Uganda is at a critical juncture, with a need to decide between continuing to rely heavily on imported agricultural inputs or investing in local production and processing. The country's fertile land and hardworking farmers offer enormous agricultural potential, yet it continues to spend valuable foreign currency on imports that could be manufactured locally. The recent depreciation of the Uganda shilling against the US dollar and euro has exacerbated the issue, with the US dollar trading at approximately UGX 4,406 and the euro at approximately UGX 4,932 on 23 October 2026.
The Chairman of the Uganda Animal Feeds Manufacturers Association (UGAFMA), Aimable Mbarushimana, has been advocating for import substitution, agricultural value addition, and the development of a competitive domestic animal-feed industry since 2019. He believes that Uganda has the agricultural foundation required to build a stronger and more self-reliant animal nutrition industry, with farmers producing maize, soya beans, sunflower, cotton, and other crops that can supply valuable raw materials for animal-feed manufacturing.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries' 2024 Statistical Abstract, Uganda produced significant quantities of agricultural raw materials, including approximately 445,000 metric tonnes of sunflower, 209,000 metric tonnes of soya beans, 4.269 million metric tonnes of maize, and 54,883 bales of cotton in 2024. These figures demonstrate the considerable opportunity for developing stronger domestic agricultural value chains.
The production of these crops can be transformed into competitive finished products, such as animal feeds, if the industries, financing systems, and market structures are established. A country that produces agricultural raw materials but fails to develop the industries that process them is surrendering valuable economic opportunities. Uganda must move beyond celebrating agricultural production figures and begin measuring how much value it retains within the country.
The recent weakening of the Uganda shilling has exposed the country's vulnerability, with businesses importing animal-feed concentrates, premixes, additives, and other inputs facing higher costs. These additional costs eventually move through the agricultural value chain, affecting farmers, manufacturers, and feed distributors. The situation could become particularly damaging for livestock farmers, poultry producers, dairy farmers, and fish farmers.
To address this challenge, the government must unlock agricultural financing to protect farmers, strengthen local industries, and secure Uganda's economic future. This can be achieved by deliberately connecting farmers, oilseed processors, feed manufacturers, and livestock producers through a properly financed national supply system. This would provide farmers with more reliable markets, processors with greater incentives to invest in machinery, and feed manufacturers with more dependable sources of raw materials.
Ultimately, Uganda's economic transformation will depend on its ability to develop a competitive domestic animal-feed industry and invest in local agricultural production. By doing so, the country can reduce its reliance on imported agricultural inputs, retain more value within the economy, and ensure a more stable food security, employment, and household incomes.
Key points
- The government must unlock agricultural financing to protect farmers and strengthen local industries.
- Uganda has the potential to develop a competitive domestic animal-feed industry.
- The country's economic transformation depends on its ability to invest in local agricultural production.
