Robert Tigarya, the 30-year-old, is a proud owner of a small farm in his birthplace, Lulyambuzi Village. While others pursued white-collar jobs in the city, he made up his mind about farming. After spending 6 difficult years to see the light of hope, he became the best farmer in his village, bought a new bike, managed to provide enough food for his family, and now can sell the extra. The path wasn’t easy at all, but determination and training helped his success. With a wide smile on his face, Robert said, “This is the moment I’ve always dreamed of becoming the best farmer in my village. I’m very happy. I now know farming can be a business.”

And yes, like Robert, thousands of other farmers sell their products to a few companies that collect, process, and export them. Besides, there are other companies as well that directly nurture the production and sale. These smallholders are the key to continuously running the export business, but still, the country isn’t using its full potential. While the market can amount to and add billions to the economy, let me guide you through the agriculture export market in Uganda.

Uganda is rich in agriculture, minerals, and service-related sectors, which possess greater value in export, making the country a prominent one in the export market.

Agriculture, being the top activity in Uganda, plays a major role in exporting goods.

The export value is aimed to reach USD 5 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.20%.

Agriculture is the cradle of the Ugandan economy. The sector grew by 5% in the 2022-23 fiscal year, based on smallholders. Coffee, maize, tea, fish, and tobacco are the primary agricultural export products of Uganda. And, 63% of export products are destined for East African countries, the country’s largest export market.

A report from Statista showed that the market experienced a consistent rise from 2012. In 2022, the overall value of export items was 3.97 billion U.S. dollars. This is lower compared to the previous two years, the pandemic caused the fall. However, in 2021, the value was 4.18 billion U.S. dollars. Understandably, the market will again break the numbers in future years.

Let’s understand the basic concept of export. In simple words, products or services offered for consideration by one country to another are exports. For example, it’s like each country has its own shop and sells products or offers services exclusively produced by it. Other countries, as well as selling their products, buy these if they need to. 

More or less, most countries offer something of their own to the others. The sectors in these countries are mostly productive, generally becoming the source of export products. So far, this is probably the most generic example of export. However, we need to understand the impact of export or why we need it. 

Export is the way of generating assets, or in better words, shaping the GDP into a better state. Export earnings will lead to a strong economy, increase the GDP, keep inflation low, etc. Thus, countries, if they can, focus on producing more and selling it to others than what they need to buy. And, Uganda can be a dark horse for the export market and be one of the top exporters, both in Africa and the world, in a few sectors.

With almost 70% of the employed population working in the agriculture sector, the major agricultural products include coffee, fish, dairy, oil seeds, cocoa, tea, cotton, etc. 

Uganda is blessed with an abundance of fresh water from the lakes, rivers, and rainfall. It enables the country a comparative and competitive advantage in growing horticulture products.

Coffee alone generated US$864.3 million, which is 39% of total exports in 2022. The earning is followed by fish amounting to $139.4 million (6.3%), dairy amounting to $102.5 million (4.6%), oil seeds at  $52.1 million (2.4%), etc.

When it comes to dairy products as export items, producers like Tomorsi’s Farm call for potential clients by saying, “Come and check our products!” The General Manager of the farm, Andre Scheepeers, suggests clients get on a plane and check for themselves. He confidently boasts of walking the road together, in partnership.

The value of Uganda’s current agribusiness market is approximately USD 4.07 billion. The expected size should reach USD 5 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 4.20% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

This huge market is utilized by a few key players in the agribusiness industry. Companies like Divine Coffee Exports, Uganda Tea Development Agency, KK Fresh Produce Exporters, Altus Foods, Tropical Dynasty, Jay Fortune, etc., are on top of the line, accountable for most of the country’s export earnings through agriculture.

Besides, there are several commercial farming agencies and startups growing rapidly to keep the goal at a touchable distance. The prospects are positive, endeavors are engaging continuously, and empowerment with knowledge is blending in to make the people more aware of farming export-level products.

Uganda is a landlocked country with agriculture sitting on top of its driving force to run the economy. Generating a quarter of the GDP and a source for almost 70% of employment, this sector is the largest source of export goods as well. 

The country has a minimal connection with the rest of the world outside Africa, its export market is still limited to East African countries like Kenya, South Sudan, and DR Congo. South Sudan’s exported products were worth $606 million in 2022, and Kenya stood in the second position.

The export earnings are increasing gradually. Taking maize as an example, the revenue increased by $35.01 million in January 2023 from what it was at the same time in 2022. During that time, the coffee market also bloomed as leading exporters like Brazil and Vietnam couldn’t match the regular demand.

The country’s ability is already on the verge of earning a billion from agriculture-based export goods. But the opportunity lies in utilizing the small chances and accumulating them to make a mammoth market.

Uganda has one of the fastest-growing and youngest populations in the world. The manpower can be used in different agricultural activities. The World Bank estimates the country is on its way to reducing poverty to 39% by 2025. So, along the way, it has to use all the available means, utilizing the youth is one of them.

You already know a few names in the current agricultural field. As they continue doing their jobs to make the country a food basket and turn it into a more capable exporter, you might wonder, knowing that there are others as well, striving to achieve their aspirations to achieve success.

Martha Wamatabu has been growing coffee for more than a decade, and she has an acre of land in the Bududa district. Despite facing several challenges like transportation from the Mount Elgon ranges, she harvests about 600 kilograms of coffee beans in a good season. She resembles women’s empowerment, though it is on a marginal scale, and also became a mirror image of “success”.

You should know the other stories as well, especially of Agilis Partners, one of the leading grain exporters of Uganda to the East African market. Founded in 2013, the company trained over 3,500 farmers. It has two subsidiaries, Asili Farms and the Joseph Initiative Ltd., both engaged in commercial agriculture. And only after 5 years of running, it trained over 3,500 farmers in 2018 alone. Besides, Joseph Initiative Ltd. sold enough food to feed 550,000 people in East Africa. Just imagine where the company stands today!

Though the country is booming with a massive export market, the challenges remain the same. A high level of corruption is the primary barrier. Transparency International’s (TI) 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index placed Uganda at 141st position out of 180 countries. The transportation system is another hindrance to the path. Despite the government’s effort to develop the communication and transport infrastructures, the country still lacks a lot.

There are other problems as well. The country lacks severely in specialized skills. Uganda is ranked 159th in the UNDP’s 2018 Human Development Index. Besides, ILO reported that closer to 75% of the workers don’t have the minimum job requirements. And last but not least, political uncertainty is another barrier to the country’s export market. Changing policies also affects the country a lot.

There is room for development, there always is when it comes to a developing country stepping toward economic growth. The best way to unlock the billions is to turn the challenges into opportunities.

Uganda’s ongoing effort to develop infrastructure can lead the country, at some point, to achieve the dream goal. The government is doing its best to attract potential clients and export the best products to overseas markets. The country managed to establish a good image in front of its export markets. It will not only bring more cash but also expand the economy centered on exporting goods. Thus, the billion-dollar industry is bound to cross a double-figure value.