FAO urges Uganda on public investment in agriculture

Uganda is being advised to seek public investment on agriculture. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urged the country and said this will help them spur economic recovery over RussiaUkraine conflict and COVID-19 effects.

FAO points that Uganda majorly need investment in irrigation systems, and storage and revamp of rural roads to boost production and capital accumulation. They further the government to look into priority crops and where they can be grown to harvest the most.

Agriculture remains the major source of livelihood in Uganda. Uganda’s main food crops have been plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, millet, sorghum, corn, beans, and groundnuts. Major cash crops have been coffee, cotton, tea, cocoa, vanilla and tobacco, although in the 1980s many farmers sold food crops to meet short-term expenses. The production of cotton, tea, and tobacco virtually collapsed during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The sector contributes about 24% percent of the gross domestic product and employs more than 64 percent of the working population in Uganda. Uganda’s agricultural sector presents multiple highly-profitable investment opportunities both for profit-oriented investments and partnerships. As one of the 55 member states of the African

Union, the country has steadily picked the pace in agricultural development and was highlighted as one of the 20 leading countries in delivery on development targets of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).