Dialogue Explores Uganda’s Agricultural Competitiveness
Photo: Uganda Agribusiness Alliance
The hybrid meeting saw 64 participants join virtually, while 15 participants were hosted physically at the National Planning Authority (NPA) boardroom in Kampala, Uganda.
With support from Policy LINK, public and private stakeholders in Uganda have committed to strategic actions to increase the country’s agricultural trade competitiveness.
The commitments came as part of an October 14 dialogue, “Exploring Uganda’s Competitiveness in Regional Agricultural Trade,” which was organized in collaboration with the Government of Uganda, Uganda Agribusiness Alliance, the National Planning Authority (NPA), Uganda Development Forum, Feed the Future (FtF) East Africa Market Systems (E.A. Market Systems) project,and the Trade in Agriculture Safely and Efficiently (TRASE) project.
The hybrid meeting saw 64 participants join virtually, while 15 participants were hosted physically at the National Planning Authority (NPA) boardroom in Kampala, Uganda. They included representatives drawn from Ugandan government ministries, departments and agencies, the USAID Uganda Mission, development partners supporting agriculture and trade in the country, the national and regional private sector, and agribusiness organizations.
Participants agreed that Uganda needs to industrialize its agriculture sector by creating an enabling environment for industries to thrive, including by reducing the cost of doing business through lower power tariffs and interest rates, investing in infrastructure and agro-processing, supporting data quality by through a digitized accountability platform, increasing funding for regulations and standards, enhancing off-take capacity, and strengthening public-private sector partnerships through institutionalized dialogue.
The Policy LINK East Africa Regional Trade Competitiveness Activity, implemented in partnership with USAID/Kenya and East Africa, focuses on generating innovative approaches that the private sector, governments, and development partners can invest in to improve trade across the region.