The Rise of Uganda’s Tobacco Production

By Will Boase Reprint | | Print |

ARUA, Uganda, Dec 27 2012 (IPS) - Over the years with the demise of cotton production, tobacco has become one of Uganda’s key exports.
Six years after British American Tobacco set up regional headquarters in this East African nation, it has become a key tobacco producer for the company.

Agriculture is the backbone of Uganda’s economy, it accounts for about 34 percent of GDP, over 90 percent of export earnings, and employment of 85 percent of the population through farming, processing, transportation and marketing, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute.