Demand for food items is estimated to more than double in the oil and gas and pipeline line districts, an EPRC study has shown, providing a clearest pointer yet that agriculture is set to win from activity intensification in the sector.
The study, titled Agriculture linkages to the oil and gas sector in Uganda, received funding from the Petroleum Authority of Uganda and private sector players such as Stanbic bank. It sought to establish linkages between agriculture and oil and gas sector.
The study estimates that oil and gas companies are expected to more than double their demand for meat from 567,827 kilograms in the first year of the development stage to more than 1.3 million kilograms in the production stage.
In the pipeline districts, the areas where the pipeline is passing, oil and gas companies are expected to wind up their activities the moment production starts. However, in the first year of pipeline construction, meat (66,660 tonnes), eggs (532,800 pieces) and milk (76,800 litres) took the lion’s share of the food items demanded the most.
The intensification of the various investment and development activities will attract close to one million people to the oil and gas and pipeline districts. Many are flocking oil and gas and pipeline districts in search for work opportunities. This will lead to a huge demand and market opportunities for food products.
“Therefore, the various oil and gas developments have the potentials to unlock strong linkages with and stimulus to the country’s agriculture sector,” the study notes.
See report here: Agriculture linkages to the oil and gas sector in Uganda