The most-likely-to-succeed agricultural programme for Uganda in the past 43 years is the new one where 200 young graduates have been sent to Israel for a year’s paid attachment to farms.

Without any reservation, I would award this innovative intervention an A-plus. The Agriculture graduates, already equipped with theory, will work on farms in the desert country whose farming sector is a marvel that just falls short of a miracle.

It is a pity that most media coverage of Israel is about the conflict with Palestine and those who have not been there are not aware that Israeli agriculture is far more impressive than the military activities.

Uganda’s president has urged the 200 beneficiaries of the programme to start their own farms on return by using the savings they will have accumulated, and has pledged to triple the savings each will have made for the purpose.

In other words, if you have $6,000 (assuming you save $500 per month) he will add $12,000 and you will have $18,000 in addition to cutting edge skills, to start your little modern farm.

I don’t know if the 200 were selected using the famous regional balancing, but hopefully, they will be scattered across the country so that they act as demonstrational catalysts wherever they will settle.

Since 1971, Uganda has had rather too many big agricultural development programmes. Idi Amin had his “Double Production Campaign.” A string of others followed, each of them worth millions of dollars, with a recent one involving the military taking over what the National Agricultural Advisory Services has been mandated to do.

But the agricultural attachments to Israel, even if immediately benefiting just a couple of hundred people, are bound to return a higher success rate than most previous interventions.

One can only wish that such an approach is adopted in 2016 immediately the Tenth Parliament is elected. I would suggest that the new MPs be whisked off to the UK and other countries with older parliamentary democracy for a couple of months.

This should happen before banks and loan sharks tempt them with loans that turn a big number of them into desperate slaves who can hardly concentrate on parliamentary business.

If any institution has been derailed in Uganda it is parliament. Although its job of making policy and oversight is very clear, our MPs have become ATM machines, paying constituents’ school fees, financing funerals and weddings in addition to buying alcohol for voters.

If we agree that many sectors in Uganda are not perfect and can benefit from study tours abroad, there is no reason parliament should not take the same route.

Every day, people are being sent abroad to study fields as diverse as petroleum management, medicine and military science. Why can’t we send MPs abroad to study the legislation business. Who knows, they may come back and concentrate fully on policy and oversight matters.

Imagine Ugandan MPs reporting to the House of Commons daily alongside British counterparts, travelling by train to and fro, while those attached to Scandinavian legislatures ride bicycles with their hosts to work. On their return, they could bring a sobering revolution home.

Joachim Buwembo is a Knight International Fellow for development journalism. E-mail: [email protected]