• File Size 7.24 MB
• Published Mar 21, 2023

Revisiting Institutional Arrangements Affecting Sugarcane Outgrowers and Millers in Uganda

Agricultural growth has long been a key driver of poverty reduction in Uganda, and sugarcane production and processing have the potential to contribute to poverty reduction and rural economic growth. Sugarcane is a relatively high-return crop that can improve growers’ farm income and access to yield-enhancing crop production technologies and management practices, which in turn can improve their crop productivity and food security. Sugarcane can also generate on- and off-farm employment and value addition within the rural economy.

Sugarcane production in Uganda is undertaken on both nucleus estates owned by large sugarcane mills and by farmer-outgrowers, who include small, medium, and large-scale farmers. The participation of outgrowers is vital to the government’s goals for the cane subsector, as it is the primary means by which the sugarcane subsector can generate inclusive rural economic growth and reduce rural poverty and food insecurity. Uganda’s sugarcane subsector has grown consistently since it was liberalized in 1986, particularly over the past 20 years as cane production increased from 1.5 million MT in 2000 to 5.8 million MT 2020.

 

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