FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief, No. 56.

This policy brief highlights the main findings of a new methodology to identify geographical areas where, in theory, investments are likely to have big impacts in terms of both agricultural growth and poverty reduction. By highlighting districts within Uganda that have as-yet untapped agricultural potential for key commodities and that suffer high-levels of poverty, policymakers can use this tool to help pinpoint where commodity-specific investments should go, making these investments more cost-effective and with the biggest payback in terms of food security and poverty reduction.

After running the analysis, the economic model found that priority districts are highly context and commodity specific. For millet and sugar cane, the results show that a cluster of districts in eastern Uganda display both the highest unrealized potential and poverty rates, with selected areas for millet located more to the north owing to more arid climates. Whereas, for the other commodities, the districts are more spread out in the country. For example, for maize the model selected districts in northern and eastern Uganda. For bananas, cassava and coffee, the most suitable districts are in the western and central regions. For goats, there was no clear spatial concentration and identified districts are spread out across the territory.

The findings of this brief have been adapted from the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 22-12 A tool to support the spatial prioritization of commodity-specific investments