CountriesAfrica & MEUganda
Country dossier · #64 world producer
Uganda
Output nearly tripled since 2010, and fresh imports reached 178,000 tonnes in 2024
- 461 ktProduction · FAOSTAT 2024
- #64World rank · FAOSTAT 2024
- 473 ktPeak 2018–24 · 2023
- +41.0%Change since 2018 · FAOSTAT
Production, 2018–2024
Million tonnes · FAOSTAT QCLSource: FAOSTAT QCL, item 116 (potatoes). World rank computed from the same 2024 series.
Uganda Potato Industry: Output Nearly Tripled, and Imports Now Exceed 178,000 Tonnes
Uganda produced 461,000 tonnes in 2024 (FAOSTAT), up from 167,000 in 2010. Kabale and Kisoro are the seed hub, bacterial wilt is the main constraint, and fresh imports reached 178,100 tonnes in 2024.
- Production (FAOSTAT 2024): 461,000 tonnes
- Area harvested (2024): 67,279 ha
- Yield (2024): 6.9 t/ha (flat since 2022)
- Production 2010: 167,000 tonnes
- Food supply (FAOSTAT 2023): 8.3 kg per person
- Fresh imports (2024): 178,100 t, $13.4M
Uganda produced 461,000 tonnes of potatoes in 2024 (FAOSTAT), ranking 64th in the world, from 67,279 hectares at 6.9 tonnes per hectare. Production is 2.8 times its 2010 level. The main seed and production hub is the south-west, around Kabale and Kisoro, and bacterial wilt and late blight are the leading constraints.
In this article (5 sections)▾
How much does Uganda produce?
FAOSTAT's 2024 figure is 461,000 tonnes from 67,279 hectares.
- Production 2010: 167,000 t
- Production 2015: 173,000 t
- Production 2019: 260,000 t
- Production 2024: 461,000 t
| Year | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mt | 0.33 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.39 | 0.43 | 0.47 | 0.46 |
| YoY | — | -20.5% | -3.8% | +57.6% | +10.2% | +9.0% | -2.5% |
Area nearly doubled from 35,000 hectares in 2010 to 67,279 in 2024. FAOSTAT's yield is 6,857 kg/ha for each of 2022, 2023 and 2024, which suggests an estimated rather than a surveyed figure, so recent yield changes cannot be read from it. Potato reached Uganda from the Congo through missionaries in the early 1900s, and output topped 350,000 tonnes in the 1970s before civil strife cut it.
Source: FAOSTAT (QCL production series, trade matrix, food balance sheets). History: CIP and FAO, Potato World (2008).
Where is potato grown, and which varieties?
The south-west (Kabale, Kisoro) is the main region, with Kapchorwa and the east also important.
Kabale and Kisoro are the primary hub of basic and early-generation seed for the whole country, and in 2007 almost half the harvest came from the Kabale highlands at about 2,000 metres (CIP). Rwangume and Victoria are the commonly grown varieties in the south-west, east and centre, and the local Rutuku is also widely grown. NARO has released NAROPOT 1, 2, 3 and 4, which seed growers preferred for yield and late blight resistance.
Source: CIP and FAO, Potato World (2008); NARO; participatory assessment of potato farming systems in Uganda (peer-reviewed).
What does Uganda eat, import and export?
Food supply is 8.3 kg per person (2023), up from 3.5 kg in 2015, and imports have risen sharply.
FAOSTAT's trade matrix does not name the source countries of the imports in the table used here, and none is asserted.
| FAOSTAT measure | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh imports (tonnes) | 2,300 | 108,200 | 104,500 | 178,100 |
| Import value | $0.6M | $13.9M | $9.8M | $13.4M |
| Fresh exports (tonnes) | 14,400 | 1,000 | 45,100 | 17,600 |
| Export value | $4.8M | $1.1M | $6.0M | $4.5M |
Source: FAOSTAT (QCL production series, trade matrix, food balance sheets).
How does Uganda's seed system work?
No formal seed potato production system was found in one study, and farmers still report seed shortages.
Foundation seed has come from NARO's Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and the Uganda National Seed Potato Producers Association is based in Kabale. Bacterial wilt travels in seed: three TRST haplotypes of phylotype II sequevar 1 are disseminated through latently infected seed. Research trials at Kachwekano of a genetically modified late-blight-resistant Victoria were confined field trials, and it is not a released variety.
Source: Uganda seed-system studies (peer-reviewed); CIP; NARO. Most seed-system studies are 10 to 20 years old, so current certification and variety-release status should be checked with NARO.
What challenges does Uganda face?
Bacterial wilt, late blight, seed quality and soil fertility recur in every study.
In surveys, 47.5 percent of respondents in Kabale and 36 percent in Kisoro named bacterial wilt a major constraint, and it is also a major constraint in Kapchorwa. Late blight severity was highest in Kabale in historical trials. CIP and regional studies put the four core interventions as seed quality, bacterial wilt control, late blight control and soil fertility. A CIP study across 13 sub-Saharan countries, including Uganda, found production could increase by 140 percent if yield-gap causes were addressed.
Source: Uganda constraint surveys; Springer, Potato Research (Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia system diagnosis); CIP.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much potato does Uganda produce?+
Uganda produced 461,000 tonnes in 2024 from 67,279 hectares (FAOSTAT), up from 167,000 tonnes in 2010.
Where is potato grown in Uganda?+
Mainly the south-west highlands around Kabale and Kisoro, which are also the hub of basic seed, plus Kapchorwa and parts of the east.
Which potato varieties are grown in Uganda?+
Rwangume, Victoria and the local Rutuku are common, and NARO has released NAROPOT 1 to 4 with late blight resistance.
What is the main potato disease in Uganda?+
Bacterial wilt is the main constraint in Kabale and Kisoro, with late blight also serious in the highlands.
Regional context
Continue Reading
Further reading
Deeper Potatopedia references on seed systems, processing, varieties, and global potato production.