Agro-industries can create jobs for rural communities, not only on farms but also in handling, packaging, processing, transport and marketing of agricultural products.
Globally, it is recognised as a driver of development and poverty reduction, which is why Uganda has elevated agro-industrialisation in its Tenfold Growth Strategy. The Agro-Industrialisation Programme Annual Budget Monitoring Report for 2024/2025 financial year shows an overall performance of 72.1 percent by June 30, 2025, rated good, though some sub-programmes lagged.
The Budget Monitoring and Accountability Unit (BMAU) reports that Agricultural Financing performed very well, while storage, agro-processing and value addition, and agricultural market access and competitiveness registered fair results. BMAU attributes progress to increased farmer access to finance through the Parish Development Model (PDM) and Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF), improvements in research, mechanisation, water for production, stronger quality and regulatory services in coffee, fisheries, and dairy value chains. Government is seeking to accelerate commercialisation and competitiveness by adding more value to agricultural output.
In the 2024/25 financial year Budget Speech, government committed to deepen research and genetic development, including support for the anti-tick vaccine manufacturing facility and the Aflasafe laboratory. Spending priorities centred on productivity growth, pest and disease control, value addition, PDM rollout, mechanisation, irrigation, market development, agricultural financing, and institutional strengthening. The programme budget totalled Shs2.231 trillion, with 58.3 percent funded by government and 41.7 percent by external sources.
By the end of June 2025, Shs1.9 trillion had been released and Shs1.352 trillion spent. But external financing disbursement and absorption were weak, largely due to partial delivery of planned outputs, adverse weather, weak planning for donor-funded projects, delays in compensating project-affected persons, phasing-out of off-budget support such as USAID and inadequate staffing.
However, agricultural production and productivity posted good performance, supported by stronger research, technology development and increased production linked to mechanisation, water for production and PDM resources. Agricultural market access and competitiveness recorded fair performance, while financing performed well, with more than 3,000 projects receiving loans through the Agricultural Credit Facility while tens of thousands of farmers insured their investments through the Uganda Agriculture Insurance Scheme. However, access to credit remained uneven, with central and western Uganda attracting the largest share of funds.