Uganda - Agriculture

Uganda's economy is predominantly agrarian; 36% of the GDP, 81% of the employed labor force, and 31% of export earnings are derived from the agricultural sector. A total of 6,810,000 ha (16,828,000 acres), or one-third of the land area, is under cultivation. Subsistence production remains the pattern; 70% of the area under cultivation is used to produce locally consumed food crops. Women provide over half of agricultural labor, traditionally focusing on food rather than cash crop production. The monetary value of market crops is exceeded by the estimated value of subsistence agriculture. Plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, and bananas are the major food crops. In 1999, food production estimates included plantains, 9.4 million tons; cassava, 3.4 million tons; sweet potatoes, 2.5 million tons; bananas, 600,000 tons; millet, 638,000 tons; corn, 780,000 tons; sorghum, 454,000 tons; beans, 220,000 tons; and potatoes, 449,000 tons.

Although coffee is still the primary export earner for Uganda, with receipts in 2001 at $51.3 million, 11% of total exports. Production of robusta, which was cultivated by the Baganda before the arrival of the Arabs and British, and some Arabica varieties of coffee provides the most important single source of income for more thanonemillion Ugandan farmers and is the principal earner of foreign exchange. Export crop production reached a peak in 1969. Estimated production of major cash crops in 1999 included coffee, 198,000 tons; cotton (lint), 15,000 tons; tea, 26,000 tons; raw sugar, 125,000 tons; and tobacco, 7,000 tons. Roses and carnations are grown for export to Europe.