ᶏᄖㄘᬺ㐿⊒⺞ᩏ⎇ⓥ
࿖೎⎇ⓥࠪ࡝࡯࠭
No.79
ㅜ ਄ ࿖ ᡰ េ ߩ ߚ ߼ ߩၮ ␆ ⊛ ᖱ ႎ ᢛ ஻ ੐ ᬺ⥄⛎⊛૞‛⎇ⓥ ೎ౠႎ๔ᦠ

AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRYIN UGANDA࠙ࠟࡦ࠳ߩㄘᨋᬺ

PRESENT SITUATION AND ISSUES㧙⃻⁁ߣ㐿⊒ߩ⺖㗴㧙
FOR DEVELOPMENT
2010 ᐕ

Japan
Associationfor
for
Japan
Association
InternationalofInternationalCollaboration
Collaboration ofAgriculture
AgricultureandandForestry
Forestry2010 ᐕ 3 ᦬
March
2010


␠࿅
ᴺੱ࿖㓙ㄘᨋᬺද௛දળ

AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY IN UGANDA:PRESENT SITUATION AND ISSUES FOR DEVELOPMENT

JAPAN ASSOCIATION FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONOF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
3F Akasaka KSA Bldg., 8-10-39 Akasaka,
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052 Japan
Tel: +81 - 3 - 5772- 7880
Fax: +81 - 3 - 5772 – 7680

Preface
This publication is the summary of the basic information obtained through research and discussions
on “Subsistence Crops” among the “Basic Information Collection and Analysis Project for the Support
to Developing Countries”, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan.
The program “Studies on Subsistence Crops” has chosen the cooking banana as the target crop in 2009,
but in practice, the study was not limited to cooking banana, but also covered more broad aspects
including current situation of agriculture in Uganda and themes for future development.
This publication is thus issued as a separate report, considering that these basic information will not
only contribute to the technology diffusion and promotion of cooking banana and related industry, butalso will be valuable information for us to promote cooperation to Uganda in the field of agriculture andforestry,
In Uganda, rural population exceeds more than 87% of the total, and more than half of the labor force
is employed by agriculture. However, the share of agriculture sector in GDP is declining year by year,with increasing trends of industry and service sectors due to increased private investment and public
expenditure. In recent years, in parallel to urbanization, diet pattern has diversified, with increasing
production and consumption of rice, partly owing to the cooperation of Japan. However, from theviewpoint of food security, traditional food in Uganda, led by cooking banana, root crops like cassava,
sweet potato, potato, and grains such as maize, millet and sorghum should not be neglected.
Therefore, in this publication, it was intended to clarify the direction of Japanese cooperation in thefield of agriculture and forestry, and to sort out the themes of cooperation through the analysis of thecurrent socio-economic situation as a whole and actual situation of agriculture, food and ruralcommunity of the country.
In execution of the study, a field study team was dispatched to collect accurate and latest information.
At the same time, Subsistence Crops Investigation Committee was set up within the Association to
discuss the issues from the viewpoint of experts.
The completion of this publication would not have been possible without the efforts of writers andcommittee members, and the Association wishes to express its sincere appreciation to all of them. At thesame time, the Association wishes to extend its sincere thanks to the concerned persons of the Ministryof Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan International Cooperation
Agency and the Government of Uganda for their valuable cooperation.

March 2010
Hisao AZUMA
President
Japan Association for International Collaborationof Agriculture and Forestry

SUDANKENYA

D.R.OF CONGOKENYA

RWANDATANZANIA

Administration map of Uganda
Source: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/HHOO-7U8MCA?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=ugaiExchange rates

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Ugandan shillings(Ush) per US dollar

1,780.7

1,834.9

1,685.8

1,658.1

2,073.3

Japanese yen per US
dollar110.22

116.18117.99103.5894.50

Source: CIA Homepageii

Table of Contents
Administration map of Uganda ................................................................................................................... i
Exchange rates............................................................................................................................................ ii
Chapter I. National Economy and Agriculture & Forestry ......................................................................... 1
1. Structural Characteristics of the Economy .......................................................................................... 1
1) General features of the national economy ....................................................................................... 1
2) Industrial structure........................................................................................................................... 1
3) Factors affecting the national economy ........................................................................................... 24) Trend of economic policy ................................................................................................................ 65) Trade ................................................................................................................................................ 66) Balance of international payment and public debt........................................................................... 87) Inflation rate .................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Target and Plan of Economic Development and Agriculture/ Forestry Development ........................ 9
1) Target and plan of economic development ...................................................................................... 92) Agricultural development plan....................................................................................................... 123) Forestry development plan ............................................................................................................ 15
Chapter II. Developmental Trends in Agriculture and Forestry ............................................................... 16
1. Environments and Farming Systems ................................................................................................. 16
1) Natural conditions and regional divisions ..................................................................................... 162) Land utilization and farming systems ............................................................................................ 16
2. Agricultural Production: Present Situation and Prospects ................................................................. 18
1) Production of food crops ............................................................................................................... 182) Agricultural products for exportation ............................................................................................ 23
3．Rice Cultivation: Present Situation and Prospects .......................................................................... 24
1) Historical aspects ........................................................................................................................... 24
2) Present situation of rice cultivation ............................................................................................... 25
3) Research and extension systems .................................................................................................... 30
4) Rice promotion strategy of Uganda ............................................................................................... 30
4. Forest and Forestry: Present Situation and Prospects........................................................................ 31
1) General situations of Ugandan forests ........................................................................................... 31
2) Reduction of forest land area, and its tendency ............................................................................. 33
3) General situation of forests classified by ownership and management ......................................... 33
Chapter III. Current Situation and Trend of Development Cooperation on Agriculture and Forestry...... 36
1. Current situation of Development Cooperation................................................................................. 36
1) General trend ................................................................................................................................. 36
2) Characteristics of cooperation in the field of agriculture and forestry .......................................... 36
3) Cooperation by Japan .................................................................................................................... 37
2. Themes of Development Cooperation and their Direction ................................................................ 41
1) Themes for agriculture/ forestry development............................................................................... 412) Direction of Japan’s cooperation in the field of agriculture and forestry ...................................... 41
References............................................................................................................................................ 43

CHAPTER I. NATIONAL ECONOMY AND AGRICULTURE & FORESTRY
1. Structural Characteristics of the Economy
1) General features of the national economy
The Republic of Uganda has achieved economic growth of 6 % on an average in the past 15 years. In
recent years, growth rate is nearly 7 %, the target figure for poverty reduction strategy set by theGovernment. In the year 2008/09 (fiscal year is from July to June) also recorded high performance of
6.7 % in spite of the influence of the world wide recession.
Poverty ratio has also declined reflecting better economic conditions by decreasing percentage of
population below poverty line from 56 % to 34 % in 1990’s, and further to 31 % in 2006. However, noremarkable progress has been observed since then. GNI (Gross National Income) per capita was $280 in2005 and Uganda remains one of the poorest countries with its Human Development Index of UNDP
(2007) at 154th among 177countries. From the index of MDP (Millennium Development Goals), theratios of primary school enrollment and girls school enrollment have been rapidly raised, and access tosafe drinking water has been significantly improved. HIV/AIDS which raged in 1990’s has subsided
since 2000’s dramatically. On the other side, due to high population growth rate of 3.2 % on an average
between 1969 and 2002, per capita economic growth rate has remained low. Total population in 2009
was estimated at 30.7 million (Uganda Bureau of Statistics).
Disparity between urban and rural economy is considerable, particularly in the northern part of thecountry where internal strife has been continuing for more than 20 years.Though this area has started
reconstruction and rehabilitation recently, poverty ratio remains as high as more than 70 % (OPM2006).
Table I.1.1
Real GDP Growth Rate
Nominal GDP Growth Rate
Source: MoFPED 2009b

2004/05
6.6
6.3

GDP growth rate
2005/06
10.3
10.8

2006/07
6.9
8.4

2004/05－2008/09
2007/08
8.3
9.0

2008/096.7
7.02) Industrial structure
Of the total population, about 87 % live in rural areas and most of them work in the farming sector.
Economy of Uganda typically depends on agriculture and rural community. Share of agriculture in
total GDP has been declining and remains less than 20 % during the past several years. In the
agriculture sector, coffee is the single most important crop, with a share of 80 % by monetary basis
among total cash crops. While cotton and fisheries production are showing signs of recovery, tea
production has been sluggish due to the lower international price in recent years. On the other hand,shares of industry and services sectors are increasing gradually owing to the increased private sector’s
investment and public expenditure. The industry sector’s share has grown to 25 %, but the growth rate
is now staggering, in one part by stagnation in the construction sub-sector. In the manufacturingsub-sector, food processing industry plays a leading role owing to the increasing demand for foodfrom the neighboring countries. A rapid growth in production of construction materials is also
observed.

1

BillionUsh

10,000
9,000
8,000
7,000
6,000

Agriculture
Industry
Services

5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Fig. I.1.1 Production by industrial sectors
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%

OthersServices

50%

Industry
Agruculture

40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Fig. I.1.2 Share of GDP by industrial sectors
During the past several years, the services sector has supported economic growth of the country
contributing to around 50 % of the total GDP, with annual growth rate of 10 % on an average.
Especially, transportation and communication have been growing rapidly, and are expected to continue,
owing to the government policy to strengthen infrastructure in these fields. The financial sector such ascommercial bank and insurance has also achieved high average growth rate of 20 % in recent years(UBOS 2009).
3) Factors affecting the national economy(1) Natural conditions
Of the total area of 240,000km2 (around 3/4 of Japan), about 20 % is water surface or marshes andaround 40 % is cultivated land (2005). Average altitude is 1200m above sea level (asl), from 620m aslof Albert Nile River surface to 5110m asl of the top of the Mount Rwenziri. The country is wellendowed with affluent water resources led by Nile River, and its source Lake Victoria, the biggest one
in Africa, and Lake Kyoga located in the central part of the country. Natural vegetation consists
mainly of grassy plain, forest and tropical forest, with annual rainfall of 750－2000 mm and mild
2

weather throughout the year. As more than 80 % of the population depends on agriculture, Uganda is
one of the countries most vulnerable to climatic changes. Droughts and floods in the past 5 years havecaused serious damages to the effort for economic growth and poverty reduction (UBOS 2009).
(2) Geographic condition
As an inland country, Uganda depends on Mombasa, Kenya for about 90 % of international trade andremaining 10 % on Dar es Salaam of Tanzania, from where merchandise are carried overland. Distance
between Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and Mombasa and Dar es Salaam is 1,200km and 1,900 km,
respectively. As the railway network from the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam to Kampala is notwell established, there exist many problems on operation, maintenance and management. Therefore,transportation overland depends on trailers and heavy duty trucks. In this case, it usually takes 20 to 30
days from these ports to Kampala due to the long waiting time at the ports and the custom offices at theborders. Transportation cost for a 40-feet container from these ports to Kampala is $4,800 and $8,200,
respectively (JICA 2009). At the same time, damages of paved roads by the heavy duty trucks areserious and require constant repairs.
With regard to the marketing in East Africa, negotiations started in March, 2008 among EAC
countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi) for the establishment of a common market,
which was officially signed in November, 2009. It aims at contributing to the improved production
efficiency, increased investment, expanded job opportunity and increased trade among member
countries. It basically intends to remove barriers for movement of labor force, commodity, services andcapital. This is expected to come into effect in July, 2010. This movement has been expanding to othercommon regional economic organizations. In February, 2009, a joint meeting of EAC, COMESA and
SADC was held in Uganda where there were discussions to create a Free Trade Zone involving 26
countries with an estimated total GDP of $ 642 billion (MoFPED 2009b, AU 2009).
(3) Population growth
As already stated, yearly population growth of Uganda since 1969 is 3.2 % on an average, which isextremely high even from the world standard. If this trend is to continue, 1.2 million babies will be borna year and in 2025, the total population is expected to exceed 50 million. It is quite worrisome that the
rapid population increase will not only slow down the economic growth but also degrade the level andquality of various social services.
Issues of population growth are taken up in the parliament debate seriously from the view point offood security. In September 2008, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development officiallyannounced the revised population policy in which necessity of population control was emphasized.
However, on the occasion of this announcement, read on behalf of the President Museveni, it wasemphasized that “Population increase is not itself the problem. What we should do is to maintain andupgrade the quality of public services and to provide job opportunity to the people for the developmentof the country”.

3Million
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
1969

Fig. I.1.3

1980

1991

2002

2009

Population sensus: 1969, 1980, 1991, 2002, 2009

Source: Wiegratz 2009(4) Political trend
Uganda, former Protectorate of the United Kingdom, had achieved independence in 1962. After thesocialist President Obote, followed by dictatorship of President Amin, and the days of invasion by
Tanzania, Mr. Museveni was inaugurated as President in 1986 by coup d’etat. Winning both of thepresidential elections in 1996 and 2001, his leadership and democratic management of the politics hadinternationally won a high appraisal, and multi party system was introduced in 2005.
But at the election held in 2006, he amended the constitution to make possible three terms of thepresidency. Museveni tightened his control to opposition party and won the 3rd term Presidency.
World opinion to this development was fairly negative and this led to the direct impact of economic
difficulties by decreased assistance from abroad. Noting the severe criticism from abroad on thechronic corruption, the government has been announcing its strict control repeatedly for more than 10
years, without effective results.
Similar to the cases in neighboring countries, decentralization of the authority has been promoted,
and transfer of financial disbursement to the local government increased to nearly 7 times during thepast 10 years. However, as the progressive taxation was abolished in 2005, a year before the election,
local governments have been facing financial difficulty and public services have been deteriorating.
In 2008, a new tax system was introduced but this seems unable to compensate the abolishedprogressive taxation (OPM 2006).
(5) Strife at the border area
In 2006, after more than 20 years of strife with an anti-government party called LRA (Lord’s
Resistance Army), a comprehensive peace agreement was reached and LRA has moved its base to
Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and the east and central Africa. Therefore, peace seems tobe prevailing so far within the country. However, in spite of the intervention effort by the U.N. and
Sudan, disarmament of LRA has not been realized yet.
Apart from this strife, border dispute has occurred with DR Congo on the territorial right of islet in
Lake Albert, as the huge deposit of oil had been confirmed there. On the other hand, in October, 2009,
border dispute between southern part of Sudan and northern part of Uganda reoccurred. Presently, there
exist disputes with Kenya on the territorial right of Migingo island in Lake Victoria, and with Rwanda
and Tanzania on the land of custom houses at the border.

4

TableI.1.2

Political events in Uganda

Year
1962
1963
1966
1971
1979

eventsIndependence from U.K.
Transition to Republic
Coup d’etat by P.M. Obote (President Obote)
Coup d’etat by General Amin (President Amin)
Downfall of Amin, President Lule
Downfall of Lule, President Binaisa
1980
President Obote (come back)1985
Coup d’etat by General Okello (President Okello)
1986
Coup d’etat by Museveni (President Museveni)
1995
Promulgation of new constitution
1996
Inception of original HIPC initiatives
Election of the President, Museveni won the election
1997
Drawing up PEAP (Poverty Reduction Action Plan), reached decision point of HIPC initiative
1998
Reached completion point of HIPC initiative, $347million debt reduction
1999
Creation of Budget for Poverty Action Fund, Initiation of management/ control of general budget
support, Enhanced HIPC initiative starts
2000
PEAP 1 st revision、Expanded HIPC Initiatives achieved target
2001
2nd election of the President, President Museveni
Election of Parliament Members
2002
Completion of Expanded HIPC Initiatives, $656million debt reduction
2003
PEAP 2 nd revision starts
2004
PEAP 2 nd revision finalized
2005
Amendment of Constitution (3 terms allowed for President)
2006
3rd Election of President, Election of Parliament Members, Museveni President 3rd Term
2007
PFA (Prosperity for All Program) start
2008
PRDP (Peace, Reconstruction and Development Plan) start
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs 2008 (modified)(6) Business environment
In addition to the difficulties of inland country as stated earlier, in Uganda there exist a number of
institutional constraints from the viewpoints of business environment. According to the Doing Business2010 of World Bank/ IFC, the comprehensive business environment of Uganda was ranked 112th among
183 countries. Of the 10 indices, such 6 indexes as, [procedure for business start up], [movable property
registration], [access to credit], [protection of investor], [trade] and [effectiveness of contract] are morethan 100th in order. Relatively high evaluation was given to [employment of laborer], and this seems tobe due to the fact that the regulations related to labor in Uganda are lax. Anyhow, to attract investment,
there still remain many issues to be improved.
(7) Support by donors
Uganda depends highly on assistance from abroad. In the early half of 2000’s, amount of aid was
11 % of GDP and around a half of the total budget. About 40 donors extend support to Uganda. But
most of the aid is quite small, with the top 10 donors occupying 76 % and 96 % of the total aid amountin the year 1997 and 2003, respectively. Higher rank donors include World Bank, EC, African
Development Bank, DFID (UK) and USAID followed by Germany and Scandinavian countries.
In recent years, the share of the foreign assistance in the national budget has been less than 40 % andin 2007/08, the share declined to 28 %. This might meet the basic policy of the President to shake thecountry free from high dependence on foreign aid, but as the investment to big scale infrastructure
continued in 2007/08, expanded loan would have raised the share of aid to 40 % again (MoFPED
2009b). Dependence on donors would definitely continue, and it seems necessary to carry out financial
management in full consideration of the risk by declining donor fund.

54) Trend of economic policy
From 1980’s, under the strong leadership of the Ministry of Finance and the support by IMF/WorldBank for structural adjustment policy, Uganda’s economic policy paved the way for economic
liberalization and achieved in such areas as non intervention on exchange market, liberalization ofcommodity market and reduction of trade barrier. In recent years, the government has been taking great
pains in ensuring monetary and financial discipline in the course of expanding public expenditure andthese performances are acclaimed by IMF and others (IMF 2009).
PEAP (Poverty Eradication Action Plan), details of which will be provided later, sets the target of
GDP growth at 7 % for the reduction of poverty ratio, but from 2003 to 2005 it could not be achieved.
As the greatest cause, failure in the agriculture sector was raised. However, in recent years, someindication of reconstruction and development are observed in the northern part of the country and brisk
construction sector due to expanding public works are noted, all of these being expected to contribute tohigher growth rate. Further, the situations with DR Congo and Southern Sudan have been stabilizing
and the rapidly increasing export of farm products and others to these countries altogether willcontribute to the improved growth rate.
The government fully recognizes that the private sector investment is essential to the economic
growth. To realize this situation, the Investment Agency established referential tax offices at 22 major
cities in the country and started first phase construction of Namanve Business Park about 30 minutes
from Kampala with a total area of 1,000 ha, inviting firms both from abroad and within the country.
Reconstruction of the northern region, increased demand for food products from the neighboring
countries and government emphasis on infrastructure investment are the major factors contributing tohigher growth rate. Therefore, the impact of the worldwide recession is not considered to be so serious(IMF 2008). Reconstruction of the northern region has the particular implication to the country’s
development. With around 20 % of the total population, this region has not participated in production
activities for a long period. Repatriation of refugees to their homeland from the camps is now rapidly
going on, and their anticipation in production activities will be expected to enhance the economic
growth further (OPM 2006).
5) TradeWith the exception of food items, most of the basic commodities, construction material, petroleum
products, etc, are imported from abroad. In trade balance, increase in import far exceeds that of export.
Import surplus in 2008 expanded to $2.8 billion from $2.15 billion in 2007. This is mainly due to the
sharp increase in import other than oil products. Again, as shown in Table I.1.3, informal border tradewith neighboring countries are notable and growth of export was 69.4 %, estimated at $1.3 billion. Of
this amount, around 70 % are those of industrial products and daily necessaries, but in recent years
export of maize and beans show rapid increase to neighboring countries; about 50 % increase from theprevious year. This is mainly because of the increased demand from the southern part of Sudan., Tradebalance is estimated at $ 1.5 billion deficit (including these informal trade).

6

Table I.1.3

Import & export, trade balance and growth rate (2004 - 2008)
year

ImportExportTrade balance
Growth rate (Import)
Growth rate (Export)
Import (Informal)
Export (Informal)
Source:UBOS 20092004
172.6266.51-106.11
2.55
2.45

2005
205.41
81.29-124.12
1.90
2.22
6.58
20.03

2005

2006

(unit: Billion US$)
2006
2007
2008
255.73349.54452.5996.22
133.67172.43-159.51-215.87-280.16
2.45
3.67
2.95
1.84
3.89
2.90
8.06
5.72
7.35
23.17
77.65
131.59Billion US$
500
400
300
200
100
0
-100

2004

2007

2008

-200
-300
-400
ImportExportTrade balance

Fig. I.1.4 Growth of export/import and trade balance(excludes informal)
Export in 2008 was $1.7 billion against $ 1.3 billion in the previous year, which shows an increase of
29 %. Export of coffee, a major export commodity of Uganda, increased 21 % in quantity in 2008, but
due to the recovery of the coffee price of international market, export amounted to 50 % increase.
Therefore, contribution of coffee export to total export increased from 19.9 % in 2007 to 23.4 % in 2008.
Other traditional export commodities, such as tea, cotton and tobacco are decreasing their shares in the
total export though they maintained their export volume as shown in Fig. I.1.5. Major non-traditionalcommodities for export include maize, beans, fresh water fishes, flowers, electric power and others.
Among these, maize, sesame, cobalt showed notable increases compared to the previous year (UBOS2009).
Major import commodities are petroleum products, vehicles, iron and steel, electric appliances andmedicines. Among these, a high demand is expected for such items as machinery and vehicles related tothe private sector investment, and also construction equipment. The government recognizes this as asign of strong concern of the investors from abroad and within the country, reflecting Uganda’s steadyeconomic growth even in the global economic crisis (MoFPD 2009b).
Major export destinations are COMESA and EU and the share of these two regions in total export(excluding informal one) in 2008 was 42.1 % and 26.7 %, respectively. Shares by countries are 14.3 %for Sudan, 9.5 % for Kenya, 9.0 % for Switzerland, 7.9 % for Rwanda, 7.4 % for United Arab Emirates(UAE) and 6.9 % for UK.

7

100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
2004
Coffee2005
CottonTea

2006
Tabacco

2007

2008

Non-traditional commodities

Fig. I.1.5 Share of export by commodities
In case of import, Asia shares 34.8 % of the total import, followed by EU of 19.4 % (2008). By
country, UAE leads by a share of 11.4 %, followed by Kenya (11.3 %), India (10.4 %), China (8.1 %),South Africa (6.7 %), and Japan (5.9 %). The share rankings for both export and import by country havenot changed for the past several years (UBOS 2009).
As far as international agreements on trade are concerned, EBA (Everything But Arms) with
European countries and AGOA (African Growth Opportunity Act) with USA are notable organizations.
The former permits Uganda’s export free of tariff without ceiling of quota except arms, and the latter
permits Uganda’s export to USA free of tariff for specified commodities. Under the general preferential
tariff system, Canada, Japan, China and others also provide favorable treatment of tax exemption to
African countries. Uganda is in a position to utilize this favorable treatment for their export to thesecountries, although these have not effectively been utilized yet. No significant growth of export has
been observed except those to East African countries and the effect of the above mentioned agreements
have been so far limited. The problems are that production and supply system of export commodities
both in quantity and quality is not yet established in the country, and that there exists no support fromthe government on this aspect. The National Trade Policy established in August, 2007, raises questions
about the capacity of Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism and reforming the Ministry is taken up as
a first priority. In addition to the reform of the Ministry, formulation of the National Trade Sector Plan
was also stated but not realized yet (MTTI 2007a). On the other hand, MTTI has prepared National
Export Strategy in October, 2007, in which 6 sectors, namely coffee, tea, flower, fresh water fish, cottonand services were designated as priority sectors.
6) Balance of international payment and public debt
Balance of international payment of Uganda in recent years shows a rather negative position. In
2007/08 the balance was plus $690 million but in 2008/09 it was estimated to decline to minus $48
million (0.3 % of GDP) (MoFPED 2009b). In spite of better export performance and loans and grants
from donors, foreign payment has expanded due to rapid increase of import of construction material,
declining remittances from abroad and required remittances to home country by foreign firms andNGOs. In addition to withdrawing foreign currency reserve to make up this deficit, the big fall of
Uganda Shilling against other currencies in 2008 forced the government to intervene by buying U.
Shilling and this led to the decline in foreign reserve by $200 million. According to IMF, the aftermath8

of global economic crisis is being observed gradually in Uganda in 2009, and if the export remains
stagnant, the possibility to increase deficit of international payment will exist. However, IMF considers
that as the level of decrease of foreign reserve will be equivalent to 4 to 5 months export at most, thebalance of international payment will be sustainable for medium term if the sign of global economic
recovery is indicated (IMF 2009).
Regarding the government debt, the ratio of remaining debt to GDP improved from 47.9 % ($4.4
billion) in 2005 to 11.4 % ($1.5 billion) in 2007, partly due to debt relief measures of HIPC and MDRI
initiatives. The ratio of remaining debt to export also declined from 14.2 % to 4.1 % in the same period.
Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) conducted jointly by IMF and World Bank in December, 2008, also
indicates that with all indices the figures for Uganda were all far below the threshold (IMF 2008). At
the end of 2007, Ministry of Finance, by preparing [Debt Strategy], clearly indicated a very cautious
attitude on borrowing money from donors and private sectors. The intention was to maintain the level ofdebt drastically decreased by HIPC and MDRI initiatives so as to be at the repayable level. The Strategy
clearly states that borrowing should be limited to the cases where no grant is available from donors andto be used for productive sectors such as infrastructure, water and irrigation.
7) Inflation rate
Inflation rate of Uganda has been kept low since 1992 at around 5 % on an average. However, in
recent years, soaring food price due to the increasing demand in East African countries, together withhigher transportation cost from rising international crude oil price, prices have been going up in
general. In particular, due to the riot in Kenya just after the election of the President at the end of
2007, commodity supply had delayed, and in early part of 2008 international prices of food and oilsoared rapidly. All of these led to the high inflation rate of 15.9 % in August, 2008. Though indicationof improvement has been observed since March, 2009, inflation rate of food remains relatively high.
High inflation rate of the past 1-2 years is due to the expanding demand for food (demand for fresh
water fish from Europe, demand for grain from neighboring countries, particularly from Southern partof Sudan and Eastern region of DR Congo), soaring price of construction materials, increasingtransportation cost and falling of Uganda Shilling (MofPED 2009b). According to the 5th Review of
the PSI (Policy Support Instrument) started by IMF since 2005, it is forecasted that the inflation rate
could be brought down to the target of 5 % by 2010 if the government continues cautious financial
policy (IMF 2009).

2. Target and Plan of Economic Development and Agriculture/ Forestry
Development
1) Target and plan of economic development(1) Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP)
PEAP was drawn up in 1997 as a comprehensive 10-year development framework of Uganda. In
2000 and 2004, PEAP was revised as 2nd PEAP and 3rd PEAP, respectively. The 2nd PEAP of 2000 was
officially acknowledged as a first Full Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (Full-PRSP) by World Bank.
The target of PEAP is set as [to reduce the ratio of absolute poverty to less than 10 % by 2017].
However, due to stagnation of growth rate of agriculture by falling crop prices, deteriorating security
situation in the northern region, high population growth and high infection rate of HIV/AID, poverty
ratio soared from 34 % in 2000 to 38 % in 2003, and Gini coefficient increased from 0.35 in 1997 to
0.43 in 2003, showing the increasing income disparity. After taking development into account, the9following five were set as priority areas in the 3rd PEAP.
①Economic administration and management
・ Stabilization of macro economy through inflation control, reduction of financial deficit, increasein tax revenue, improvement of financial system, promotion of investment and international trade②Increase in production, competitiveness and income
・ Agriculture sector: As agriculture continues to be a core industry of the country modernization ofagriculture is to be promoted to eradicate poverty in rural areas.
・ Road sector: Road construction including community roads, and their operation and maintenance・ Energy sector: Electric power supply to be increased as the current supply is only 317MW against
the forecasted demand of 649 MW in 2010
・ Exploitation of natural resources: Promotion of natural resources exploitation including
petroleum・ Tourism: Implementation of support to tourism industry to increase visitors from abroad
・ Promotion of science and technology and industrial development: Creation of awards fortechnology development and other incentives
・ Financial services: Micro-finance system development in rural areas for better access・ Promotion of small- medium scale industries: support to upgrade the business skill, revision ofrelated laws and regulations
・ Environment: Multi-disciplinary policy formulation and execution for avoiding soil fertility
decline and deforestation
・ Labor market: Quality improvement of laborer through vocational training, improvement ofworking environment through improved insurance system③Security, settlement of strives, disaster management
・ Settlement of strives with anti-government force, eradication of livestock robbery, promotion ofresettlement of internal refugees, protection of lives and property by disaster management④Good governance・ Human right and democratization, improvement of legal system, enhanced accountability of the
public sector⑤ Human resources development
・ Education: improved quality of education, strengthened medium level education and vocational
training
・ Health and medical care: improvement of health index and promotion of family planning・ Water supply：Improvement of access to safe water
・ Social development: Improvement in levels of adult literacy, support to the underprivileged
Further, as multi-sectorial issues, eight areas namely gender, environment, HIV/AID, employment,
population, social security, income distribution and regional disparity are set in the 3rd PEAP.
As the succeeding document of the 3rd PEAP, National Development Plan (NPD) is now underpreparation. After extending one year for the 3rd PEAP, NPD is scheduled to start from July, 2010. In
NDP, an approach of setting priority sectors is to be taken, paying attention to [Primary Growth
Drivers] and [Complementary Sectors] which will be able to accelerate the reform of the state.

10(2) Priority issues on budget formulation
The process of budget formulation in Uganda starts with a high level meeting attended by officials
from each ministry, concerned agencies, donors and private sector, invited by the Minister of Finance,
who announces the priority issues of the budget. For those sectors of priority issues, final adjustment ismade by allocating additional budget to the MTEF (Medium Term Expenditure Framework: preliminary
budget for each sector for 3years based on the forecasted revenue of medium term). At this meeting, thestatus of the budget disbursement and its effect are reviewed and the participants are invited to makecomments, thus making the process very much transparent.
Budget statement of 2008/09 by the Minister of Finance covered the following six points as priority
issues for economic management of the government. Budget statement of 2009/10 followed almost thesame line as the previous year, reflecting the additional budget (Fig. I.2.1). Although the agriculture
sector always remains as priority, budget allocation is limited, with only 4.4 % of the total budget in2009/10. This is slightly higher than that of 2008/09 (3.8 %) but is very much lower than the target of
10 % for the agriculture sector, made by the Maputo Declaration of AU in 2003. The education sector isincreasing its budget as primary education is now compulsory while tuition is not required in secondary
schools since 2006.
①Pavement for newly constructed road, and maintenance of national, provincial and community road
②Increased agricultural production by mechanization and promotion of improved varieties③ Start construction of power transmission lines for Karuma hydroelectric power station, andimplementation of F/S for Isimba hydropower station④Promotion of industrialization (Financial, institutional and technical support, support toagro-processing)⑤Provision of minimum medical services at the health centers (Reproductive health, HIV/AIDS,
Malaria), quality improvement of education (Free of charge for primary and secondary education)⑥Comprehensive peace and security, maintenance of public order
Billion Ush
1400
1200

2006/071000

2007/08800

2008/09600

2009/102010/11400
200

Water/
Environment

Agriculture

Justice/ Law andOrder

Accountability

Security

Public Sector
Management

Energy/ Mineral
Development

Health

Education

Communication/
Transportation

0

Fig. I.2.1 Budget trend for 10 priority sectors (2006/07 - 2010/11*)*Figure for 2010/11 is expected budget amount to be allocated under MTEF

Among these priority issues, importance of the two sectors, energy/mineral development and11communication/ transportation, are repeatedly emphasized for economic growth by President Musevenion various occasions. Frequent power failure and high cost transportation system are recognized as theissues likely to cause serious consequences to the economic situation. In case of power supply, power
generation had seriously decreased due to the drought in 2005, when the water level of Lake Victoria
declined and supply of water to other existing power stations had also reduced. Further, the constructionof Bujagali power station, originally scheduled to start from 2002, has been tentatively delayed due tothe protest by the environment protection group, leading to unstable power supply. By the completion of
Bujagali power station in 2011, power supply is expected to be much improved.
The 2008/09 budget for the transportation sector was much increased. This was in response to the
Growth Diagnosis, implemented with the support of World Bank in 2007 which reported that the traffic
infrastructure improvement contributed to the cost reduction of transportation and business substantially(Fig. I.2.1). However, the allocated budget of 170 % to the previous year was rather hard for the
implementing organizations, Works and Transport Ministry as well as Uganda National Road Authority
to their limited capacities, and at the end of the fiscal year, unused budget had been returned to the
National Treasury. But the level of the allocated budget is said to be maintained for the following years(MoFPED 2009a).
Another influential factor for Ugandan economy is discovery of natural gas fields at the lake shore ofAlbert in eastern part of Uganda. Initially there was a fear of commercial feasibility from the scale ofdeposit, but now the deposit has been confirmed to be 0.6 billion barrels. Estimated deposit issometimes said to be more than 2 billion barrels. A huge investment is required for the construction of arefinery, thermal power generation station, pipeline connecting to Mombasa port for export, and others.
And if the commercial production of natural gas is initiated, the issue of whether the money to beearned can effectively be used is of serious concern within the country and to donors as well.
As for the sectors energy/mineral development and transportation, their development requires
participation of private sectors judging from the size of investment. Therefore, the government is
considering the approach of public-private sector partnership. Aforementioned Bujagali power station
depended on private sector investment and it required $880 million for construction. In the case of
Karuma power station, if a capacity of 700 MW is attained as expected by the President, theconstruction cost is roughly estimated at around $1.5 billion (Presidential Speech 2009). In addition toits own fund, the government is seeking support from various donors, but so far no commitment has
been obtained. Other major big projects include construction of international power transmission
network in East Africa, construction and rehabilitation of railroad connecting Mombasa port andKampala, transportation on the Lake Victoria, on the central corridor connecting Dar es Salaam andKampala.
2) Agricultural development plan
(1) Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA)
The Government of Uganda had drawn up the Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA) in 2001
as a multi-sectorial national policy for all the ministries with 2017 as the target year. PMA aims atachieving poverty reduction through the transformation of agriculture from subsistent to commercial
with increased competitiveness and sustainability, and powerful agriculture/agro-industries as asupreme goal. As detailed goals, the following four points are raised.
① To increase income and improve the quality of life of small scale farmers by raising productivity
and introduction of cash crops.
② To improve the food security depending on market mechanism, apart from the self sufficiency
12

farming.
③To create jobs by the promotion of agro-industry through PMA mechanism.
④To ensure a sustainable utilization of resources by the promotion of environment friendly
technologies.
To achieve these goals, the following six strategies have been proposed.
① Decentralization of the administrative power to local governments for providing effective
support services to farmers.
② To expand the roles of the private sectors in commerce by minimizing the role of thegovernment.
③ To support the extension of agricultural technology for increased productivity.
④ To ensure full consideration on gender in all support services.
⑤ To take the two ways of top-down (central-local) and bottom-up (local-central) approaches in theplanning and budget formulation process, so that the local governments will be able to influence
the policy and budget allocation and, to tackle the particular issues in multi-sectorial approach.
⑥ To ensure multi-sectorial framework for achieving agriculture modernization.
Further, the following seven are raised as areas of priority in PMA① Research and technology development② National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS)③ Agricultural Education④ Improved access to Rural Finance⑤ Agro-processing and marketing⑥ Sustainable utilization and management of natural resources.
⑦ Infrastructure improvement
In PMA, farmers in Uganda are classified into 3 categories as [small-scale farmers], [medium-scalecommercial farmers] and [commercial farmers] with respective characteristics and supports to beprovided by the government as follows:
Table I.2.1

Classification of farmers by PMA

Category
Characteristics(%)
Commercial ・high educational level(5 %)・profit seeking farming・high production, marketing, processing
・hiring skilled/unskilled labor・high input, high yield technology
・collection of market information within
the country and abroad・owning input for risk reduction
Medium scale ・production for family use and as cash
commercial crop
farmers
・relatively improved production(25 %)
technology
・Family labor and hired labor・Farm management partly fragile

Required government supports
・Guarantee on ownership of asset and input
・Stable macro economy(lower inflation, lower interest
rate)
・Improved infrastructure(road, electricity, water
resources, market)
・Access to domestic, regional and international markets
・Efficient banking services
・fulfillment of contract, establishment of quality gradingon farm products
・Guarantee on ownership of asset and input
・Support to upgrade business skill
・Ensure access to market and provision of market
information.
・Establishment of the efficient and reliable distribution
system for input (fertilizer, chemical etc.)
・To ensure access to post harvest/ agro-processing
services・Ensure access to credit services

13

Small scale ・Low literacy, technology and knowledge
farmers
・Self sufficiency farming(70 %)
・Low input/low yield technology
・Dependence on family labor
・Getting smaller of farmland
・ Unplanned marketing (not by market
movement but to the necessity of cash
requirement)
・Fragile to the climate change etc.

・To guarantee on ownership of asset and input
・To raise literacy and provision of basic technology andknowledge
・To encourage the participation in development activity
・To ensure access to improved technology
・To provide market information and ensure access tomarket・Financial support (encourage saving, ensure access tocredit)・Ensure availability of farmland(2) Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP)DSIP is placed as the medium term plan for the implementation of the priority issues of PEAP and
PMA, and provides basis for policy and budget formulation of the Ministry of Agriculture, AnimalIndustry and Fisheries. First DSIP, DSIP 2005/06-2007/08 was formulated in 2006 but due to lack of
coordination within the Ministry and also limited amount of budget allocated, no substantive effect has
been achieved. In 2009, as DSIP 2005/06-2007/08 has expired, the Ministry has formulated
DSIP09/10-2013/14. To realize the policy taken up by DSIP, it requires USh 200 billion (¥ 92 billion)
for 5 years and the Ministry aims to increase the share of agriculture sector in total budget from thecurrent level of 3 % to 5.2 %.
The following five targets have been incorporated into DSIP2009/10-2013/14.
① Increasing income of farmers② Ensuring food security of farmers③ Creation of on farm and non-farm jobs
④ Increase in added value of agricultural products⑤ Promotion of both domestic and international trade of farm products
To realize these targets, four components and output are set as shown in Table I.2.2.
Among these components, [Crop production and productivity] is given the first priority and 86 % of
the total budget is allocated. Among this, the share for extension works is 43.8 %, while 12.2 % is forresearch, 9.1 % for crop protection, 5.9 % for promotion of strategic crops, 5.7 % for irrigation and 5 %for enhancement of quality control. As the strategic crops, to be emphasized in extension and research,
rice, maize, beans, citrus fruits, cassava, potatoes, cattle, poultry, fisheries, coffee and tea are selected.
Table I.2.2
Crop
production andproductivity

Market andadded value

Components
Increase productivity ofland, labor and capitalon crop, livestock andfisheries production

Expansion of domestic
and international
markets for farm
products

Components of DSIP and output

Expected output
・ High productivity technologies are developed by research programs
based on the needs of farmers
・ Effective, efficient, sustainable and decentralized extension services are
realized.
・ Damages are decreased by pest and disease protection system
・ Land productivity is increased by sustainable soil and water management
・ Environment friendly irrigation systems are developed
・ By appropriate mechanization and investments to agriculture, laborsaving technologies are developed・ Through rehabilitation of the Northern Uganda, living condition of
inhabitants are improved
・ Access to high quality inputs and implements are improved
・ Production of strategic crops ( rice, maize, citrus fruits etc.) with higher
market value are promoted
・ Value added products are increased by the use of Public Private
Partnership (PPP）・ Management/ operation and business skill of the existing farmerorganizations are developed

14

Value chain

Strengtheningorganization

Policy and legal systemdevelopment for
promoting private
enterprises
Strengthening capacity
for policy formulationand implementation of
the Ministry ofAgriculture, AnimalIndustry and Fisheries
and other concernedorganizations

・ Safety standard of input and products are revised and capacity for quality
management is upgraded.
・ Effective policy, strategy, programs and projects are implemented withmuch less waste
・ Capacity, material and machinery are equipped for the execution ofpolicy of MAAIF and other related organization
・ MAAIF office is relocated to Kampala
・ Efficiency of the administration officers is upgraded

3) Forestry development plan
The National Forest Plan established in 2003 is currently the basis of the forest development of
Uganda. In line with the Forest Law and forestry policies enacted in advance, this Plan includes
summaries of seven forest and forest-related programs to be implemented within 10 years.
(1) Executing agency
Concerned ministries and agencies coordinate, guide and supervise the progress of the forestry sector
effectively(2) Acting agencies on behalf of the government
National Forest Corporation, local governments and local inhabitants establish effective partnershipfor the management of forest reserve.
(3) Provincial Forestry Services
Local government, extension officers and farmers organize the improved forestry services(4) Private sector development
Private sector develops the effective and profitable forestry business.
(5) Urban tree planting
Public organization/groups ensure expanded tree growing in urban areas.
(6) Forestry research
Research institutions provide fresh information and technology needed by foresters and consumers(7) Forestry education
Curriculum formulation to include forestry for primary and secondary education, capacity building ofschool teachers to be able to teach forestry, strengthening forestry education at the university level,
and forestry education for females are to be promoted.

15

CHAPTER II. DEVELOPMENTAL TRENDS IN AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
1. Environments and Farming Systems
1) Natural conditions and regional divisions
Uganda is a land-locked country, surrounded by Tanzania and Rwanda in the south, DR Congo in thewest, Sudan in the north, and Kenya in the east. The land area is 241,000 km2, about 1/3 of that of Japan.
As the average elevation is 1,222 m, the climate is mild in spite of its location right on the equator. The
average air temperature in Kampala, the capital, is almost 22 ºC throughout the year. Two wet seasons,March to June, and October to January, bring the rainfall of about 1200 mm (Fig. II.1.1). Many rivers
flow out of the Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga, and also from Rwenzori Mountains and Mt. Elgon, thus
fertile soil is widely distributed.
200

30

180
160
140

20

120
15

100
80

10

60
40

5

Rainfall (mm)Rainfall (mm)Temperature （℃）

25

Average maximum
temperature (℃)
Averagetemperature (℃)
Average minimum
temperature (℃)

20
0
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

0

Fig. II.1.1 Air temperature and rainfall in Kampala (1990-2000)
Source: World Cremate Organization.

2) Land utilization and farming systems
In Uganda, the average air temperature throughout the year is almost constant, and two rainy seasons
make it possible to grow two crops a year depending on crop species. However, MAAIF classifies thecountry into seven agro-ecological systems from the standpoint of micro-climate conditions (Fig.
II.1.2).
The farming system in each agro-ecosystem is briefly described as follows;16

Fig. II.1.2 Distribution of seven farming systems in Uganda
Source: Beinempaka et al. 1989

(1) Teso system: This is observed in the area of Soroti in eastern Uganda, characterized by heavy
showers during the two rainy seasons, and prolonged dry season in December to March. The soil issandy and poor, and cultivated by plow pulled by bulls. Annual crops are maize, millet, sorghum,
cowpea, cassava, sweet potato, sesame, and important cash crop is cotton. Rotation is generally
observed and the cultivated area per farmer is the biggest compared with other regions. Animals areoften stolen by inhabitants of adjacent countries, and prolonged dry season may bring starvation. A
decrease in the price of cotton in recent years caused unstable farming income, to be supplemented
by products such as honey and shea butter.
(2) Banana and coffee system: The region is in the vicinity of Lake Victoria and the soil is fertile witha mild climate. The main crops are plantain and the representative cash crop coffee. The estate
agriculture using perennial crops such as sugar cane or tea is more active than growing annual
crops. Tea and cotton, as well as coffee are grown by small farmers as cash crops. Other food crops
are maize, cassava, ground nut, sorghum, soybean, and vegetables such as ginger and onion. These
cash and food crops other than estate crops are usually cultivated by intercropping. As this region isdensely populated, the land area owned by individuals is small, but marketing of agricultural
products is much easier as cities such as Kampala, Jinja, Mukono, Masaka, and Entebbe are locatedin this area. The problem here is destruction of forests for developing farmlands, and degradation17

of soil fertility due to overuse of fields.
(3) Banana, millet and cotton system: The area with this system is located in-between systems (1), (2)and (4), and covers the areas of Tororo, Pallisa, Luwero and others. The main cash crop is cotton.
Food crops are plantain and millet, but cultivation of maize is increasing. Cotton and millet are thebasis of rotation, and other food crops are sorghum, ground nut, cowpea, cassava, sweet potato, etc.
In this area, the dry season is often prolonged and food shortage may occur.
(4) Northern system: This system is from the border of Sudan and spreads to the area covering Gulu,
Lira, Apac, Kitgum. Cotton is the cash crop, and sunflower is also increasing. Millet is grown as
the main food crop by using bulls. Other food crops are maize, sesame, ground nut, cassava,
cowpea, etc. The land is not owned by individuals but by communities, such as Wanga tic in
Lango and Wang Kweri in Acholi. The problems in this system are inefficiency of land utilizationand difficulty of marketing products due to remote distance to big cities.
(5) West Nile system: The system is found in the border area to DR Congo and Sudan, including Arua,
Moyo and Nebbi. Cotton and tobacco are the main cash crops. As lands are on the loan, shifting
cultivation is commonly practiced. Traditionally, gender issue clearly exists, and field cultivationis the role of women.
(6) Montane system: This system is found in the area around Rwenzori and Elgon, and also in Kasese,
Busyeni, Mbarara, Rukungiri, Kabale, Mbale, and Kapchorwa around Mt. Karisinbi. Main cash
crops are coffee and tea, and the food crop is plantain in general, but sorghum is the staple food in
Kabale. Principally perennial crops are grown, but annual crops are also grown; maize, millet,
sweet potato, potato, cassava, yam, cowpea, ground nut, soybean, and vegetables such as cabbage,onion, carrot and cauliflower. As lands are mostly on slopes, crops are usually grown in terraced
fields but soil erosion is a great problem. The land area per farmer is narrow, thus continuous
cropping is commonly practiced. Many animals are kept in various manners, extensive andintensive. Destruction of forests for expansion of fields is also a serious problem.
(7) Pastoral system is observed in the north-eastern area such as Moroto and Kotido on the border of
Kenya, and also in a part of south-western region. Inhabitants are only nomads. Cattle istraditionally Zubu with long horns and Ankole, and other animals are sheep, goats, donkeys, andcamels, fed extensively with natural grass and weeds. Land is managed by community, and eachindividual equally has the right of pasturage. Crop cultivation is not common, and done by women.
Millet and maize are obtained by selling milk and butter from animals. Over-grazing is serious andleads to soil erosion as well as the destruction of forests. Strives often break out within or between
tribes over pasturing area, or source of water supply.

2. Agricultural Production: Present Situation and Prospects
1) Production of food crops
Although Uganda is located on the equator, various crops from tropical to temperate regions can begrown in the country. Staple food crops are plantain, cassava, sweet potato, potato, maize, millet andsorghum. Table II.2.1 shows the average data for cultivated area, production and yields of these crops in
the years 1961-63 and 2001-03, clarifying increases in many cases during this term. Plantain was theleading staple food crop both throughout the two periods. Among the cereal crops, millet was mostwidely grown in the 1960s, but maize took over the position in the 2000s, with the area under18

cultivation and production increasing by four and six times respectively. The production of millet andsorghum increased but the areas decreased. Rice was grown on a small area, which rapidly expanded in
the 2000s as much as more than 33 times. The areas are still expanding and have exceeded 100,000 hain 2007.
Table II.2.1 Cultivated area, production and yields of major crops(Averages of 1961- 63 and 2001-03)
Area harvested(×1000ha)
1961-63 2001-03
Maize
170
679
Finger millet
526
395
Rice
2
81
Sorghum
294
286
Cooking Banana
657
1,644
Cassava289
398
Sweet potato
157
585
Potato
12
77
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT
Staple crops

(%)
400
75
3,360
97
250
138
373
660

Production(×1000t)
1961-63 2001-03
195
1,230
427
605
3
122
278
424
3,967
9,773
1,105
5,363
550
2,572
107
537

(%)
630
142
4,136
152
246
485
468
503

Yield (kg/ha)
1961-63
1,154
812
1,222
947
6,038
3,838
3,504
9,141

2001-03
1,811
1,531
1,512
1,483
5,947
13,486
4,395
6,974

(%)
157
189
124
157
98
351
125
76

As for root and tuber crops, the area and production for cassava and sweet potato increased,
especially the yield of cassava increased by more than three times. It is expected that the area andproduction of food crops, plantain, maize, rice, cassava and sweet potato will further increase. On thecontrary, no such increases are expected for the traditional food crops, millet and sorghum. However, as
these crops are important for traditional dishes and for brewing, they will be continuously grown,
though not on a larger scale.
Table II.2.2 illustrates total and per capita consumption of major crops. Per capita consumption was
the highest for plantain, over 180 kg in the 2000s. Consumption of cereals is lower compared withstarchy crops; 30 kg for the highest crop, maize, and 5 kg for the lowest crop, sorghum. Consumption ofrice is rapidly increasing more than five times during these 40 years. But it is to be noticed that the
population of Uganda increased four times in 40 years, reaching over 3 million.
Table II.2.2 Total yearly consumption and per capita consumption of major crops(Comparison of averages in 1961- 63 and 2001- 03)
Total annual
consumption (×1000t)
1961-63 2001-03
Maize
115
772
Finger millet
288
418
Rice
11
156
Sorghum
84
135
Cooking Banana
798
4,508
Cassava780
2,582
Sweet potato
468
2,172
Potato77
368
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT
Staple crops

(%)
671
145
1,411
160
565
331
465
480

Per capita annual
consumption (kg)1961-63
2001-03
16
30
39
16
1
6
11
5
110
180
107
103
64
87
10
14

(%)
194
42
567
44
164
96
136
140

The production and consumption of traditional crops, millet and sorghum, are not increasing, while19those of maize, rice, and starchy crops increased rapidly. In markets and local restaurants, maize,
plantain, rice, cassava and sweet potato are always served, while millet and sorghum are rarely served.
However, these are popular as the raw material for brewing traditional wine called ‘Malwa’, and willcontinue to be cultivated.
The outline of production of major crops is described as follows.
(1) Cooking banana
This most important food crop in Uganda was cultivated on 1.65 million ha in 2007, and producing
9.23 million t, yielding 5.5 t/ha. The production decreased in later 1970s, but thereafter continued toincrease, exceeding 10 million t in some years (Fig. II.2.1). The principal group of plantain grown in
Uganda is Musa acuminata (AAA), which is classified as a subgroup of East African Highland Banana.
This is further classified into five clone sets (1 for brewing, and 4 for staple food), and each set includes
many clones as shown in Fig. II.2.3. Plantain is grown widely except the northern region, andproduction is especially high in the south-western region. When the rainy season starts, a sucker ofabout 1 m length is dug out from mother hills and transplanted with a spacing of 3–4 m. Manure israrely applied, and bear fruits in 1–2 years after planting. The season of harvest is dependent on thetiming of planting, but not definite throughout the year. Plantain is generally utilized as staple foodafter heating, and cooked as ‘Matooke’. The method of cooking differs by region. In some areas, justboiling is enough, while steaming and then mashing are preferable methods in other areas. In the case of
steaming, plantain is wrapped mostly with banana leaves. Some of the known drink varieties include
Omubisi (juice), Tonto (brew) and Waragi (liquor). Liquor is sold in markets, but also manufactured by
farmers for earning cash.
(ha)

(t)

1,800,000

12,000,000

1,600,000

10,000,000

1,400,000
1,200,000

8,000,000

1,000,000

6,000,000

800,000

4,000,000

600,000
400,000

2,000,000

200,000

0
1961
1964
1967
1970
1973
1976
1979
1982
1985
1988
1991
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006

0

Area of cultivation (ha)Total amount of production (t)Fig. II.2.1 Changes of cultivated area and production of cooking banana
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT

20

Table II.2.3 Clone sets and their characteristics of plantain in Uganda
Clone set
MbiddeMusakala

Used for:
Alcohol
Staple food

Main traits
The flesh is bitter astringent
Fruit cluster is large, and fingers
are sparsely
Nakabululu
Staple foodFingers are short, precocious
and good taste
Fingers are medium, precocious
Nakitembe
Staple foodand good taste
Fingers are medium, late variety
NfuukaStaple foodand bad taste
Source: National Agricultural Research Organization 2001

Clones (Varieties)
Namadhi, Nalukira
Muvubo, Musakala
Nakabululu, Kazirakwe
Mbwazirume,
Nakitembe-Nakamaali
Entukura, Nassaba(2) Maize
This is an important food crop which has rapidly increased in production and consumption in recent
years. In 2007, it was grown on 870,000 ha, producing 1.26 million t with a yield of 1.5 t/ha. Both thearea and production have drastically increased, reaching 4–5 times that of 1960s (Fig. II.2.2).
Introduction of hybrid varieties and increase in consumption lie in the background of the increase of
production. The present major varieties are Longe 1, Longe 2, and Longe 3 which were released in 1987,
and are resistant to major diseases and insect pests. They mature in 110–115 days and farmers canmaintain the seeds of these varieties. The first hybrid varieties were released in 1998. They are UH981
and UH982 with resistance to major diseases and pests, can be harvested in 125 days, yielding twice asmuch as Longe 1. Maize will maintain its position as a main food crop in Uganda.
(ha)

(t)

900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,00001,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000

1961
1964
1967
1970
1973
1976
1979
1982
1985
1988
1991
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006

0

Area of cultivation (ha)Total amount of production (t)Fig. II.2.2 Changes of cultivated area and production of maize
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT(3) Cassava
This is also an important food crop rapidly increasing its production and consumption in recent years
just like maize. In 2007, cassava was grown on 370,000 ha, producing 4.46 million t, with a yield of
about 12 t/ha. The cultivated area had the peak in 1970s, and thereafter the area did not show marked
fluctuation, but production increased remarkably since later 1990s (Fig. II.2.3). Cassava is a new crop
introduced in 1969s–70s through Tanzania, and became widely grown because of its easiness ofcultivation and various ways of utilization. From 1970s, diseases and insect pests spread, andcultivation stagnated for nearly 20 years. Cassava Mosaic virus caused the most serious damage, andbreeding for disease resistance succeeded in releases of mosaic resistant varieties after the late 1990s.

21

The typical early varieties, with the growing period of around 12 months, are Nase 1, Nase 2,
Migyera81, Migyera16, etc.
(ha)

(t)

700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0

6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000

1961
1964
1967
1970
1973
1976
1979
1982
1985
1988
1991
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006

0

Area of cultivation (ha)Total amount of production (t)Fig. II.2.3 Changes of cultivated area and production of cassava
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT(4) Millet (Finger millet)
This is the second important cereal crop following maize, with the cultivation area of 440,000 ha,
production of 730,000 t, and yielding 1.7 t/ha. Major growing regions are eastern, northern andsouth-western Uganda. Local varieties occupy 90 % of cultivation. However, new varieties are
increasing recently, with high yielding capacity and resistance against Pyricularia grisae, etc. Fivevarieties released from Serere Agric. Animal Research Institute (SAARI) are Engenyi (1969), Gulu E(1970), Serere 1 (1985), PESE 1 and PESE 2 (1995), all of which mature in 100 days, and PESE
varieties have a yielding capacity of 2,000–3,500 kg/ha. Recently, a very early variety Seremi 2 which
can mature in 70–90 days was released.
Millet is grown generally in the first rainy season in eastern and northern regions, and in the second
rainy season in the south-western region, using a seed density of 4–8 kg/ha, with the spacing of 30 cm ×
2–3 cm, without fertilizers. After harvesting, panicles are piled up for several days to allow
fermentation, in order to make it easy to thresh. The area and production decreased after 1970, but
increased again gradually after 1980s.
(ha)

(t)

Area of cultivation (ha)

2006

2003

2000

1997

1994

1991

1988

1985

1982

1979

1976

1973

1970

1967

1964

900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,0000

1961

800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0

Total amount of production (t)Fig. II.2.4 Changes of cultivated area and production of millet
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT22

To use millet for food, grains are milled and served as Ugali (hard porridge), or Uji (porridge). For
brewing Malwa, beer of low alcohol percentage, grains are germinated to activate amylase and change
starch into saccharide, then dry up, roughly mill, and mix in a small amount of water. This material,
contained in a can or pot, is preserved in the soil for 7–10 days. Then, after roasting in a pan, thematerial is dried under the sun. Adding yeast and water in a pot, the beer can be good to drink in 3–4
days.
Substituted by maize, the demand for millet as a source of food has almost been lost, but is still
popular for making porridge and for brewing. Therefore, millet will keep its position as an importantcereal crop.
(5) Sorghum
This is the second important cereal crop next to millet, with the cultivated area of 310,000 ha,
production of 460,000 t, yielding about 1.5 t/ha. Originating in Africa like millet, sorghum has beengrown as a traditional crop long time before maize, banana, and cassava were introduced. Varieties
released since 1960s are Serena (1966), Lulu (1972), Seredo (1982), Sekodo (1995), and Epuripur(1995). Also, hybrid varieties have been bred for a long time. Hijack (1969), Himid (1969), Hibred(1972) were released, but are not widely grown. Production is not increasing (Fig. II.2.5), andconsumption is directed not for food, but mainly for brewing.
(ha)

(t)

400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,0000500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000

Area of cultivation (ha)

2006

2003

2000

1997

1994

1991

1988

1985

1982

1979

1976

1973

1970

1967

1964

1961

0

Total amount of production (t)Fig. II.2.5 Changes of cultivated area and production of sorghum.
Source: based on the data of FAOSTAT2) Agricultural products for exportation
Apart from electric power, cobalt, gold and petroleum, other items exported from Uganda are
traditional agricultural products such as coffee, cotton, tobacco, and tea. Recently, sugar, cacao bean,
flowers have been added to the list. In 2008, the amount of exported coffee was 200,000 t with a valueof about US$ 265,000, and representing more than 20 % of the total value. Following coffee are theMarine products, tobacco, tea, sugar, maize, flowers, and cotton (Table II.2.4).

23

Table II.2.4 Changes of amount and value of exported agricultural products
2003
2004
($1000)(t)($1000)(t)
Total value of export
534,106
665,090
Coffee100,233
146,299
124,237
159,983
Marine products
88,113
26,422
103,30931,808
Tobacco43,042
24,66940,702
27,843Tea
38,31436,66937,25836,874
Sugar
N/A
N/A
Maize
13,72460,29817,896
90,576
Flowers
22,0805,636
26,424
6,092
Cotton17,755
16,76242,75829,293
Cacao bean
7,001
4,328
6,801
5,155
Vanilla13,546
91
6,120
71
2006
2007
Exported items($1000)(t)($1000)(t)
Total value of export
962,193
1,336,668
Coffee189,830
126,887
265,853
164,540
Marine products
145,837
36,461
124,711
31,681
Tobacco26,964
15,79466,301
26,384Tea
50,87430,58447,62944,015Sugar
N/A
33,45177,772
Maize
24,114
115,259
23,816
101,233
Flowers
20,987
4,984
22,782
5,267
Cotton20,474
18,48019,571
16,230
Cacao bean
10,016
7,632
15,936
9,404
Vanilla
4,808
195
6,262
422
Source: based on the data of UBOS 2009 Statistical Abstract
Exported items

2005($1000)(t)
812,857
172,942 142,513
142,691
39,201
31,48623,73034,27436,543
N/A
21,261
92,794
24,1286,162
28,82130,403
9,638
7,600
6,135
234
2008
($1000)(t)
1,724,300
403,179
200,640
124,436
24,96566,44829,04247,222
46,022
N/A
18,25066,671
28,7905,349
13,214
7,960
22,834
8,982
3,039
192

Among agricultural crops for export, tea and sugarcane are cultivated in plantations operated by large
scale enterprises, while coffee, cotton and tobacco are grown by small scale farmers in inefficientmanners. Two species of coffee are well-known: Coffea arabica for regular coffee, and C. robusta for
instant coffee. For most of the coffee produced in Uganda, the most important crop for export is Coffea
robusta. International prices of coffee and cotton often fluctuate and have been falling down drasticallyin recent years. Demand and consumption of tobacco is remarkably decreasing due to world-wide
movements of ‘No smoking’. Prospects for marine products are also not bright because of movements
for conserving marine resources. For these reasons, not much increase can be expected of the proportionof exported agricultural products in future.

3．Rice Cultivation: Present Situation and Prospects
1) Historical aspects
Rice is supposed to be originally introduced into Uganda around 1904 by Indian traders (Candia
Alphonse 2008). Importation of rice was in the form of rough rice, and cultivation was limited to avery small area. Only Indian households consumed rice milled by stone mills.
In 1942, rice was grown for supplying soldiers in Asian battlefields in the World War II, and ricecultivation was gradually expanded mainly to eastern Uganda as self-supporting food for farmers. In the
1950s, development in rice cultivation was observed, as seen in introduction of Engelberg rice mill. In
1966, the government developed irrigated rice fields with the assistance of the People’s Republic ofChina in the Kibimba area, and in 1976, 1,000 ha in Doho area. The Kibimba Project was later sold toan Indian private company, then owned by the present TILDA, producing the highest ranking brand rice.
On the other hand, the Doho Project is still under the control of the Ugandan government and 4,000

24

farm households enroll in 1,000 ha. Rice cultivation in Uganda developed from these two models of
irrigated rice gradually by farmers of nearby areas. Systematic research, training and extension started
only after the year 2000 by “The Study on Poverty Eradication through Sustainable Irrigation Project inEastern Uganda”, and the dispatch of JICA experts for disseminating NERICA.
Rice cultivation, mostly upland rice, in the western regions (Hoima and other districts) was recently
introduced by immigrants from the eastern regions. Introduction of NERICA rice rapidly increased thecultivated area, and the number of rice mills. Table II.3.1 indicates that the rice production in Uganda
increased from 3,000 t in 1960 to 162,000 t in 2007. As the statistics does not include upland riceproduction in the north-western districts, the total production is estimated to be nearly 250,000 t as seenin Table II.3.3.
Table II.3.1 Progress of rice cultivation in Uganda
Year
Production (Rough rice, t)
1960
3,200
1970
11,4001980
17,000Source: FAOSTAT

Year
1990
2000
2007

Production (Rough rice, t)
54,000109,000
162,000

2) Present situation of rice cultivation(1) Demand and supply of rice
As Table II.3.2 indicates, total rice consumption in Uganda is 220,000 t (2008), out of which 60,000 t
was imported, and 160,000 t (250,000 t in the form of rough rice) was domestically produced. Riceconsumption per capita of 8 kg/year is not high compared with 25 kg for the average of sub-Sahara
African countries, but consumption is increasing in the urban areas, due to easiness in cooking and goodnutritional value.
Table II.3.2 Forecast of rice production, consumption and importation
Production(Milled rice, t)
2008
163,150
2013
345,1502018
509,600
Source: UNRDS 2009Year

Population(Million)28
33
38

Per capita
consumption (kg)
8.0
10.2
13.0

Total
consumption (t)224,000
334,560
499,200

Importation(t)
60,850-10,590-10,400

Types of rice preferred by the wealthy Indians and others in high class supermarkets in Kampala areimported Basmati, or rice produced by TILDA, while japonica rice produced in South Africa is also
popular by the brand name of ‘Sushi-rice’. In rural markets, people generally prefer sticky rice as theJapanese, and lowland rice called ‘Supa’ is most preferred, followed by lowland rice ‘K-85’ and
NERICA. Price is not remarkably different among these varieties, but it differs according to thedegree of mixture of small stones or husks, or by the percentage of broken rice.
Rice is generally grown, excluding the case like TILDA, by small farmers under rainfed conditions
without applying fertilizers, not for self-consumption but rather as a cash crop. In the case of NERICA,a family can manage 1 acre (0.4 ha) and earn 1 million U-shillings (about 50,000 yen), assuming a yieldof 1 t/acre, which is nearly equivalent to a 5-month salary of elementary school teachers. If the farmer
can grow two crops a year, the income will be equivalent to the annual salary, making it very attractive
to small farmers. In case of lowland rice, when properly managed, labor force is much needed but theyield would be 2 t/acre without fertilizers, and more stable than in upland and good for small farmers.
25

The average yield can be estimated as 1.6 t/ha since the production of 250,000 t is from an area of
160,000 ha (data from MAAIF). The amount of production is almost well estimated, but the data on area
differs by the source. Therefore the estimation of yield is not reliable (land area of individual farming
household is not available at MAAIF).
(2) Principal cultivated varieties
Supa and K-85 from lowland rice, and Nerica-4 from upland rice occupy a greater part of thecultivated area. Supa, a large grain variety originating from Surinam, is higher tillering, high-yielding,of good taste and more voluminous when cooked. These traits are attractive both to producers andconsumers, but its cultivation period is as long as 160 days. The origin of K-85 is not clear but probably
selected from an old IRRI line as one of K- series selections in Kibimba. Its cultivation period is rather
short, and adapts to the double cropping system. Other lowland varieties are K-5, K-9, WITA-9,
Basmati, Pakistan, Supa-China, Supa-America, etc. Varieties other than Supa group are sometimes
collectively called ‘kaiso’, but its meaning is unknown. Out of 60 lowland NERICAs named by
WARDA, 9 are being tested at NaCRRI, but not yet recommended for lowland rice cultivation.
As for upland rice, NERICA-4 was named as a recommended variety in 2003. NERICA-1 (aromaticrice) and NERICA-10 (early rice) were added in 2007 and were expected to expand in area. NARIC-1(ITA257), NARIC-2 (ITA325), SUPERICA-1, etc., introduced before NERICA-4, are also grown andsometimes cause problems of seed contamination.
(3) Methods of cultivation
Farmers depend on family members for activities (not limited to rice) such as cultivating, weeding,and harvesting using manual labor. A very limited number of them use machinery and animals. Only
5 % of farmers use cattle traditionally for farming, and there were 4,700 tractors as of 2006 (FAO 2006),
owned by farmers who are owners of large scale estates (only 1 %).
TILDA, the company of Indian capital, practice direct seeding of rice on dry or unpuddled wet lands
using large tractors. The Uganda government bought Kubota-tillers from Thailand, and machinery shops
in Kampala sold tillers made in China and India, although those machinery were rarely observed in thefields. However, rice cultivation in Uganda cannot be operated with only manpower, and farmmechanization would be one of the issues to be addressed in the near future.
Lowland rice is generally broadcasted on moist lands, or randomly transplanted in wet paddy fields,
and upland rice is broadcasted or row-seeded in fields. In some areas, a special pattern of linetransplanting, ‘namiki-ue’ in Japanese (wide and narrow line spaces alternatively) can be observed. In
the Sustainable Irrigation Agricultural Development (SIAD) project, which JICA started in 2008 ineastern Uganda, demonstration farms were established in model farm households in 22 districts, todiffuse land levelling, construct levees, introduce line planting of younger seedlings and rotary weeders.
In most cases, both lowland and upland rice cultivation depend on rainfall. Especially, rainfed
lowland has its potential but, on the other hand, tends to suffer from drought and floods. It is necessary
to establish technologies that can adapt to such environments of inland low/wet fields, not necessarilytransferring the lowland rice system from Japan. It is also important to diffuse water-harvesting
technologies in upland fields, such as digging of water reservoirs, or construction of terraces. Present
situation of lowland and upland rice cultivation and standard cultivation methods to be recommended
are as follows.

26

(i) Lowland rice
Seedlings are grown usually in wet beds, but too many seeds cause leaf yellowing. The desirable
amount of seeds would be 3.5–4 g/m2. In most cases, farmers randomly transplant over-aged and tallseedlings as deep as 10 cm, but SIAD recommends regularplanting distance of 30×15 cm, to the depth of 3–4 cm,
after cutting off leaves to shorter sizes. Hand weeding iscommonly practiced, but SIAD tries to introduce rotary
weeders in regularly transplanted fields (Photo II.3.1).
Important weeds are: Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.
Beauv., E. colonum (L.) Link, Paspalum distichum L.,
Cyperus iria L., C.difformis L., Pistia stratiotes L.,
Commelina spp., Eclipta prostrata L., Sagittaria
guayanensis H.B.K. ssp. lappula , Marsilea crenata Presl,
Photo II-3.1 Weeding in lowland rice field
Sphenoclea zeylanica Gaertn., etc.
by a rotary weeder(ii) Upland rice
The amount of seeds is 50–60 kg/ha, and row-seeded with 30 cm distance between rows, considering
weeding by hoe. For dibbling, 7 grains per hole of 3–4 cm depth with a planting distance of 30×12.5 cm
is recommended. When seeded beyond 5 cm deep, germination and plant growth is hindered. It is
recommended to weed twice by hoe at 3 weeks and 6 weeks after germination (Photo II.3.2). Principal
weeds are: Cyperus rotundus L., Echinochloa colonum (L) Link, Commelina spp., Sphenoclea zeylanica
Gaertn, Amaranthus spinosus L., Ageratum conyzoides L., etc. Parasitic weed Striga infects upland
rice in eastern Uganda (Photo II.3.3).

Photo II.3.3 Striga in
upland rice fields

Photo II.3.2 Weeding in upland rice fields

As for herbicides, Agro-Supanil 60EC (Thiobencarb 40% + Propanil 20%) is the commonly usedherbicide. At present, only a limited number of farmers apply fertilizers. In JICA’s NERICA Rice
Promotion Project, application of 50 kg/ha each of DAP (18-46-0) and urea (46-0-0) on 20 days after
germination (DAG), followed by 50 kg/ha of urea on 60 DAG is recommended as the standard practice.
Some farmers apply organic material in their backyards such as chicken dung.
(4) Major diseases and insect pests
Due to the rather new history of rice cultivation in Uganda, no serious damages are caused bydiseases and pests at present. However, development in the future will call for research on the problems
and establishing pest control systems.

27

(i) Major diseases
Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV), Blast, Brown spot,
Grain rot, Leaf scald, Sheath rot, and False smuts are allobserved, but the damage is not serious except the first
two. RYMV is rampant in lowland rice in eastern
Uganda (Photo II.3.4), especially Supa is sensitive andsometimes completely destroyed. Removing infested
plants, appropriate management of ratoon plants, anddirect seeding is recommended but it is difficult toprevent the disease completely. Adoption of resistant
Photo II.3.4 Symptom of RYMV
varieties is effective but all of the present recommended
lowland rice varieties of Uganda are susceptible. Resistant varieties so far certified are japonica rice
such as upland NERICA 6, NERICA 7, NERICA14, ITA 267, ITA 325, etc. All of the lowland NERICA
1–60 varieties are susceptible. WITA-9, released in West Africa as resistant, was susceptible in Uganda
by artificial inoculation. For the area of serious RYMV, introduction of NERICA 6 is being examined.
(ii) Major insect pests
Rice hispa (Diclahispa armigera) attacks lowland rice seedlings and sometimes the whole seedbed
can be destroyed after transplanting. Spraying carbofuran has been found to be effective (Photos II.3.5,
II.3.6).

Photo II.3.6 Damage in the nursery
by rice hispa

Photo
Nymphisofobserved
rice hispa
AfricanriceII.3.5
gall midgeinAfrican rice gall midge is observed lowland rice in eastern Uganda, but the damage is not serious(Photo II.3.7). Stalked-eyed flies attack both lowland and upland rice, and dead heart is observed at thetillering stage (Photo II.3.8, II.3.9). Stem borers infest both lowland and upland rice. Dead hearts andwhite heads are observed but the damage is not serious. Rice mealy bugs attack upland rice, and leaf
yellowing observed at early vegetative stage is an indication that the basal stems are infected. The
damage is often observed in the fields where organic material such as compost was applied. The bugs
usually stay at the plant base and the top soil, and insecticides are not effective because of a waxy
substance covering their body (Photo II.3.10). Locust feed seedlings after germination, and leaves at
the growth stages, but damage is not serious. White ants attack upland rice when the moisture content ofplants becomes lower. They feed on stems near the ground and drought induces severer damage by ants.
Dry plant residue left on the ground is used as their nests. The group of rice bugs and stink bugs
damages rice grains at the milky stage and black spotted grains are noticed on milled rice grains.

28

Photo II.3.7 Rice plants attacked
by African rice gall midge

Photo II.3.8 Nymph ofstalked-eyed fly

Photo II.3.9 Adult of stalked-eyedfPhoto II.3.10 Rice mealy bug(5) Post-harvest handling
Rice is harvested by panicles, or by cutting stems above the ground. In the former case, panicles cutby knife are squeezed by hands. In the latter, plants are hit against a rock or a log on vinyl sheets
spread on the ground, or bundles of rice is hit on stems in the case of easy shattering varieties. JICA is
introducing threshers manufactured in local ironworks, but its dissemination is likely to take some time.
Rice grains are sun-dried, but rapid handling causes over-drying and breakage of grains. Sometimes,
drying on the road often contaminate grains with other materials such as sand. Self-consumption of rice
is not common as in West Africa, but in Lira and Kaberamaido in northern districts, some farmers polisha small amount of rice (for example 2 kg), using a mortar and wooden pestle (used for producing butter
from peanuts). But in most cases, farmers bring rough rice to rice mills and sell milled rice to
middlemen.
The rice mill first introduced was Engelberg type, because of easier access to spare parts, anddisseminated from eastern Uganda to other districts. In the 1990s, Chinese and Indian importers started
to import Milltop types (not made in Japan, but cheaper copies produced in China), and used in thecentral regions, Hoima and Gulu districts, before extending to the eastern regions.
As the larger scale rice mill, the Payello Rice Mill introduced modernized facilities with paddy
cleaner, destoner, and grader in Gulu city. In 1988, Mr. Moro introduced a similar plant in the Mbare
Industrial Park. The plant was installed by Satake of Japan, but it is not operating now due to lack oftechnicians and spare parts. In spite of such setbacks, large scale rice mills have been established since
2000, with the set of rice mill, destoner, and grader. The greatest among these is TILDA’s in Kibimba,
which has a milling capacity of 6 t per hour. In 2006, Upland Rice Miller was established in the Jinja
district with the Plasma Rice Miller in the Palina district in 2007, although both are on a smaller scale29compared to TILDA. Rwenzori Rice Mill in Fort Portal, Sunrise and Kilimanjaro Rice Mills in Kampala
are also smaller than TILDA.
A total of more than 600 rice mills (small and large scale) are found in Uganda. The Engelberg typein the eastern and Milltop type in the western region dominate because of their historical backgrounds.
Recently, it has been observed that some middlemen buy rice in farmers’ fields and bring it to large
scale rice mills.
3) Research and extension systems
Research on rice is conducted by the Cereal Crops Division of NaCRRI under NARO. Until 2004,
when JICA sent Mr. Tatsushi Tsuboi to Uganda as rice expert, no rice researchers existed there. Mr.
Tsuboi brought up his counterpart and, based on his efforts, the “NERICA Rice Promotion Project”
started. Two long-term experts and several short-term experts were dispatched, and several Ugandan
researchers were invited to Japan to transfer rice technologies. In 2010, the Regional Rice Research andTraining Center for East and South Africa is scheduled to be completed in NaCRRI, but more time andefforts will be needed to breed Ugandan scientists.
In Uganda, National Agriculture Advisory Service (NAADS) extends services to agricultural sector
through ‘agricultural officers’ (AO) assigned to districts, who guide model farmers selected in each
district on technology transfer and organizing farmers groups. Extension of rice cultivation is also
conducted on this line. However, AOs have neither experience nor knowledge on rice cultivation, andthe efficiency cannot be high in using seeds and fertilizers distributed to model farmers through theprogram. Therefore, SIAD Project of JICA conducted training at NaCCRI for AOs and model farmers of
22 districts in eastern Uganda, and also on-the-spot training in fields of the model farmers, expecting
further diffusion of rice cultivating methods to nearby farmers. In the NERICA Rice Promotion Project,demonstration fields were set up at each of nine ZARDI throughout the country, and on-the-job
trainings were conducted for researchers, so that researchers themselves could train farmers and extend
NERICA. In addition to this, among JOCV members for rural development, 10 youths are assigned to
NERICA extension, and others are also trained at NaCCRI to be able to cooperate on the grass-root
level.
4) Rice promotion strategy of Uganda
In June, 2009, MAAIF announced the National Rice Development Strategy to double (practically,
triple) the rice production in 10 years by 2018. The strategy was prepared by the government along the
Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), which was proposed by Japan and other donors, at
the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-IV) in Yokohama in May,
2008.
Table II.3.3 Projected rice production 2008-2018
uplandRainfedlowlandArea

Production

Area

Production

2008

40,00080,00065,000156,000

2013

80,000176,000

105,000

2018

100,000

240,000

125,000

Year

Rainfed

Unit: Area= ha, Production= t (paddy)

Irrigated
Area

Total

Production

Area

Production

5,000

15,000110,000

251,000

315,000

10,00040,000

195,000

531,000

425,000

15,00063,000240,000

728,000

Source: UNRDS 2009As Table II.3.3 shows, rice in Uganda is principally grown in rainfed lowland, followed by rainfed
30

upland, and smaller irrigated fields. It is important to increase the land for irrigated rice, but due tolimitations of finance and time needed for construction of facilities, emphasis should be laid on
upgrading rainfed rice technologies. However, rainfed lowland in Uganda is defined as ‘wetlands’. To
be harmonized with the environment, their utilization is limited only up to 25% as well as the areas
more than 50 m away from the center of the (smallest) stream, by the laws of the National Wetland
Policy in 1995 and the National Environment Regulations in 2000.

4. Forest and Forestry: Present Situation and Prospects
1) General situations of Ugandan forests
The total area of forest in Uganda is about 3.97 million ha (FAO 2001), occupying roughly 20 % of
the total upland area. Reflecting rather higher amount of rainfall, the ratio of forest is on the high levelin east African countries. The forest is composed of tropical high forest (18.7 %), woodland (80.6 %)and plantation forest (0.7 %), as of 1992. Plantation forest is noticed for its very low coverage, and
80 % of the total forests are natural woodlands of low resource accumulation. In spite of a relatively
high coverage of the tropical high forest, about 30 % of it is in deteriorated conditions. As these naturalforests were degraded in the past, the productive area is roughly estimated to be 0.1 to 0.2 million ha.
Also, it is estimated that the present forest stand with harvestable stock is only 50,000 ha, thus goodvolume stock is quite less than the actual area.
Table II.4.1 Area of forests of different forest aspects (1992)
Classification
Area (ha)Broad leaved
17,993
Plantation forest
Needle leaved
15,780Tropical high forest (normal)
626,171Natural forest
Tropical high forest (degraded)
263,949
Woodland
3,827,526
Total
4,751,419
Source: FAO 2005 (Data modified from Technical Report of National
Biomass Study, 1992, using data of Africover Mapping Project, 2001)(1) Natural forest
Tropical high forest in Uganda is known for its diversity of tree species, and quite rich compared tonatural forests in other east African countries. As the composition of trees is greatly different according
to altitude and region, forests cannot be simply classified, but it could be divided into four, considering
the priority tree species: Parnari zone (above 1,400 m, west Uganda), Celtis-Chrysophyllum zone
(1,000–1,400 m), Cynometra-Celtis zone (700–1,200 m), and Piptadeniastrum zone (lake side area)(McClanahan and Young 1996).

31

Photo II.4.1 Tropical high forest remaining
in the plain

Photo II.4.2 Tropical high forest with Celtis
mildbraedii and Entandrophragna utile as
dominant species

Another way of classification is done by the degree of artificial influence upon the natural resource:
forest with normal accumulation, and degraded secondary forest. Woodlands are forests mainlycomposed of trees of 4 m or taller and bush, and distribute widely from semi- arid to moist lowlands.
About 80 % of Ugandan population is said to be relying on traditional medicinal plants. Therefore,
significance of natural forests is recognized as sources of non-wood forestry products. Also, it should benoticed that many natural forests remain in the plain as forest reserves. Some of these are located nearurban areas and will maintain their significance as sources for eco-tourism such as sightseeing andrecreation sites.
(2) Plantation forest
Conifer forests for timber production and forests for firewood (mainly of eucalyptus) are the twomain groups of plantation forest in Uganda. The former was made to be a substitute of precious resourcefrom natural forests, or to supply uniform raw material. Cupressus lusitanica form one-third of tree
species while the other two-thirds are pine trees (Pinus caribaea, P. patula, P. oocarpa, etc.).
Eucalyptus (E. grandis, etc.) trees are used as timber for construction or firewood, and planted nearprincipal city areas and villages. Hard wood trees such as Acacia mearnsii, Terminalia superba, Tectona
grandis (teak) as foreign species, and Maesopsis eminii as domestic species are used for afforestation.
Afforestation in Uganda started as early as the beginning of the 20th C., but the plantation forests
seen today were mainly planted in 1960’s–70’s, and rarely planted since then. Consequently, this hascaused a gap between the age class, and will make it more and more difficult to obtain large diameter
timbers. The area of the plantation forests is about 34,000 ha, of which 24,000 ha is under control of thegovernment (2.2 % ofgovernment-managed forests). The others are private or customary owned forests,
among which are eucalyptus forests planted byprivate enterprises for drying and manufacturing
tobacco or tea. As management of these forests
is not good enough, growing stock is not high in
general. The resource is predicted to be entirely
consumed within 5–10 years (FAO 2001), andurgent subsidizing measures will be needed forafforestation.

Photo II.4.3 Plantation forest of young
Caribbean pine322) Reduction of forest land area, and its tendency
Reduction of forest land area in Uganda is quite notable, and the rate of reduction is 1.9 % in 1990 –
2000, and 2.2 % in 2000 – 2005, an increasing trend which is remarkable when compared with thecorresponding rates of 0.3 % in Kenya, and 1.0 – 1.1 % in Tanzania (FAO 2007). According to an
estimate by National Forestry Authority, about 30,000 ha of forest area are decreasing yearly, and theloss per year is estimated as 3.8 – 5.7 million US dollars. The causes of reduction are mainly timber
harvesting, firewood collection, and agricultural expansion due to population increase without
appropriate industry. Also, trees in forest reserves were cut down neglecting rules and regulations
during the disordered period of 1980’s. In recent years, activities like indiscriminate cutting andconverting forests into farmlands by refugees are problems. Most of these illegal activities are
conducted in private and customary forests, while forest reserves are relatively well conserved.
Reflecting deterioration and reduction of forests, endangered tree species are counted as: CR (criticallyendangered) 3, EN (endangered) 4, and VU (vulnerable) 33 (IUCN 2006).
Table II.4.2 Changes of reducing forest land area in Uganda (1000 ha)
Area

1990

2000

2005

4,924

4,059

3,626

Source: FAO 2005

ha/capita

The forest area per capita is estimated toreduce to 0.1 ha in 2025, assuming a
population growth rate as high as 3.5 %(NFA, 2005). In order to fulfill domestic
demand for timber, a high productivity
plantation forest of at least 65,000 ha isneeded. However, only several thousand
hectares of forests are planted at the moment,a situation which will lead to a shortage oftimber and firewood in the near future.

Fig. II.4.1 Changes of forest area per capita
Source: Forest Department of Uganda 2002

3) General situation of forests classified by ownership and management
When classified by ownership and management,
Ugandan forests are divided into permanent forests
Central forest
reserve 15.7%
managed by the government, and private-customary forests.
The latter occupies 70 % of the total area, and thegovernment manages only 30 % of forests.

Regional forest
reserve 0.0%

National park, etc. 14.2%(1) Permanent forest estate
Viewed from the purpose of usage, forests under
government management are divided into protected forestsand production forests. The former is protected for
securing water resource, preserving bio-diversity,
ecosystem and landscape, while the latter is used forsupplying forest products, and planted and managed for the33

Private andconventional
forest 70.2%

Fig. II.4.2 Percentage ownership offorests by Category

future. Permanent forests are also classified from another viewpoint: Central Forest Reserves (CFR)
managed by National Forestry Authority, and Local Forest Reserves (LFR) managed by local
government, and National Parks and Game Reserves managed by Uganda Wildlife Authority. CFR
manages about 1.26 million ha of 506 locations completely managed by NFA. Though some problems
exist, such as small scale encroachments and illegal cuttings, fairly good forest conservation is observedin general by introducing CFM (collaborative forest management) in some locations. On the other hand,
LFR is feared to be rapidly degrading and decreasing, due to poor management by local government.

Fig. II.4.3 Locations of forest reserves in Uganda
Source: National Forestry Authority 2005

(2) Private and customary forests
Occupying almost 70 % of natural forest area, though significant in terms of surface area, these arewoodlands for producing mainly firewood, and the ratio of valuable high forests producing timbers is
not high. Many of the natural forests in private lands were degraded by non-sustainable use ortransformed to farmlands, and it became difficult to use subsidiary forest products so far used byneighboring poor people. Lack of definite policy for private and customary forests, contradiction with
agricultural policy, existence of many forests of unknown owners, are considered to lead to suchproblems
The relationship between conservation of forests and traditional customs is very important, especiallyfor conserving diversity of tree species. Once, traditional customs had a special role to conserve specifictree species, or to prohibit the use of specific areas (John et al.), but those traditional customs and senseof value have disappeared, and affected reduction of forests. Especially, customary forests became quite
34

accessible for everybody due to recent changes into the situation of unclear ownership and the rights ofutilization, and this caused severe degradation of forests. The government started to protect customary
forests by official registration, but degradation and reduction of forests is progressing quite rapidly due
to immigration and utilization by people from other regions.

35

CHAPTER III. CURRENT SITUATION AND TREND OF DEVELOPMENT
COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
1. Current situation of Development Cooperation
1) General trend
Since 2006, after the election of the President, the Government of Uganda has been considering todepart from heavy dependence on foreign aid, and efforts have been made in this direction. Due tofavorable macro economic growth, as national revenue has increased, the ratio of aid to the total
revenue has been rapidly declining though the real amount increased a little. Nevertheless, the share offoreign aid in total revenue in 2009 remained at 35 % (total revenue at USh 7,333.7 billion, aid at USh
2,533.5 billion), and about 50 % of the budget for development, excluding running cost for personnel
and others, aid from abroad, clearly showing high dependence on aid even now.
In Uganda, aid coordination among donors has been well established and in a number of sectors,
sector-wide approaches are taken. There was a period of shifting from project support to budget
support, but this approach which might be seen as too radical, is now weakened. On the other hand,development cooperation is going on based on the principle of "division of labor" avoiding duplication
among the donors with close communication and coordination. In the meantime, as mentioned earlier,the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) had formulated [Debt
Strategy] in December, 2007, in which items to be applicable to the loan were restricted to infrastructure,
water and agriculture to maintain the balance of loan at the appropriate level, by accurately grasping thecurrent aid position and proper management by the government.
① Selection of prudent debt management policy (establishing ceiling for aid amount a year, etc)
② Compulsory notification of all aid activities and their amount to the Ministry of Finance (including
those of NGOs)③ Strengthening the function of the Ministry of Finance as a liaison office of the aid matters(execution of final screening of aid request by MoFPED etc.).
Major bilateral donors in 2007 include U.S.A. ($192 million), U.K. (80), Denmark (50), Netherlands(45), Ireland (44), Norway (30) and Sweden (28). Japan’s contribution in 2007 was $18 million.
As multilateral organizations, World Bank ($339 million in 2007), African Development Bank (86),EC (144) and Group of United Nations Organizations (132) are providing aid to various sectors.
NGO’s cooperation activities are also notable in Uganda.
2) Characteristics of cooperation in the field of agriculture and forestry
Though the share of agriculture & forestry to the total GDP has declined to around 30 %, still 85 % of
total export and 77 % of the employment depend on agriculture and forestry (UBOS 2005). The ratio ofrural population to total population is 86 %. About 96 % of the population categorized as poor are livingin the rural area. Therefore, from the current situation, the agriculture sector has two important roles toplay; one for the contribution to economic growth of the country by expanded export by ordinary
farmers and another for poverty eradication in rural areas by increased production through improved
farming technology of the small scale farmers.
Countries extending cooperation with focus on agriculture are Japan, Denmark, Netherlands, Ireland,
Sweden, Norway, USA and UK. USA is now exploring a new approach to agricultural cooperation as a36

part of the cooperation policy "Revitalization of African Agriculture" by Obama administration. Basedon the business model of value chain, such areas of higher added value and more suited to the private
sector as post harvest processing, marketing and fostering farm entrepreneurs are being considered,rather than the area of production. As for international organizations, specialized in agriculture, like
FAO, IFAD, WFP and WARDA (currently Africa Rice Center), are extending full support with theirexpertise. NGOs actively working in Uganda include World Vision, SG2000, BRAC and Food for the
Hunger.
In general, USA and European countries tend to minimize the involvement of the government to thedevelopment cooperation in the field of agriculture, leaving it to the private sector. (There seems toexist the recognition that agriculture is a viable business, and at the same time the notion of estate type
farming on tea, cotton, sugarcane, maize and animal industry of the colonial days.)
NAADS (National Agricultural Advisory Services), founded by the common development fund fromWorld Bank, Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and others, aims at establishing privatized extension
services system ultimately, through private sector service providers (including NGOs) together with theprovision of input such as seeds, fertilizers and machinery. At the moment, Agriculture Officers andtheir assistants hold concurrently two posts. In any case, provided services to small farmers tend to be
more focused on input rather than technical guidance, and the steady effort by farmers and the technicalcapacity of service providers to increase productivity is not well recognized.
NAADS has been establishing TDS (technology development site) all over the country as the cores ofextension with the supply of the technology from National Agricultural Research Organizations(NARO). However, many researchers of NARO are much concerned about collaboration works(including commissioned or contract research) with international research institutions under CGIAR oruniversities of developed countries, and show limited interest in new technologies to address small scale
farming within the country. At the same time, fund for such research as to support extension activity is
not secured for NAADS and NARO.
3) Cooperation by Japan
Based on the policy dialogue of 2006 between the two governments, ①Human resources
development, ②Support to the basic human needs, ③Agriculture development and ④ Basic economic
infrastructure, were set as priority areas for development cooperation. Strengthening the capacity of
governance and rehabilitation of the Northern region were also the issues of priority in response to theaid requirement. Performance of the cooperation is summarized in the Tables III.1.1–III.1.4.
In the field of agriculture, 3 programs are being formulated based on the potentials of agriculture
development, technology, experience and advantages of Japanese agriculture. Among these, Rice
Promotion is the core of Japan-Uganda cooperation. In 2008, the Minute of Meeting was exchanged
between MAAIF and JICA for the cooperation on this program for 10 years. Further, aiming at
upgrading the technology of small farmers, application of results of NARO’s research and technology
development to the level of core farmers was agreed to be strengthened, as a meticulous approach notseen in other donors’ cases.

37

Table III.1.1 Japan’s ODA for Uganda(unit: million yen)

Fiscal Year Technical Cooperation
Loan
Grant
2004
843
1,572
2005
850
1,770
2006
1,080
1,920
3,484
2007
958
3,166
2008
1,628
1,829
※ Technical cooperation in 2008 includes only that by JICA
Sources: MOFA “ODA Data Book by Country”, and Data by JICA

Total
2,415
2,620
3,000
7,608
3,457

Table III.1.2 Technical cooperation to Uganda
Fiscal Year
2004
2005
2006
2007
Net disbursement (million yen)
806
829
1,058
958
Acceptance of trainees
86
596
137
101
Of whom to Japan
(27)
(59)
(71)
(61)
Dispatch of experts
4
11
10
17
Dispatch of mission
47
22
68
21
JOCV
18
47
53
57
Other volunteers0003Technical cooperation projects
01
31
Sources: MOFA “ODA Data Book by Country”, and Data by JICA

2008
1,628
150
(85)
26
53
98
3
1

Table III.1.3 Yen loans to Uganda
Fiscal Year
Project title
2003
Debt Relief (structural adjustment program)
2007
Bujugali Interconnection Project
Source: MOFA “ODA Data Book by Country”

Amount (E/N basis, million yen)
6,247
3,484

Table III.1.4 Grant aid to Uganda
Fiscal
year
2004

2005

2006

2007

Project title
The Project for Rural Water Supply, Phase II (2/2)
Emergency Grant Aid "Consolidation of Peace" (through UNICEF)
Food Aid (through WFP)
Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects (1 project)）Grassroots Human Security Projects (4 projects)
The Project for the Improvement of Traffic Flow in Kampala City (1/2)
The Project for the Improvement of Health Facilities and Supply of Medical
Equipment in the Eastern Region (1/2)
Food aid (through WFP)
Grant Assistance for Underprivileged Farmers (through FAO)
Grassroots Human Security Projects (17 projects)
The Project for the Improvement of Traffic Flow in Kampala City (2/2)
The Project for the Improvement of Health Facilities and Supply of Medical
Equipment in the Eastern Region (2/2)
Food Aid (through WFP)The Project for Protection and Promotion of Rights of Children in Northern
Uganda (through UNICEF)
Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Project (1 project)
Grassroots Human Security Projects (21 projects)
The Project for Rural Electrification (Phase II) (1/2)
The Project for Improvement of the Medium Wave Radio Broadcasting
Network
Grant Assistance for Underprivileged Farmers (through FAO)
Support to Child-Friendly Environments through Community Participation in
Northern Uganda (through UNICEF)

38

Amount (E/N basis,
million yen)
322
1,020
200
5
25
462
796
220
147
145
316
873
330
223
9
169
713
1,112
150
537

Food aid (through WFP)
Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Project (1project)
Grassroots Human Security Projects (21 projects)
2008
The Project for Construction of Rice Research and Training Centre
The Project for Rural Electrification (Phase II) (2/2)
Food aid (through WFP)
Grassroots Human Security Projects (16 projects)
Source: MOFA “ODA Data Book by Country”, and home page

470
11
173
651
574
460
144

① Rice Promotion Program in Uganda
a．Duration of the program: 2008 – 2017 (10 years)
b. Target area: all over the countryc. Goal of the program: increased income of rice farmers
d. Output of the programz Increased productivity, and increased rice production by expanded areas together with quality
improvement through post harvest technology and value addition.
z Strengthening research capacity on rice, through the improvement of rice research anddevelopment system.
e. Components
e-1 Technical cooperation project:“Sustainable irrigated Agricultural Development Project in Eastern Uganda”, 3 years from
July, 2008
 Major activities
Preparation of training program for project sites in 22 districts of Eastern Region
Preparation of technical manual and text
Land improvement of pilot sites in 22 districts
Implementation of training for technical officers in 22 districts
Support to environmental impact assessment
Implementation of training for model farmers
Support to formation of farmers’ groups
Monitoring, evaluation and follow up on activities of farmers’ groups Counterpart agencies
Development Division, Crop Resources Department, MAAIF
Agricultural Office of the concerned Districts
 Japanese experts
In addition to 3 long-term experts, several short term experts will be dispatched as theneed arises for technology transfer to counterpart.
“NERICA Rice Promotion Project” 3 years from September, 2008
 Major activities
Introduction of rice breeding technology
Specific characteristic test of NERICA rice varieties
Cultivation technology development of NERICA rice under various natural conditions
Confirmation of appropriate post harvest technology
Establishment of demonstration farms
Development of training materials
Training of extension officers, NGO staff, farmers etc.
39Technical training and provision of information to those in other African countries
 Counterpart agencies
MAAIF
National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)
National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI)
Zonal agricultural Research and Development Institute (ZARDI)
 Japanese experts
2 long term experts are dispatched for the technology transfer to counterparts. In addition
10 JOCVs for NERICA will be stationed on fields for the promotion and extension of
NERICA rice cultivation at the grass root level.
“Rice Promotion Project Phase I” Following the above mentioned 2 projects, 5 years from2011
e-2 Grant aid“Construction of Regional Rice Research and Training Centre” Dec., 2009 - March, 2011e-3. Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer
Dispatch of youth volunteers on rice, food crops and community development② Animal Industry Promotion Program“Technical Assistance to Improve the National Diagnostic Capacity for Animal Disease Control”
a. Outline of the cooperation
To strengthen the system of animal disease diagnosis in Uganda
b. Period of cooperation
March, 2010- March, 2013 （3 years）
c. Counterpart Agencies
Diagnosis and Epidemiology Center, MAAIF
Animal resources Institute, Veterinary Faculty, Makerere University
d. Japanese experts
Three long-term experts and a number of short term experts transfer technology to thecounterpart personnel“Dispatch of JOCV to the Regional Veterinary Offices”③ Strengthening/Promotion of Local Industry Program“Technology diffusion on sericulture”“Dispatch of JOCV for One Village one Product Movement”
Activities of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers are the important component in these programs.
Apart from these programs, in the last few years, more than 40 JOCVs for community development
have been dispatched to Uganda for the grass root works of agricultural extension. These are rewarded
with good results from the activities of the experts.

40

2. Themes of Development Cooperation and their Direction
1) Themes for agriculture/ forestry development
Fostering owner farmers of the appropriate scale would be the most important theme. Currently, thefarm size is polarized to two extremes; one for a limited number of very large scale estate farms and theother for so many small scale poor farmers. Self reliant farmers based on their family labor are very
limited in number. Small scale poor farmers seldom show the attitude to stand up by themselves, just
waiting for physical supports from the administration and/ or NGOs. Many young men living in ruralvillages work only occasionally at the estate nearby, and spend most of their time at the store front of
the village with nothing to do. This attitude to work might be due to the favorable natural environmentsof Uganda compared to other African countries. At the same time, the history from the colonial days andinternal strives after independence might have influenced negatively to encourage the zeal of young
people to work hard.
Under the circumstances, it would not be easy to foster self reliant farms based on the family labor ina short period. However, it is important that in addition to the administration and aid from overseas,
farmers themselves should be motivated. To realize this, it is important, first of all, that the farmmanagement of owner farmers become stable, and young generation are more attracted to agriculture.
For the stabilization of farm management, improvement of rural infrastructure and maintaining thebalance of self sustaining crops such as banana, cassava, maize etc. and cash crops such as rice,vegetable etc.
To attract the interest of young generation, mechanization also needs to be considered, not solely
depending on human labor. In general, as for farm implements, farmers have only hatchets called panga
and hoes at most. For example, for paddy harvest, farmers pick the ear or use panga, without using
sickle and they do not have threshers. In this context, prior to mechanization, introduction of
appropriate farming tools is required. Nowadays, there are motor vehicles, which are in all rural villages,
though tough secondhand. In addition, repair shops are available. So the basis of mechanization may beconsidered to be already established.
Existence of estates creates job opportunities in rural areas, and the export of coffee, tea, cut-flower
etc contribute to foreign currency. However, productivity of the sector is not necessarily high enough,and there are certain issues to be improved including inappropriate use of agricultural chemicals. The
government of Uganda intends to raise the self sustenance by decreasing reliance on assistance fromabroad and by increasing private sector investment. However, the ratio of foreign aid in thedevelopment budget remains high, and necessity of assistance, both of financial and technical, fromabroad for small- scale poor farmers continues to remain high. Further, in areas of infrastructure such as
farm road, irrigation and water supply, and of human resources development such as training ofextension officers and researchers, continued support from developed countries will still be required toraise the foundation of rural life of small-scale farmers.
2) Direction of Japan’s cooperation in the field of agriculture and forestry
In the cooperation of Japan in the agriculture/forestry sector of Uganda, South-South cooperation is avery important aspect. Based on the development strategy of Uganda, together with the collaborationand coordination with other bilateral donors and international organizations, S-S cooperation mobilizes
human resources (experts from the third countries), fostered through cooperation activities in the past in
Asian and African countries. At the same time, a sector-wide impact at the program level should be
carefully considered and not just the implementation of individual projects. Needless to say, cooperation41

to human resource development and strengthening organizational structure by the government are main
objects.
However, in order to make cooperation projects more effective, human resources development on thepart of Japan will be necessary. As the natural features, history and society of Uganda differ very muchfrom those of Japan and other Asian countries, it would be very important to give the opportunity foryoung generation to gain experience so as to contribute to the development of Uganda. At the same time,
there should be a support system to their endeavor.
“Promotion of NERICA rice” is the project of particular emphasis in Africa. In this project, experts
from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences(JIRCAS) are dispatched on a short term basis for guidance and advice on specialized subjects to theproject team and for technology transfer to counterpart personnel of Uganda. In parallel, the project is
accepting students of Tokyo University of Agriculture and College of Bioresources Sciences, Nihon
University, under the scheme of JOCV as short term volunteers.
Similarly, the “Livestock Promotion Project” is accepting students from of Veterinary Medicine
Department of Nihon University as short term volunteers in parallel to the dispatch of experts from thesaid university to the project. This way of training the young generation will be necessary not only inthe agriculture sector facing shortage of manpower but also in other sectors.

42

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Akita, S. et al., 2000, Crop Science I, Food Crops, Buneido Publishing Co., 316 pp (in Japanese).
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Rice< 4. Forest and Forestry: Present Situation and Prospects >1) FAO, 2001, Africover Mapping Project.
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44