Uganda’s eastern cotton belt is attempting a comeback after cotton production in the region fell by about 40% over the past decade, as farmers and cooperatives work to bring the once important cash crop back into fields across districts including Mbale, Bukedea, Pallisa and Kumi.
Cotton was once a major source of household income and rural commerce in eastern Uganda, but farmers have increasingly shifted towards food crops and alternatives such as cassava, maize and sunflower, which they often consider more attractive financially.
The revival effort is now being led partly by farmer organisations, including Afric Co-operative Society, which is mobilising growers and promoting cotton as a route to agro-industrialisation, employment and export earnings.
But the economics remain challenging. Cotton currently sells for around UGX1,200 per kilogramme (approximately $0.33/kg), according to farmers and sector stakeholders, who say the price is not enough to comfortably cover seed, land preparation, chemicals, labour, harvesting and transport costs.
Farmers are also dealing with poor-quality seed, declining yields, pests, infertile soils and unreliable rainfall. In Bukedea, some growers have delayed planting because rains arrived late, while others have reduced the amount of land devoted to cotton.
Market access is another concern. Farmers report problems with unreliable weighing scales used by some middlemen and long delays in receiving payment after delivering their cotton. Direct sales to ginneries and collective marketing are emerging as an alternative, giving some growers greater control over weighing, pricing and payment.
The government is also supporting the sector through seed distribution and input programmes. Its 2025/26 work plan includes distributing cotton planting seed through regional input centres, including facilities in Bukedea and Tororo, while extension campaigns are being used to encourage farmers to plant cotton.
The bigger opportunity lies beyond raw cotton. Uganda still exports most of its cotton as lint, limiting the value captured locally. Reviving production alongside ginning, spinning and textile manufacturing could create a larger domestic market for farmers and retain more value within the country.
Parliament is separately pushing for the revival of Lira Spinning Mills to help provide such a market.
NBF Insight
Eastern Uganda’s cotton revival will depend on more than convincing farmers to plant again. The crop needs to become commercially attractive from field to factory. Better seed, reliable rainfall or irrigation, transparent weighing, timely payments and stronger local textile processing could determine whether cotton returns as a meaningful rural business or remains a crop remembered for what it once was.
