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When I paid shs8m to Middle East Consultancy in 2017, I was promised a life-changing job in Dubai. A decent salary, a better life and a chance to support my family. What I got instead was 11 agonising months of waiting—begging, calling, even threatening to withdraw my money—before I finally received a visa.

By the time I landed in the UAE, I was already drained. Like many Ugandans in the Gulf, the reality I encountered was far from what I expected: a cramped bedspace, endless working hours and barely enough to send home. 

That experience left me wondering: what if, instead of holding my money for nearly a year, that labour export company had invested it in farming right here in Uganda?

Full-cycle harvests

Eight million shillings is enough to lease five acres of fertile land in many parts of Uganda. Maize, one of our staple crops, takes only three to four months to mature. In those 11 months I spent waiting, I could have harvested two full cycles. With an average yield of 3,000kg per acre, each harvest would produce 15,000kg. At shs800 per kilo, that is shs12m per season and shs24m in two seasons.

Compare that with the Gulf. After 11 months of work and spending on rent, food, transport, etc, most Ugandans will have barely saved shs5m. Some return with nothing but debt and disappointment. 

Labour export is booming, but it thrives on broken promises. These companies make millions per applicant yet contribute nothing to development. Uganda spends over shs2.8tn each year on Gulf visas, flights and placement fees. If just 10% of that money was redirected into agriculture, rural economies could be transformed.

Sustainable agribusiness

Yet the illusion of Gulf jobs remains strong. Around 90% of Ugandans in the Middle East work as maids, cleaners or security guards—roles with no real career path. In contrast, a farmer who invests wisely can build a sustainable agribusiness in two years. Ironically, many of those we leave behind—farmers, traders, boda riders—end up more financially secure than returnees.

Countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia have done it. Uganda? We keep exporting maids instead of maize.

Our mindset is also part of the problem. We have been conditioned to believe that Uganda has failed us. Yet those who stay behind and work the land are often the ones quietly succeeding.

Now imagine a shift. What if companies like Middle East Consultancy invested their capital and networks into farming instead? The model is simple. The applicant’s shs8m becomes farming capital. The company leases land, supplies seeds and manages operations. Profits are split 50-50. After two harvests, the farmer takes full ownership.

Export revenue

The benefits would ripple across the country. More food lowers prices. More activity creates jobs in villages, reducing rural-urban migration. If managed well, produce could be exported, strengthening the shilling and boosting revenue.

But this model is not being adopted—and the reasons are familiar. Labour companies make quick profits from desperation. Farming needs patience, effort and vision—qualities profit-driven businesses often lack.

Our government also bears responsibility. Uganda earns over $1.2bn from labour exports, yet there is no serious policy to reinvest even a fraction into agribusiness. Countries such as Rwanda and Ethiopia have done it. Uganda? We keep exporting maids instead of maize.

Empty-handed returnees

We must also confront our attitudes. Many still look down on farming, dismissing it as a poor man’s job. Ironically, the same people accept low-status jobs in the Gulf—often treated with indignity and abuse.

We do not have to wait. The power to shift the narrative is in our hands. For the same shs8m, one could buy two dairy cows (shs3.5m each) and earn about shs60,000 daily from milk. Or start a poultry farm with 500 birds and earn shs2m monthly.

I have lived in the Gulf. I have seen the suffering. I have seen returnees come back empty-handed after five years. But my friend in Namamonde who never left Uganda now owns two companies.

So who is really winning?

It is time we stop exporting our future and start building it at home. The choice is simple: keep paying millions to sleep in a Dubai bedspace—or invest that same money in a farm that feeds a nation.