Prof, Nuwagaba observed that the Ugandan economy had largely been agrarian with 68% of the population engaged in subsistence production- “producing from hand to mouth”.
This slowly reduced to 39% of the population engaged in subsistence sector (UBOS 2021).
It has been facilitated by financial deepening, introduction of new financial products such as mobile banking, privatization and marketing infrastructure.
As a result it has enhanced literacy, numeracy and consumer education.
However, Nuwagaba says, that there has been low financial penetration where most banks are largely concentrated in urban areas to the detriment of rural population that cannot easily access financial services.
Those engaged in agriculture are largely subsistence farmers 39% aimed at food security and not commercial farming (UBOS 2021).
Volatility of prices of agriculture products such as maize continue to demotivate farmers.
Lack of agro-processing, high post-harvest losses and poor storage and aggregation facilities remain a deterrent to realizing good returns from agriculture and agro-business.
Poor technology and use of rudimentary equipment have resulted persistent low productivity with low returns.
