FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief, No. 25.

Over the last 20 years, the Government of Uganda has implemented several policies to promote investments in commercial forest plantations. As a result of these policy efforts, the supply of commercially produced pine is set to increase dramatically over the next few years. This brief summarizes a cost-benefir analysis based on interviews carried out in July 2019. The findings highlights a significant challenge facing the sector.

Without reforms to the current market situation in the country, plantation owners are unlikely to replant pine once existing trees are harvested. The Government of Uganda now should consider implementing policies to sustain the sector, and enable it to help meet the rapidly growing demand for timber and other wood products in the region, and beyond. This depends fundamentally on enabling producers and processors to easily access to external timber markets.