New Policy Brief: Strengthening Agricultural Extension Services in Uganda

Uganda's agricultural extension system plays a critical role in connecting smallholder farmers with the technical knowledge and inputs they need to improve productivity. However, persistent gaps in service delivery, staffing, and funding have limited its effectiveness across much of the country. This policy brief, developed by AWinERA Africa Ltd in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), examines evidence from a nationally representative survey of over 3,000 farming households across Uganda's four major agro-ecological zones. Findings reveal that only 28% of smallholder farmers in Uganda received any form of extension advisory in the 2023 crop season, with female-headed households receiving services at nearly half the rate of male-headed households. The brief identifies three structural barriers: chronic underfunding of district-level extension offices, high staff turnover due to non-competitive salaries, and a lack of gender-responsive training materials. AWinERA recommends that the Government of Uganda increase the extension budget allocation from 0.6% to at least 1.5% of the national agricultural budget, introduce performance-based incentives for extension workers, and mandate the inclusion of women-led farmer groups in all extension outreach programmes. The brief also calls for a digital extension platform — building on the success of Uganda's e-Voucher input subsidy scheme — to reach farmers in remote districts of Northern and Northeastern Uganda where physical extension visits remain extremely infrequent.