Many developing economies have endeavored to encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in a bid to facilitate economic growth. Uganda has remained ahead of several other African economies in offering incentives and creating a favorable environment for foreign investors. In spite of the discouragement caused by the tyrannical regime of Idi Amin from 1971 to 1979, foreign investors still find Uganda a favorable place for investment. This has been enhanced by the government’s efforts to attract investors through many favorable investment policies.

There is an increasing interest of acquiring farmland abroad, especially following the food price crisis in 2007/08.  East Africa is a hotspot of activities, and given the high prevalence of poor people in the area, impacts on rural livelihoods are expected to be substantial.  Following significant primary data collection in Ethiopia and Uganda, the study analyses the impact of two such large-scale land acquisitions on the rural economy and the local population’s livelihood, using Theory-based Impact Evaluations (Hemmer 2011) within an analytical framework of layered social analysis (Williamson 2000).  Impact is assumed to manifest through five major channels: land, labour, natural resources, technological and organisational innovation and institutional change.

Uganda is the second largest impact investing market in East Africa, after Kenya. Within East Africa, Uganda boasts the second highest number of deals and second largest amount of capital disbursed in support of social and environmental impact—and the market is expected to continue to grow. Most impact investors interviewed noted there were no significant country-specific impediments to impact investing in Uganda but rather that the primary challenge was a less favorable business environment than they perceive in Kenya. Impact investors see considerable potential, and as the country continues to grow, they expect the general business environment to improve, presenting more opportunities to drive social change through sustainable social enterprises.

Hahne Farm, located in the Nakaseke Administrative District, is the first private Chinese land-based agriculture enterprise in Uganda.  This case can be used to examine the political context of land acquisition in Uganda, the ecological impact of land-use changes, and local community experiences and responses to conflicts over access to land and protection of ecological rights.  The research findings demonstrate how the political and economic interests of international and national elite converge through formal and informal networks to access resources in violation of local communities' social and ecological rights.  It highlights governance failures that precipitate ecological destruction, entrench power imbalances, and promote marginalization of local communities.

There has been an increase in land grabbing in the world over the years and the trend seems to be increasing in the same direction. Whereas, the phenomenon is said to be happening across all continents except Antarctica, in this Africa is the primary target. Uganda too has not been spared and the discovery of oil in 2006 added an insult to an injury. Though, the phenomenon has lived with the world for some good time, it continues to happen with less efforts being made to curb it.

‘Corporate social responsibility’ as a phrase has come to be synonymous with corporations engaging with the communities in which they operate, usually connoting charitable acts. It is a mechanism—albeit largely voluntary, that gives back to the community through addressing key community needs in health, education or infrastructural challenges. Nevertheless, the concept of corporate social responsibility lacks the key element of corporate accountability as envisaged in both the domestic and international legal frameworks. To ensure the protection of, and respect for, human rights by business and corporations, accountability must encompass more than voluntarism. It is increasingly necessary to recognise that both corporate responsibility and accountability are essential elements of sustainable development.

Large-scale international investments in developing country agriculture, especially acquisitions of agricultural land, continue to raise international concern.  Certainly, complex and controversial issues – economic, political, institutional, legal and ethical – are raised in relation to food security, poverty reduction, rural development, technology and access to land and water resources.  Yet at the same time, some developing countries are making strenuous efforts to attract foreign investment into their agricultural sectors.  They see an important role for such investments in filling the gap left by dwindling official development assistance and the limitations of their own domestic budgetary resources, creating employment and incomes and promoting technology transfer.  More investment is certainly needed – more than US$80 billion per year according to FAO analysis. But can foreign direct investment be compatible with the needs of local stakeholders as well as those of the international investor?  And can these investments yield more general development benefits?

Uganda held both its presidential and parliamentary elections in February 2016 with the incumbent Yoweri Museveni winning his fifth elected term in office. Museveni‘s National Resistance Movement (NRM) party also retained its majority in the Parliament. This is likely to ensure policy continuity and support the passage of investor-friendly regulations in the short term.

Uganda‘s political and security environment is relatively stable, however, clashes between ethnic groups persist especially in western Uganda, where the country‘s oil reserves are located. The country remains at risk of terrorist attacks by al-Shabab given Uganda‘s ongoing military intervention in Somalia.

Located in the heart of East Africa, offering direct access to a regional market of 150 million potential customers, a young English-speaking population, open markets, and abundant resources, Uganda offers investors numerous opportunities. Uganda’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate averaged five percent over the past decade, due in part to the Government of Uganda’s large investments in infrastructure. While Uganda maintains a liberal trade and foreign exchange regime, and largely adheres to IMF/World Bank programs to fight poverty, continuing reports of endemic corruption, financial mismanagement, and increasing political repression raise questions about the Government of Uganda’s (GOU) commitment to fostering an investor-friendly environment. Furthermore, a sluggish bureaucracy with a non-transparent decision-making process hampers foreign investments in Uganda.

Uganda is located in Eastern Africa. A youthful population, open markets, and abundant natural resources highlight the numerous opportunities investors can find in Uganda. While the country maintains a liberal trade and foreign exchange regime, and largely adheres to IMF/World Bank programs to fight poverty, continuing reports of endemic corruption and financial mismanagement have raised questions about Uganda as a destination for investment. The Government has prioritized building and improving infrastructure, including boosting energy production, lowered tariffs and trade barriers for regional trade, and generally welcomes foreign direct investment. Although national elections are scheduled for February or March 2016, we do not anticipate that these priorities will change dramatically. However, sluggish bureaucracy, poor infrastructure, insufficient power supply, a low level of professional skills, slow and non-transparent decision-making processes, high energy and production costs, non-tariff barriers, corruption, and government interference in the private sector make for a challenging investment climate in Uganda. From a policy perspective, the country continues to face a number of macro-economic challenges, most notably shortfalls in revenue collection, an inability to expand its tax base, and political pressure to keep up government spending as the 2016 presidential election approaches.

Uganda Vision 2040 provides development paths and strategies to operationalize Uganda’s Vision statement which is “A Transformed Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a Modern and Prosperous Country within 30 years” as approved by Cabinet in 2007.

Geologically Uganda has a wide variety of high and lower value minerals, including gold, limestone, uranium, stone, sand, and rare earth elements spread across the country.  As a consequence, the mining sector has the potential to contribute to wealth, employment and stability in Uganda.

Uganda has established a remarkable track record of macroeconomic stability since the launching of its economic reform programme in 1987.  Growth has been strong, inflation has been low and poverty has been falling.  The country has a liberal foreign exchange regime, with a stable, market-driven exchange rate and no restrictions on the movement of capital.  The Economic Freedom Index 2004, published by the Heritage Foundation in the United States, judged Uganda to be the second freest economy in sub-Saharan Africa.  In keeping with this openness, there is in general a very strong commitment by theGovernment to the private sector as the engine of growth.

The Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federation is a regional farmer organization whose membership consists of national farmer federations, national cooperative associations and apex commodity associations from nine countries in Eastern Africa – Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.  EAFF aims to strengthen the voice of farmers and farmer organizations at the regional level.