Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has issued an Executive Order clarifying the responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and the Ministry of Water and Environment in irrigation development, seeking to resolve overlapping mandates that have complicated the delivery of water infrastructure for agricultural production.
The order, issued on September 19, 2026, assigns the agriculture ministry responsibility for implementing irrigation and water-for-production programmes, while retaining the water ministry’s role in managing, regulating and protecting the country’s water resources. The change comes as Uganda seeks to expand irrigation in a farming sector that remains heavily dependent on rainfall.
Under the new arrangement, MAAIF will determine agricultural water demand across different regions, taking account of local production needs and scientific assessments. It will also oversee the development and management of irrigation networks and other last-mile distribution infrastructure connecting water sources or bulk-storage facilities to farms.
The agriculture ministry will additionally be responsible for overseeing the operation and maintenance of irrigation schemes, including water-user organisations and cooperatives, and monitoring their performance. The objective is to place responsibility for delivering agricultural irrigation services within the institution directly charged with developing the sector.
The Ministry of Water and Environment, meanwhile, will retain responsibility for monitoring water resources, assessing water quantity and quality, allocating water among competing users, issuing permits and enforcing environmental requirements. It will also lead the protection of catchments, wetlands and natural water bodies, and oversee multipurpose storage and bulk-water infrastructure, including dams and reservoirs that supply different sectors.
The division is intended to separate the development of agricultural irrigation systems from the broader management and regulation of water resources, while allowing the ministries to coordinate where their responsibilities intersect.
Museveni has directed the Attorney General to work with MAAIF, the water ministry and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to harmonise existing laws and policies with the new arrangement. The finance ministry has also been instructed to align project-funding approvals with the clarified responsibilities.
The order addresses a coordination challenge that has become important as Uganda attempts to expand irrigation infrastructure. In August, Agriculture Minister Frank Tumwebaze said less than 2 per cent of Uganda’s agricultural land was under irrigation, warning that low uptake was undermining productivity and resilience to unreliable rainfall. The two ministries subsequently agreed to establish an inter-ministerial working committee to improve planning and implementation.
The government has set a longer-term target of placing 1.5 million hectares of farmland under irrigation by 2040. Achieving that ambition will require substantial investment, technical capacity, water infrastructure and systems that smallholder farmers can afford to operate. It will also require careful management of water resources to balance agricultural demand with domestic consumption, industry and environmental protection.
The Executive Order therefore changes more than the administrative division between two ministries. It establishes a clearer framework for responsibility over irrigation projects, although its practical impact will depend on how quickly the new mandates are reflected in budgets, project approvals and implementation on the ground.
NBF Insight
Uganda’s irrigation challenge is not merely a question of water availability. It is also a question of infrastructure, financing, institutional coordination and farmers’ ability to access and maintain irrigation systems.
Clarifying ministerial responsibilities can reduce duplication and make accountability easier to establish. But an Executive Order cannot, by itself, bring water to farms or guarantee that irrigation projects are completed on time.
The next test is whether the government can translate the new division of responsibilities into faster project delivery, functional irrigation schemes and wider access for smallholder farmers. Progress should be measured through hectares actually irrigated, the number of farmers served, the reliability of water delivery and the productivity gains achieved.
For Uganda, the ultimate objective is not just to resolve a dispute between ministries. It is to build an agricultural system that can produce more reliably, even when rainfall becomes unpredictable.
