Thumbnail Image

Geographically prioritizing commodity investments in Uganda

Policy Brief

Year of publication 2022

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Policy brief

ISBN 978-92-5-137170-1

Series title FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief

Series number No. 56

Synopsis (short abstract) 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.

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2022. Geographically prioritizing commodity investments in Uganda. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Policy Brief, No. 56. Rome.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2858en

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    A tool to support the spatial prioritization of commodity-specific investments
    An application to Uganda
    2022
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    In this paper, we propose a simple methodology to select a limited number of geographical areas to prioritize for commodity-specific investments in Uganda. Similar to other approaches for prioritizing investments geographically, the basic idea behind the proposed method is that districts with high agro-ecological potential, that are also far from their potential and have high levels of poverty, should be prioritized for commodity-specific investments as they are where investments are likely to have the highest impact. The methodology then proposes an iterative elimination algorithm to provide a list of suggested districts that rank high in all dimensions. The results highlight that prioritized districts are very context and commodity specific. In certain cases (e.g. sugar cane or millet), prioritized districts tend to be highly concentrated in one geographical region, whereas they tend to be more spread out for the sectors producing other commodities (i.e. bananas, coffee, goats, cassava and maize). The results are expected to inform a discussion with policymakers in Uganda which is expected to culminate in the selection of an even narrower set of districts for which more in-depth analyses of commodity-specific investments will be undertaken at the level of priority areas, including, among others, irrigation, mechanization, seeds and fertilizers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Policy brief
    Commodity investment needs in the eyes of Ugandan farmers and experts 2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This policy brief highlights the main findings from the FAO Agricultural Development Economics Technical Study ‘Identifying commodity-specific priority investments in selected districts of Uganda’. The findings include a ranking from one to eight of priority investment areas – seeds/breeds, fertilizers/veterinary drugs, mechanization, irrigation, extension, research and development for five selected commodities (cassava, coffee, goats, maize and millet) in five districts in Uganda – from the perspective of farmers and local experts, who ultimately produce or support the production of the five commodities. The findings reveal that for commodities cassava, coffee, goats, maize and millet, the Ugandan farmers and district agriculture experts ranked improved seeds or breeds very highly across the five commodities and districts. Similarly, investments in extension services (more frequent visits, materials and visits given in local languages, and sharing of best practices) were perceived to be critical. Investments in fertilizers also ranked high because cost and quality issues were seen as key constraints to productivity. At the lower end of priority ranking came investments in roads and in electrification. This study can help inform government policymaking and improve the cost-effectiveness of public investments in agriculture as they reveal on-the-ground investment needs from local farmers and experts, while also providing district- and commodity-specific policy evidence, which is important in highly decentralized government services.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Identifying commodity-specific priority investments in selected districts of Uganda 2023
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Building on the previous work by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) supporting the identification of priority agricultural sectors and possible locations with high agricultural transformation potential in Uganda, this technical study provides more granular information from Ugandan farmers and district agriculture officers on which investments are needed the most to increase productivity. It identifies and ranks the areas for investments in terms of seeds/breeds, fertilizers/veterinary drugs, mechanization, irrigation, extension, research and development (R&D), roads and electrification for five commodity-district pairs (millet in Soroti, maize in Serere, cassava in Lira, goats in Kibaale and coffee in Masaka). The study found that improved seeds/breeds, extension and fertilizers were identified as critical investments across the board. Specifically, a lack of access to improved seeds/breeds, inadequate extension services and suboptimal use of fertilizer (owing to costs, lack of information, or fertilizer quality) were perceived as major constraints. Other important findings highlight a low level of mechanization throughout the value chains, poor R&D and extension linkages, and the high cost of irrigation. On other hand, access to roads and electrification were not considered as major areas needing investment. The study concludes with nine key recommendations for improving commodity-specific investments in selected locations.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.