helping God to make rain.”
The president, who noted he personally favors indigenous foods like cassava and bananas over rice, explained that irrigation offers the dual benefit of boosting crop yields while also taming floods through effective water capture and management.
“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. The scheme, he added, symbolizes the government’s strategy to transform subsistence farming into commercial agriculture by enhancing productivity per acre.
Speaker of Parliament Annet Anita Among, who is also the Woman Member of Parliament for Bukedea District, hailed the president for fulfilling his development pledge.
“Before you brought this dam here, I used to think it was a myth. Now I’m seeing it in reality,” Among said, noting the area used to flood severely. The scheme now serves nine villages — seven from Bukedea and two from Bulambuli.
The project, which Among launched the construction of on Dec. 18, 2021, was implemented under the government’s Agricultural Value Chain Development Programme, supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Engineer Athanasius Ssebugwawo, the contract manager, explained that before the scheme’s inception, Achomai and the surrounding areas experienced severe droughts in dry seasons and intense flooding during rainy seasons due to their low-lying terrain.
“The issue of excess floods is history,” Ssebugwawo said, noting that people now produce different crops throughout the year and livelihoods have improved. He reported that 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.
The Achomai Irrigation Scheme covers approximately 2,200 hectares in Achomai village, Kamutur Sub-county, Bukedea District, and extends into neighboring Bulambuli District. Facilities include an administration block, two drying yards, a warehouse, a workshop, a bridge and 58 kilometers of access roads.
The commissioning came as Museveni wrapped up his Teso sub-region tour and began campaign rallies in the Bugisu sub-region ahead of the 2026 general elections, where he is the flagbearer for the National Resistance Movement. Throughout the tour, he has consistently emphasized irrigation and value addition as key pillars for transitioning Uganda to a middle-income economy.
