Assoc. Prof. Gabriel Elepu, Makerere University, P.O. Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda

Since the 1990s when Uganda adopted the liberalization policy, its agricultural sector has undergone remarkable changes. The contribution of agriculture to the national economy has continued to decline from over 40% in the 1990s to the current level of about 20%. Besides traditional export crops destined to international markets, such as coffee, tea and cotton, new crops have emerged that are exported to regional markets, such as maize, rice, beans to mention but a few. Further, the livestock sub-sector has also continued to grow in importance and some of its products (live animals, milk, hides and skins, fish) are being exported to both regional and international markets. With Uganda’s population largely rural, the agriculture sector is still a major employer (about 70%) of its total working population. Therefore, through its National Agriculture Policy being currently implemented under the National Development Plan III 2020/21-2024/25, Uganda government has prioritized 10 agricultural value chains (coffee, tea, cotton, cocoa, maize, cassava, vegetable oil, dairy, beef, fisheries) for development. This is intended to ensure household food, income, and nutrition security as well as generate jobs and export revenue for the country. However, there are still major challenges affecting the development of the agricultural sector in Uganda, namely: low productivity; low farmer adoption of improved technologies; climate change; pests and diseases (e.g. Coffee Wilt Disease, Banana Bacterial Wilt, Cassava Brown Streak, Fall Armyworm, ticks and livestock diseases); minimal processing of agricultural produce; high postharvest losses; and market access and sustainability. Various upgrading and investment opportunities thus exist along the agricultural value chains in Uganda, particularly in agro-industrialization.