The government of Uganda has announced an allocation of $2.24 million towards the support and promotion of the Food Science and Technology Department of Makerere University.
While meeting a delegation of Food Science and Technology (FST) entrepreneurs led by the Associate Professor John Muyonga at State House in Entebbe on Monday afternoon, President Yoweri Museveni said he was impressed by efforts undertaken by the university students geared towards value addition for socio-economic transformation through innovations and inventions.
The Minister of State for Investment Aston Kajara said that government had allocated the said money this financial year to fund small and medium enterprises and research in the food science and technology fields.
The President, who had earlier said the funding will be implemented next financial year, added that because of the importance of the program and despite the constraints in the financial budgets, government managed to raise the money to kick start the program.
The president who also became the first patron for the Food Incubation Centre encouraged individual research and inventions now that the processing venture capital fund scheme is in place in the Central bank and can be accessed through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to cater for any Ugandan striving to carry out research in agro processing and value addition.
Museveni emphasized that a board comprising seven members from the Ministries of Finance, Trade, Agriculture, one representative from Youth entrepreneurs, two academicians and one member from the private sector should be formed to provide an over-sight function of the project.
The President added that this will neutralize the bureaucracies and the exercise will be handled expeditiously.
Source African Press Agency
