Agricultural Subsidies: A case for Uganda

The authors examine Uganda's agricultural subsidy landscape, noting that while initiatives like NAADS and insurance subsidies have increased input access and risk mitigation, they are often hampered by top-down design, poor implementation, and a lack of extension services. The paper argues that current subsidies often benefit large-scale farmers over smallholders and can cause environmental harm through the promotion of monoculture and agrochemicals. It recommends a value-chain approach to subsidy design with greater stakeholder participation and improved funding and monitoring.

• Uganda's public spending on agriculture remains below the 10% of public expenditure commitment established in the Malabo Declaration, despite agriculture employing approximately 66% of the population and contributing 24.5% to the GDP.
• Government initiatives have increased access to inputs and insurance; for example, the NAADS program distributed 623,870 Hass avocado seedlings across 80 districts, and the number of insured farmers grew from 45,704 to 687,608 between 2017 and March 2023. However, insurance subsidies primarily benefit medium- and large-scale farmers.
• Agricultural subsidies in Uganda are often ineffective due to a supply-driven approach that results in the late delivery of inputs or the provision of unsuitable materials, such as hybrid seeds that require management techniques small-scale farmers cannot implement. This is compounded by a severe lack of extension services, with a ratio of 1:2000 to 1:3000 workers per population, far below the recommended 1:500.
• Current subsidy frameworks contribute to environmental degradation by promoting monoculture and the intensive use of agrochemicals, which increases greenhouse gas emissions and undermines traditional seed systems through the promotion of input-intensive hybrid seeds.
• The authors recommend that Uganda redesign its agricultural subsidies using a bottom-up approach involving stakeholders like civil society and academia, ensuring that support covers the entire value chain from input to market and is backed by adequate funding and monitoring.

APA

Nalunga, J., & Lubega, J. (2024). Agricultural Subsidies: A case for Uganda. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/agricultural-subsidies-uganda

Chicago

Nalunga, Jane, and Jonathan Lubega. Agricultural Subsidies: A case for Uganda. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/agricultural-subsidies-uganda.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nalunga |first1=Jane |last2=Lubega |first2=Jonathan |title=Agricultural Subsidies: A case for Uganda |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2 December 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/agricultural-subsidies-uganda |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nalunga2024agricultural, author = {Nalunga, Jane and Lubega, Jonathan}, title = {{Agricultural Subsidies: A case for Uganda}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/policy-analysis/agricultural-subsidies-uganda}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }