The report presents a case for activating transformative agro-industrialisation (AGI) in the context of Uganda’s proposed national industrial policy. The report outlines the urgent need for government to shift the country’s economic centre of gravity from low value agriculture to value-added manufacturing. This, the report contends, will be achieved by focusing on a more manageable
menu of nine agro-industrial game-changers, namely, coffee, cotton, tea, cassava, maize, vegetable oil, fisheries, dairy and beef , instead of the 15 broad “priorities” outlined in the Agricultural Sector Strategic Plan (ASSP) 2015/16-2020/21. The report proposes the narrower priorities as critical game-changers because they have the potential to transform the Ugandan economy to high value-added manufacturing activities. The benefits of a transformed agricultural sector linked to industry are immense. They include, but are not limited to, the following: a) Adoption of better production technologies (such as irrigation, fertilisers, improved seed, mechanisation and the use of drones to monitor crop pests and diseases); these technologies will definitely improve agricultural productivity ;
b) Boosting the supply and reliability of agricultural raw materials for the agro-manufacturing industries; c) Creating off-farm employment opportunities for citizens; d) Expanding the export and the domestic revenue base of the country; and e) Creating the necessary preconditions for Uganda’s structural transformation into a high value-added manufacturing economy.
