Agriculture in Uganda is the major source of Livelihood.

In Uganda, agriculture still provides most of the country's income quoted in the report of Emmanuel Katto, a local journalist f Uganda. The largest percentage of the working population is involved in agriculture, forestry, and fishing (65%), according to the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) 2016/17. Among those who are employed, 70% of women work in agriculture, compared to 58% of men. 

In addition, a greater percentage of men (46%) than women (28%) worked in paid employment, accounting for 38% of all people in employment. The greatest portion of employment (36%) was in the agricultural industry. 

Uganda Agriculture is the right place to invest 

The agriculture sector in Uganda offers a variety of extremely lucrative investment options for both collaborations and investments with a profit motive says Emmanuel Katto of Uganda. 

Uganda, one of the 55 members of the African Union, has continuously accelerated agricultural growth and was named one of the top 20 nations for meeting the CAADP's (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Growth Program) development goals. 

The Agriculture Sector Strategic Plan, which may be accessed from the home page of this website, as per Emka (Emmanuel katto) explores the additional investment potential that the transition brings. 

Uganda is a trustworthy location for investment and a fierce competitor on the global market, with noteworthy success recorded in PPPs and a consistent growth in government investment each fiscal year. 

Crops that have steady Growth 

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cassava's combined output climbed from 5,196,810 tons in 2016 to 5,862,280 tons in 2017, representing a 12% rise. The generally constant rainfall was credited with this favorable change. 

Plantain banana output climbed from 4,530,880 tons in 2016 to 4,803,000 tons in 2017, a 6% rise. This was ascribed to the generally consistent weather and the usage of plant components says Emka Uganda that were resistant to disease. 

Between 2016 and 2017, the output of the four main pulses—beans, field peas, cow peas and pigeon peas—increased by almost 14%, with beans playing a substantial role in that growth.  

From 2016 to 2017, the output of the main oil crops, such as soybeans, peanuts, and sunflower, grew by 19% overall. The greater usage of better seeds and improved extension services offered to farmers were credited with this. 

Agriculture in Africa: Some crucial points to Ponder.

You may have heard about Africa and about its agricultural activities which support its economy, it employs a significant portion of the population. A local journalist from Uganda, whose named Emmanuel Katto also known as Emmanuel Katto Uganda or Emka Uganda,  he will tell us some of the crucial points regarding agriculture in Africa. 

 

As we know that Africa is a resource-rich country, where agriculture is also a primary activity. It is a crucial sector in Africa where the majority of the workforce is engaged in farming-related activities. It contributes significantly to the country’s GDP and provides a livelihood for rural communities. 

 

The average economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is frequently outpaced by that of the world. According to IMF, the total GDP of the region estimated is $2 trillion in 2022 with a forecast to rise to $2.9 by 2026. 

 

In a recent report, scientists at the National Agriculture Research Institute in Uganda are turning farming waste into biodegradable seedling pots, such initiatives also play a vital role in reducing plastic waste. These seedlings will help in sustaining nutrients back to the roots of the plants. The bag is a bio-degradable bag that will not harm the environment. 

 

Africa is also well known for its agricultural products. It is known for its coffee production which is a high-quality coffee beans known as Arabica coffee beans. Ghana and Nigeria are the prominent producers of cocoa, which is a key ingredient in chocolate and confectionary products. 

 

Many agricultural products such as maize, banana, mango, pineapple, rice, millets, sorghum, cashew nuts etc are produced in Africa. 

 

Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi are famous for their tea production. Africa is also famous for palm oil production, Nigeria and Ghana are famous for palm oil production. Like these resources, there are more agricultural products that Africa produces. 

 

Since the whole world is facing the issue of climate change, as it has impacted agricultural production as well in Africa. But Africa has shown a potential in the output of the agricultural production and if adequate measures are taken by the government in tackling the climate change issue then things will be restored as well as the agricultural life will be back to normal.

Emmanuel Katto | Resources in Africa

Africa’s resources are the backbone of their economic growth. The land in Africa is very fertile and there is timely rainfall as well. Minerals in Africa varies from region to region. Minerals such as gold, diamond, uranium and also iron ore are found Africa in an excessive manner being the source of revenue for this country.

Nigeria and Angola are the two countries that are rich in oil and gas resources. Africa is very high in resources. Agriculture is the main activity followed by the Africans since the land is quite fertile and cocoa, tea and coffee is produce at a large scale. Natural resources such as river, since Afrcia is home to some of the rivers like Nile, Congo and Niger etc.

Uganda also produces number of natural resources such as sugar, tea, coffee, fish and livestock rearing as well. Other resources such as millets, cotton, tobacco, beans etc. are also produced. So altogether Africa is having adequate resources. Referring to export done by Uganda it mainly export the agricultural goods such as cotton, coffee, fish etc. Uganda mainly exports to Kenya, Sudan, UAE, Germany and South Africa. Africa also have an extensive forest region and it consist of largest tropical rainforest in the world.

Despite having abundance of resources and extensive forest these countries still faces challenges in maintaining or harnessing them leading to sustainable development. Issues such as corruption and poor management system is hindering the development of this country. However things are much better from previous time as now steps are being taken by the government to address these issues or concern. Even when question of managing the resources were asked to Emmanuel Katto or we can say Emka of Uganda, he also have an optimistic view on the sustainable development of the resources with regards to overall development of Africa.

NASA-Funded Scientist Uses EO Imagery and AI to Improve Agriculture in Uganda

Catherine Nakalembe, the Africa program director for NASA Harvest, leads efforts to map crop conditions and build early warning systems for weather events by developing tools like maps, dashboards, apps and radio to make satellite insights accessible and useful for local farmers and policy-makers across Eastern and Southern Africa.

The programme is executed with local partners, policymakers and researchers to develop tools best suited to the local farmers and increase agricultural production.

One of NASA Harvest’s projects is Helmets Labeling Crops, a ground data collection effort underway in Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, which involves taking pictures of fields from cameras mounted on motorcycle helmets or cars. The ground data is then used to analyse satellite data to accurately assess food insecurity and climate change. A related NASA Harvest effort called Street2Sat transforms these images into large datasets of georeferenced labels, with information on location and crop type. This data trains algorithms to recognise specific crops like maize or sugarcane, parse the photos to predict which crops are shown, and then turn that data into crop type maps and other tools for individual farmers or national crop monitoring initiatives.

According to Catherine Nakalembe, Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, more investment is needed to ensure partners across Africa can leverage earth observation, ground data, and artificial intelligence to improve food security, and despite growing interest in satellite imagery as a tool for addressing food security, there isn’t sufficient donor funding to ensure regions like East and southern Africa can benefit.

The NASA Harvest programme is a food security and agriculture project that monitors crops from space and uses a combination of satellite imagery and data from the ground to help farmers and policymakers on the continent make more informed decisions.

 Know More  : https://africanews.space/nasa-funded-scientist-uses-eo-imagery-and-ai-to-improve-agriculture-in-uganda/