The impact of cereals on economic growth of Uganda (1980-2019)
Abstract
This study investigates empirically the causal relationship between cereal crop production and economic growth in Uganda This study has three main objectives which include: to establish the short run effect of cereal export on GDP growth in Uganda, to establish the long run effect of cereal export on GDP of Uganda; to establish the casual relationship of cereal export and GDP of Uganda .the major aim of this study is to provide more knowledge of the relationship between cereal production and economic growth in Uganda to policy makers and other researchers.
Cereal production and trade have a key importance in the boost of the agricultural sector and definitely the whole economy. However, with the existing importance of cereals to the day-to-day meal and the world-wide demand of their production and consumption, the cereal production in Uganda has not impacted as much as possible as anticipated. This study investigates the impact of cereals on economic growth of Uganda proxy of GDP in Uganda. This study includes the impact into the short run effect, long run effect and casual relationship between cereal crops and gross domestic product in Uganda between the period 1980 and 2019
This study used time series data from the period 1980 to 2019 and used secondary data from FAOSTAT, IMF, UBOS, World bank. This study investigates the relationship and causal link between cereal production and economic growth in Uganda by employing the Engle and Granger -integration test and used the Vector Error Correction model (VECM) as a technique of estimation the results indicate the existence of short-run relationship between cereal production and economic growth, cereals continue to exert a positive effect even in short run. The co-integration test show that there is a long-run relationship between all the indicators of cereal production and economic growth. In addition, there is a one-way causality relationship between cereal production and economic growth in Uganda in both the short-run and the long-run. It is therefore proposed that the agricultural reforms in Uganda should be pushed forward in order to boost the development of the financial sector thus an increase in its role on economic growth.
The findings of this study were that cereals have a significant relation with the gross domestic product of Uganda and therefore the study recommended that the government should do more of investing in the cereal crop production under the agricultural sector based on the view of its increasing rapid demand on the food market worldwide,
Key words: Gross domestic product, and Cereal production