Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy with great potential for growth. It currently represents 24 per cent of GDP. More than a third of Kenya’s agricultural produce is exported and accounts for about 60% of Kenya’s total exports.

The vision for the Agriculture sector is to be innovative, commercially oriented and modern, offering investment opportunities like sugarcane development and livestock production.
(Source: Kenya Investment Authority, Nairobi, Kenya)

For Tanzania, Agriculture plays an important economic role, which, accounts for half of the country's GDP, providing 85% of exports, and employs 90% of the work force. However, only 4% of the land is cultivated due to the country's topography and climatic conditions.

The raising of livestock takes place in those areas with low rainfall as they have no tsetse flies. The main cash crops include coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, sisal, tobacco, tea, coconuts and cloves, pyrethrum, corn, wheat, cassava, bananas, fruits, vegetables, cattle, sheep and goats.

The agricultural sector is proving to be the source of many opportunities. The government is eager to attract investment to this sector with the motivation that the country could become a major grain producer if the correct irrigation infrastructure is developed.

With its good climatic conditions and fertile soils, Uganda offers rich opportunities in the agricultural sector. Generally, opportunities in this sector range from agribusiness, forestry to food processing and the manufacture of inputs. Uganda has over 18 million hectares of arable land of which less than 30% is currently under cultivation.

Traditional export agriculture (Commercial/Large Scale Farming) includes coffee, tea and cotton growing, processing and packaging, growing of high quality tobacco, cocoa rehabilitation and expansion. The main opportunities are in the development of modern large scale farming, and processing for both the domestic and export markets. Uganda is currently the second largest producer of coffee in Africa. Uganda's cotton is of the best quality and compares most favourably in the world market.

Current output in the livestock sector can only meet half the domestic demand. There is, therefore great room for expansion and investment in a number of livestock related areas including ranching (cattle, goats, sheep), poultry (chicken, pecking duck and ostrich), hides and skins, bee-keeping for honey products, leather processing and preservation and canning of the various livestock products such as meat and milk.

With its excellent natural endowments, fertile soils, adequate rainfall, Uganda is a low cost producer for coffee, tea, cotton, tobacco and a number of high value agricultural export crops such as cut-flowers and asparagus. With improved efficiency, this natural advantage can be exploited to make Uganda a major exporter of agricultural produce and agri related products.  Uganda with its relative food surpluses is already exporting food to the neighbouring countries - a ready market already exists.

The Uganda Government supported by donors has put in place a number of schemes to support the development of Uganda's agricultural potential. These schemes include credits to private farmers, export incentives as well as marketing assistance.