In the right place, at the right time: How MAFAP is helping Uganda to invest in high-potential commodities and districts to boost post-COVID-19 socioeconomic recovery
A new economic study that recommends which agrifood sub-sectors should be prioritized by public investment has been presented to government officials at a FAO workshop as part of a multi-step approach to identify and prioritize sub-sectors, commodities and locations for public investment, which could boost the country’s socio-economic recovery post-COVID-19.
Stakeholders representing different government institutions gathered in Kampala to hear the findings from a series of scenarios on the effects of public investment in productive infrastructure across agricultural sub-sectors, which would not only drive agricultural production, but would also be beneficial to the wider economy, well-being and poverty reduction, especially in rural areas.
Through this policy support process, we are trying to help Uganda to prioritize its investment in agriculture by answering four key questions: will public investment in productive infrastructure increase agricultural productivity and at the same time spur economic growth and reduce poverty? Secondly, which agricultural sectors should be prioritized for social and economic reasons. Thirdly, in which districts should investments in agricultural commodities be made. And finally, what specific category of investment is needed – for example, in rural roads, R&D, seeds etc.”, said Marco V. Sánchez, Deputy Director, Agrifood Economics Division at FAO, at the workshop in Kampala.
The study, carried out by FAO’s Agrifood Economics Division in the framework of activities of the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme in the country, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, the Uganda’s National Planning Authority and other key stakeholders from Government is part one of a 3-step process that will provide roadmaps to bridge commodity-specific investments gaps in districts of high productive and poverty-reducing potential.
In the first step of this collaboration, the new FAO-led study shows that for the best-performing sub-sectors, investing in sugar cane, bananas and goats would reap the most rewards. The sugar cane sector tops the list of the biggest returns on investment, which would see growth in private consumption, GDP and agrifood GDP. The cassava and potato sectors scored the highest impacts on rural poverty reduction, whereas the tea, coffee, cocoa and vanilla sectors have the most potential to boost exports.
“This prioritization activity [of cost-effective investments for agrifood systems] is very important”, said Ollen Wanda of Uganda’s National Planning Authority, “especially at a time as the government grapples with the recovering from COVID-19”.
Step 2 is now underway to determine in which districts investments in such high performing sub-sectors can unlock the greatest untapped potential in the most cost-effective way. During the workshop in Kampala, the preliminary results of a forthcoming study were also presented and discussed with stakeholders. It was shown that, for example, investing in millet, maize and sugar cane sub-sectors in the Eastern and Northern regions would be beneficial, whereas for the goats, coffee and cassava sub-sectors, investing in Western and Central locations is preferable. For bananas, the report found several areas in districts spread throughout the country would be best suited.
At the workshop, stakeholders made recommendations on the selection of 5 priority districts, which will feed in to the final and third step of the process. For these districts, the concrete investment gaps that need to be bridged across 8 investment priority areas (seeds, fertilizer, extension, Research & Development, mechanization, irrigation, electricity, roads), resulting in specific investment recommendations) will be determined by FAO in collaboration with the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC).
For further information on Step 1’s studies, view the Productive public investment in agriculture for economic recovery with rural well-being: an analysis of prospective scenarios for Uganda report here, and Prioritizing public investment in agriculture to spur Uganda’s inclusive economic recovery Policy Brief here.