Agriculture remains central to economic growth and poverty reduction in Uganda. The sector accounted for 24.9% of GDP in FY 2016/17 and 46% of export earnings. The Uganda Bureau of statistics (UBOS) estimates that about 72% of the country’s working population is employed in agriculture.

It is a source of raw materials for agro-processing businesses, and the sector provides an important
domestic market both for non-agricultural and agricultural products. Investors consider Uganda’s agricultural potential to be among the best in Africa, with low temperature variability and two rainy seasons in the southern half of the country that enables multiple crop harvests per year. Still, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent, mainly in the form of drought and shifting rainfall patterns, as well as the frequency and location of insect and plant disease problems.