Uganda’s food future: Securing Agricultural dominance through key actions

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OPINION

By Peter Eceru

As Uganda heads to the 2026 General elections, Uganda’s Agri-food system remains in a vulnerable position.

Unfortunately, this has not gained traction in ongoing political conversations. The country’s Agricultural sector faces low production and productivity, high post-harvest losses and increasing competition from imported food.

While Uganda is a major producer of many staples, there are several food items and agricultural products that increasingly come from neighbouring countries such as Tanzania and Kenya. Some farmers are being edged out because imported rice and other produce from Tanzania and Kenya are cheaper or more reliably supplied.

Uganda’s food story is too often being told through the lens of deficit — hunger, drought, and dependency. During this year’s African Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Dakar, Senegal, a different narrative took shape: one of opportunity, innovation, and the urgent need for transformation.

Under the theme “Innovating, Scaling, and Driving Solutions for Africa’s Food Future”, the Forum gathered leaders, policymakers, farmers, innovators, and development partners to confront one of the continent’s greatest challenges: how to feed a population projected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050 in the face of climate change, economic shocks, and persistent inequality.

However, to achieve this continental commitment, in-country political will is needed to drive these commitments to action.

It is important to emphasise that under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program, Africa seeks to reframe agriculture, not as subsistence but as a driver of growth and dignity.

Food security is not just about growing more food. It is about growing better food, creating fairer markets, and empowering the farmer at the end of the value chain.

Under the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program, African countries are committed to increasing intra-African trade while reducing the importation of food from outside the continent.

However, to benefit from this, Uganda must be able to increase productivity, feed its people and sell the surplus. Without increasing productivity, Uganda runs a risk of becoming a net importer of food.

By easing the movement of food products across borders, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could unlock opportunities for farmers and agribusinesses alike, but Uganda can only benefit from this with increased investments.

While Uganda boasts of the largest arable land in East Africa and a large a youthful population that can spur agricultural productivity, these assets remain underutilised. In the case of the youth, agriculture must be transformed into a smart, profitable, and climate-resilient venture.

If supported with financing, skills, and access to markets, the country’s youth could be the very engine of the continent’s food revolution. But youth will not be treated as any other farmer; we need to tailor unique and appropriate agri-food system interventions specifically targeting young people.

There is a need to strengthen the resilience of the Ugandan food system to ensure that farmers are able to withstand the challenges of climate change, reduce post-harvest losses and make it more attractive to young farmers.

For example, supporting solar-powered irrigation tools that help farmers overcome erratic rainfall. Startups are exploring ways to reduce post-harvest losses — a silent crisis that claims up to 40% of food produced in Africa each year.

Let’s make it clear that the country’s food future depends on policy choices and investment choices that we make.

There is an urgent need for investment in Agriculture to strengthen regional food trade and reduce barriers that keep smallholder farmers — especially women and young people— locked out of financing and markets. It is no longer feasible to just advocate for increased allocation of resources to Agriculture; it is important to ensure that the largest segment of our society benefits from this investment through well-tailored and targeted investment.

With increased and well-targeted investment, appropriate policies and technology, Uganda’s story should no longer be about hunger, but about harvest and economic growth.

We can rewrite its food story. Instead of being a continent defined by hunger, it can become a breadbasket for the continent,

The writer works with Action Against Hunger