KAMPALA — Uganda must step up investment in agricultural research, modern farming technologies and value addition if the sector is to deliver greater returns to farmers and the wider economy, the Chairperson of Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Amelia Kyambadde, has said.
Speaking during the committee’s induction retreat, Kyambadde described agriculture as the “cradle of Uganda’s economy”, calling for renewed efforts to move farmers away from traditional methods of production and towards modern, commercially oriented agriculture.
She said increased investment in agricultural research would be critical in helping farmers adopt technologies and production methods capable of raising yields and making farming more profitable.
Her call comes as agriculture remains one of the most important pillars of Uganda’s economy.
Preliminary government figures show that agriculture, forestry and fishing grew by 6.5% in the 2025/26 financial year, contributing 26.2% of Uganda’s GDP.
But despite its economic importance, much of Uganda’s agriculture remains dominated by smallholder and subsistence production.
Kyambadde urged the committee to use its parliamentary oversight and legislative role to champion policies that encourage farmers to adopt improved production technologies.
The shift, she argued, should go beyond simply increasing agricultural output.
It should help farmers produce for the market, improve the quality of their produce and earn more from every stage of the agricultural value chain.
Her emphasis on research comes at a time when government is already implementing a range of interventions aimed at increasing productivity, including agricultural research, mechanisation, irrigation, improved inputs, extension services and financing.
The government’s Agro-Industrialisation Programme, for example, focuses on increasing the commercialisation and competitiveness of agriculture through value addition, while its interventions include agricultural research, mechanisation, irrigation, agricultural financing and market development.
Revive cooperatives
Kyambadde also called for the revival of dysfunctional cooperatives, saying stronger farmer organisations could help producers overcome some of the longstanding challenges facing smallholder agriculture.
Cooperatives can allow farmers to bulk their produce, negotiate better prices, access finance and invest collectively in storage and processing facilities.
The government’s Parish Development Model similarly identifies farmer organisations, cooperatives and associations as important vehicles for transforming subsistence households into participants in the money economy. The programme provides for support to cooperatives and farmer groups, including investment in community-level storage, primary processing and post-harvest facilities.
For many farmers, the challenge does not end when a crop is harvested.
Poor storage, inadequate processing facilities, limited market information and weak bargaining power can force farmers to sell quickly, sometimes when prices are at their lowest.
Kyambadde’s call for investment in storage and value addition therefore points to a broader problem: Uganda needs to capture more value from the crops and livestock it already produces.
Government monitoring of the Agro-Industrialisation Programme has identified storage, agro-processing, value addition and agricultural market access as important areas requiring continued attention.
Government’s commercial agriculture drive
The push for commercial agriculture is already reflected in several government programmes.
The Parish Development Model (PDM) was introduced to move households from subsistence production into the money economy. Its agricultural value-chain pillar covers production, processing, storage and marketing, while other pillars focus on infrastructure, financial inclusion and community mobilisation.
By June 2026, government said PDM had reached more than four million beneficiaries, with Shs4.4 trillion transferred as revolving capital to parishes since the programme began.
Other interventions include the Agricultural Credit Facility, which provides financing for agriculture and related businesses, as well as support through the Uganda Development Bank and other government programmes.
The broader agricultural strategy also places emphasis on research, improved production technologies, mechanisation, irrigation and access to markets.
Agriculture’s importance extends well beyond its contribution to GDP.
It remains a major source of livelihoods and employment, particularly in rural communities, while supplying raw materials to Uganda’s manufacturing and processing industries.
The sector also generates export earnings through commodities such as coffee, tea, fish, cocoa and other agricultural products.
That makes agriculture central to Uganda’s ambition of transforming from a largely raw-material-producing economy into one based increasingly on commercial production, agro-processing and value addition.
The challenge, however, is turning government programmes and parliamentary policy into measurable improvements on farms.
For farmers, modernisation means more than tractors and machinery.
It means access to reliable research and extension services, quality inputs, affordable credit, irrigation, storage, functioning cooperatives, dependable markets and processing facilities.
And for Uganda, the prize is potentially much bigger: more productive farmers, stronger rural businesses, more value retained within the country and a larger economic contribution from the sector that has long been described as the backbone of the economy.
She emphasized that if Uganda wants agriculture to drive economic transformation, the country must invest not only in what farmers produce, but in how they produce, store, process and sell it.
