MAFAP and Uganda’s Labour Ministry tackle labour productivity in the country's agricultural sector

The main constraints holding back greater agricultural productivity in Uganda ranging from commodity prices and market fluctuations, land fragmentation and insecure land tenure, to inadequate farmer education, training and skills. Limited use of modern agricultural technologies and extension services, as well as poor infrastructure are also limitations on labour productivity in the agricultural sector, which is an employer for 70% of the population.

These are some of the findings from an analysis on agricultural labour productivity in Uganda, which was carried out by the FAO’s Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), and presented to – and discussed with – government officials and stakeholders in a policy-dialogue workshop in Mukono on 27 November 2024.

Agricultural labour productivity is low in Uganda. It has shown a decreasing trend over the last 20 years, falling below that of its neighbours, like Kenya and Rwanda, and below the regional average for sub-Saharan African countries. Against this backdrop, Hillary Businge Araali, Assistant Commissioner for Labour at MGLSD highlighted a “need to increase labour productivity in the agriculture sector through evidence-based tools” to inform a national policy on productivity.

Building on this point, Marco V. Sánchez, Deputy Director for Agrifood Economics and Policy at FAO and Officer-in-charge of the MAFAP programme said, “FAO is pleased to be part of this study and to provide MGLSD and the National Task Force on Labour Productivity Enhancement with policy evidence to help lift the constraints holding back agricultural labour productivity in Uganda. Addressing those constraints is key to fostering sectoral growth, and wider agricultural transformation and development”, he added.

Echoing the findings, Professor Edward Bbaale, who carried out the study, said, “This report highlights the challenges of labour productivity in Uganda and offers actionable recommendations for overcoming them”. Adding that, “Improved access to land, adequate extension services, and quality inputs, for instance, are a foundational element of improving agricultural efficiency.” He also emphasized the need for policies to be proactive and not just reactive, particularly in the face of climate change, which presents a growing challenge to agricultural labour productivity and requires intervention and investments to bolster farmers’ resilience to droughts, floods and other shocks.

The results of the study aim to inform national policymaking to boost agricultural labour productivity, and will set the scene for the MGLSD-led National Task Force on Labour Productivity Enhancement to develop a future National Productivity Policy.  

Next steps

FAO and partners will compile valuable feedback collected from the Mukono workshop to refine and finalize the study and support MGSLD in translating recommendations into concrete policy reforms. The full report is expected to be published in 2025.

The FAO-MGLSD-MAAIF policy dialogue is one of 3 policy engagements the MAFAP team held in Uganda in November 2024, nestled between a policy dialogue on agricultural marketing in Uganda, and a policy-monitoring workshop.