Abstract:

Although agricultural sector is the biggest employer (with 63.4% of labour force) in Uganda, its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) stands at only 24% (4), and for the past 5 years the sector has only grown at an average of 3.9% per annum against set target of 6% per annum from 2015/16 to 2019/20.
The sector has a huge untapped potential to contribute to country’s GDP and reduce poverty through employment creation, a reason for sector prioritization under agro- industrialisation, export promotion and private sector development strategies of the National Development Plan 2020/21 – 2024/25 (NDP III). NDP III also highlighted the top 10 strategic commodities for fostering development of agricultural sector and specifically agro-industralisation strategy, of which bananas is among. However, banana sub-sector growth is still challenged by: (i) underdeveloped banana processing sector characterized with poor technologies and practices, (ii) low on farm productivity, mainly due to disease and pests burden, (iii) high post harvest losses due to poor marketing infrastructure and technologies, (iv) unstructured value chain that is dominated by middlemen, and many other factors. Potential across the value chain is underutilized which call for deeper understanding of the underlying issues and also explore how research and development can play a more significant role in addressing these challenges.
USAID FtF Uganda Agriculture Research Activity is a 5 year, US$10 million flagship research and development project, funded by USAID and implemented by CGIAR centers and NARO which seeks to promote use and commercialization of improved crop and livestock technologies with yield and nutrition enhancing characteristics. The activity focuses on: (i) continued improvement of crop genetics, bio-fortification, and integrated pest and disease management for both crops and livestock, in response to market-demand, and (ii) strengthening NARO’s institutional sustainability in the marketplace. Specific activities that the project focuses on include: (i) facilitate the release and commercialization of varieties developed under previous and ongoing research efforts, (ii) develop improved crop and animal production and management technologies in response to emerging threats and market demands, and (iii) consolidate previous gains in institutional and human capacity development to align research with market needs, and mobilize domestic resources that will displace current development partner funding. For USAID FtF Uganda Agriculture Research Activity to execute its mandate, (i) there is need for a clear understanding of the current and future trends in the target value chains, (ii) identify the most profitable nodes of the banana value chains and (iii) identify interventions for NAROsec and others to catalyze agro-industrialisation at profitable nodes of banana value chain. Based on the above, Knowledge Wells Ltd was contacted by NAROsec to undertake a detailed desk research on banana value chain Uganda to guide activity priorities.