Agricultural Productivity Constraints in Uganda: Implications for Investment

Uganda has put emphasis on the agricultural sector as a strategy for raising rural incomes and reducing rural poverty. The Plan for Modernization of Agriculture (PMA) was designed in 2000 for this purpose. However, available secondary data show that crop yields are low despite the availability of productivity-enhancing technologies on the market. This study uses household data from rural districts selected from two ago-ecological zones to explore profitability and productivity of two technologies: improved maize varieties and improved cattle breeds. The research findings indicate that growing improved maize is more profitable than local maize across all farm sizes. Similarly, improved cattle breeds are more profitable and more productive than indigenous cattle.