MAAIF PRESENTATION
DURING THE NATIONAL INCEPTION MEETING ON
FOSTERING EQUITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE
TRADE SYSTEM (FEATS) PROJECT.
15TH OCTOBER 2008
Hotel Africana
Kampala - Uganda
THE ROLE OF THE MINISTRY OF
AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL INDUSTRY
& FISHERIES IN THE TRADE POLICY
MAKING PROCESS
BY
CONNIE ACAYO
PRICIPAL INFORMATION SCIENTIST/MAAIF
The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal
Industry and Fisheries
• Vision:
– to support the national development goal of poverty
eradication, by providing an enabling environment in
which a profitable, competitive, dynamic and
sustainable agricultural and agro-industrial sector,
can develop;
• Mandate:
– to support, promote and guide the production of
crops; livestock and fish, in order to ensure improved
quality and increased quantity of agricultural produce
and products for local consumption, food security and
export
The MAAIF
• Mission:
– to support national efforts to transform subsistence
agriculture to commercial production in crops,
fisheries and livestock, by ensuring that the
agricultural sector institutions provide efficient and
effective demand-driven services to the farming
community.
The objectives
• The Sector in the context of PMA includes:
– increase incomes and improve the quality of life of poor
subsistence farmers through increased productivity and
value addition, and an increased share of marketed
production;
– improve household food security through the market rather
than emphasizing self-sufficiency;
– provide gainful employment through secondary benefits
arising from the implementation of the PMA, such as agroprocessing and the provision of services to both forward and
backward linkage industries;
– promote the sustainable use and management of natural
resources by developing land-use and management policies
and systems, and by promoting environmentally-friendly
technologies.
MAAIF has other specific
objectives
• generating and disseminating market
responsive, client oriented and demand driven
national agricultural research system,
comprising public and private institutions
working in tandem for the sustainable economic
growth of Uganda;
• providing a decentralized, farmer-driven, private
sector serviced, agricultural advisory service;
• promoting the utilization of water for increased
and sustainable commercial agricultural
production;
other specific objectives
• establishing sustainable agricultural sector
development institutions, working in partnership
with a decentralized and liberalized framework;
developing supportive policies and regulations,
set standards and provide enforcement
mechanisms for the proper functioning of the
agricultural and agro-industrial sectors;
• ensuring poverty focus prioritisation and
effective performance of public agricultural
development programmes through strategic
planning, capacity building, monitoring and well
functioning inspection services;
Other specific objectives
• put in place viable sustainable measures and mechanisms for
epidemic disease and pest control;
• promote profitable and sustainable agro-forestry, integrated in
the agricultural
and non-agricultural sectors;
• promoting environmentally-sustainable agricultural practices;
supporting the development and establishment of a
decentralised, flexible market information system bringing on
board all the main stakeholders;
• providing appropriate infrastructure to facilitate developments in
the sector;
• to support the production and addition of value to strategic
agricultural commodities, so as to enhance earnings and
employment.
Uganda’s agriculture
• Dominated by subsistence farmers and food crops
which provides the bulk of the raw materials for the
largely agri-based industrial sector.
– Coffee still dominates agriculture; it affects the livelihood of a
huge portion of the population,
– Cotton is the next most important cash crop and offers
significant potential.
– The third significant export is fish and fish products.
– However, the recent growth in exports of fruit, vegetables
and flowers is attributable to agricultural reforms, which
includes diversification of agricultural exports toward nontraditional crops.
The Trade Policy Making
Process
• While MTTI is responsible for trade policy
formulation and implementation, MAAIF on
the other side has to ensure the support,
promotion and guidance of the production
of crops; livestock and fish, in order to
ensure improved quality and increased
quantity of agricultural produce and
products for local consumption, food
security and export.
Agriculture & Trade
• Employs about 80% of the population,
• Accounts for almost 40% of GDP
• Generates about ½ of the gross national
product
• Its value of exports is over 75%
• Trade is mainly on agricultural produced:
– traditional export crops (coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco)
contributed about 40% of the country’s total
merchandise exports
– non-traditional crops (fish and cut flowers) about
21% .
Trade formulation & MAAIF
To what extent has MAAIF been consulted?
– One staff member (Assistant Commissioner from Planning
Department) sitting in the Institutional Committee of trade,
– Previously there used to be three (commissioner Fisheries,
commissioner Agricultural Planning and Assistant
Commissioner Agro-processing also from planning
department)
– Other members are from related institutions and ministries,
like Finance and private sector
The consultation is majorly done before and during the policy
making process.
The policy drafts are then circulated to the different
ministries and institutions for further comments
(National Trade Policy being worked on).
Trade formulation & MAAIF
• Other Ministries, particularly Finance and Agriculture
are directly involved both in formulation and
implementation of trade policy.
• The Presidential Economic Policy Forum, together
with other public institutions, carry out periodic reviews
and assessments of trade-related policies within the
Government institutions.
• Session committees of the Parliament also review
policies
• there is supposed to be opportunities for periodic
inputs from the private sector ( I hope this is really the
case).
Trade formulation & MAAIF
• Support by the Presidency also plays a vital
role in policy-making; as a result some policies
have been enacted by the Presidential fiat.
• Sometimes lobbying for policies and changes in
the policy making process especially in areas of
VAT
Trade formulation & MAAIF
• The government has therefore put in place
the Investment Authority (UIA) which is
intended to promote and facilitate
investment in the country:
– To improve liberalization of the economy.
– To attract more foreign investors.
Trade formulation & MAAIF
• Uganda is an original Member of the WTO, and grants
at least MFN treatment to all its trading partners.
• Uganda is not a signatory of any of the plurilateral
trade agreements.
• Uganda has benefited from regular WTO technical
assistance, under the Joint Integrated Technical
Assistance Programme and the Integrated
Framework.
• Several meetings have taken place with donors since
1996 to assess Uganda's trade-related technical
assistance needs, which can be classified into two
categories:
– adoption of laws and regulations relating to the WTO and
regional trade agreements; and
– the needs relating to supply-side constraints.
TRADE POLICIES IN UGANDA
• Trade policies in Uganda is aimed at promoting economic
growth and development through diversification of the export
sector, attracting investment, improving productivity, enhancing
export and local trade and is designed within the context of the
overall national economic policy objective.
• TP formulation is achieved through a consultative process
between Government and the private sector.
• The lead agency for the formulation is the Ministry mandated,
that is, the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry (MTTI).
• The implementation of trade policy is however the preserve of
public bodies depending on the nature of the measure or policy
to be implemented.
Ministry of Trade, Tourism and
Industry
• The Ministry of Trade, Tourism and
Industry is mandated to handle Trade
issues through the development,
promotion and facilitation of both the
internal and external trade with particular
emphasis on export promotion and
diversification.
Involvement of MAAIF in developing
position for WTO & EPA
Negotiations
• Ministerial level: inter-ministerial committees of all WTO
member countries
• Technical level: Planning department
• Ongoing EPA (a workshop on awareness creation of
stakeholders about issues related to both EPAs and the WTO
was held in Jinja)
– MAAIF has been contacted and a committee is
been instituted to put in place design the ToR
(Policy, Crop, L/stock). Details yet to be discussed.
MAAIF’s Comments & views on
Trade Policy
• Not for to MTTI,
• In-cooperated within the related policies of the
ministry such as:
– Fish, Coffee, Cotton, Seed and L/stock related
• Agricultural policies are geared towards
agricultural production and Marketing which to
some extent includes trade
Challenges
• Uganda is slowly mainstreaming trade into its
development framework.
• However, its various institutions dealing with
trade policy, including the MTTI, do not have
sufficient capacity to manage trade
arrangements effectively and to fully implement
the necessary reforms.
• At the same time, at least partially due to the
Government's fragmented institutional structure
dealing with trade matters, coordination among
development partners is less than ideal.
Challenges
• The MAAIF has only one person sitting in the
committee of trade, when it contributes biggest to
trade produce. This the ministry feels there is need to
change, at least to include a representative from each
agricultural sub-sector; crop, livestock and fish, as well
as from planning and Policy departments. These
issues have now come up as I have been made to
understand.
• Representation of one or three persons in the
committee is not enough, the MAAIF also need to get
more involve by strongly involving its TPM members in
detail trade discussions.
Challenges
• The Uganda Manufacturing Association is a distant
third. Individual and state firms as well as Trade
unions have little input in trade policy making process
• However, at the level of implementation, the direst
problem is corruption followed by lack of resources,
poor incentives, overlapping responsibilities of
ministries non-commitment of the bureaucracy,
frustration of implementation by disgruntled interest
groups, and lack of staff training.
• Policy-makers recognize that the private sector has a
vital role to play in the policy-making process provided
that its potential is enhanced through training and
practical experience.