The Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) has announced a series of major milestones in the agriculture sector.

This was recorded with clear growth in export earnings, household incomes and foreign direct investment in the coffee, cocoa, oil palm, dairy, fisheries value chains, as well as improved mechanisation, expanded irrigation and better disease and pest control.

According to the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry, Maj Gen David Kasura Kyomukama, these results demonstrate that government is resolute in its program of job creation and inclusive development through raising production and productivity, strengthening commodity value chains, improving marketability, expanding markets reach and accelerating agro-industrialisation.

 “These results reflect a deliberate commitment to our strategic direction and its aims.  Our focus has been clear on raise productivity, protect farmers from disease risks, ensure water for production, expand value addition and open new markets so that agriculture becomes a stronger engine for household wealth creation,” Maj Gen Kyomukama said.

Kyomukama emphasized that agriculture is not just Uganda’s backbone, it can be the path through which our nation will achieve the strategic goal of transforming our society from predominantly peasant to a middle class and knowledge based one capable of securing its future.

He declared that about 70 percent of Uganda’s households are engaged in agriculture, with 7.12 million of 10.8 million households participating. In the Financial Year 2024/2025, the agriculture sector’s contribution to GDP was 26.1 percent, with sector growth of 6.6 percent;

Agricultural exports grew from USD 1.661 billion in Financial Year 2020 /2021 to USD 4.175 billion in FY 2024 / 2025, accounting for 38.49 percent of exports;

Major achievements secured since 2021

Commodity value chain strengthening for strategic crops and livestock, mechanisation support through equipment/machinery/tractor acquisition, hire services, operator training and assembly initiatives, water for agricultural production investments through construction/rehabilitation of multipurpose dams, valley tanks and production wells for Livestock watering, irrigation and fish farming in many parts of the country.

Development of large, small/micro scale irrigation schemes to support many farmers, pest, vector and disease control with major national investments in vaccines, cold chain and local manufacturing capacity, post-harvest handling and value addition to reduce losses and grow processed exports, market access support through standards, certification and export focused trade diplomacy.

Strongest success:

Coffee – record export earnings and expanded value chain:

Coffee production increased from 7.75 million bags in FY 2019 / 20 to 9.3 million bags in FY 2024/25, with the national target of 20 million 60 kg bags driving expansion

In Financial Year 2024/25, the country earned a record USD 2.2 billion in coffee export revenue from 8.2 million bags, the strongest performance since records began. This   contributed about 22 percent of Uganda’s total exports and supported incomes for 12.5 million Ugandans;

Cocoa – nine-fold export value growth and rising production.

Cocoa was the second leading agricultural export in FY 2024 / 25 and Uganda’s third highest foreign exchange earner after gold and coffee;

Export volumes increased from 30,204 MT in 2015 / 16 to 72,545 MT in 2024 / 25;

Export value of the commodity rose from USD 70.59 million to USD 620.43 million over the same period, an increase of about nine times;

Production increased from 52,712 MT in 2023 / 24 to 76,173 MT in 2024 / 25;