SOROTI, Uganda — Soroti University has hosted a two-day stakeholders’ workshop to operationalize the Area-Based Commodity Development (ABCD) Portal, a digital platform aimed at driving regional economic transformation through evidence-based planning, investment and development.
Organised by the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the workshop brought together representatives from Makerere University innovation and incubation centre, local governments, cultural and religious institutions, the private sector and academia from across the Teso sub-region.
The engagement seeks to equip stakeholders with the knowledge and practical skills required to utilize the ABCD portal in identifying economic opportunities and supporting informed development planning.
Presenting an overview of the portal, Mr. Robert Paul Wamulima, Legal Officer in the Project Development Department at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, said the initiative is a key government programme under the National Development Plans (NDP III and NDP IV) aimed at promoting area-based economic development across Uganda’s 15 sub-regions.
Mr. Robert Paul Wamulima, Legal Officer in the Project Development Department at the MFPED.
He explained that the programme recognises the unique comparative advantages of each sub-region and uses data to guide public and private investment decisions. Developed in partnership with Makerere University, the portal integrates information from key institutions, including the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO), government ministries, public universities and local governments to support coordinated regional planning.
Mr. Wamulima noted that the platform is expected to attract private sector investment, promote industrialisation, improve productivity and contribute to Uganda’s long-term goal of growing the economy to USD 500 billion. He also urged local government leaders, extension workers and private sector actors to actively utilise the portal in planning and implementing development programmes.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, Soroti University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Robert Ikoja-Odongo, described the initiative as a significant step towards ensuring that university research directly contributes to improving livelihoods and accelerating socio-economic transformation.
Participants mapping out Teso commodities
He urged participants to focus on practical solutions that address community challenges and underscored the need for specialisation, value addition, product aggregation, quality assurance, ICT adoption and improved market access, noting that many producers continue to face challenges despite government interventions.
During plenary discussions, stakeholders identified key gaps that could affect implementation of the programme, including inadequate financing, limited human resource capacity, and ICT infrastructure challenges within local governments, communities, and academic institutions and also identified key commodities such as minerals and human resources rather than implementing on commodities with favorable advantage, identify regional investment priorities, and strengthen collaboration among government, academia, and development partners.
Participants recommended stronger institutional collaboration and increased investment in capacity building to ensure the successful implementation of the ABCD Portal across the Teso sub-region.