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This study assesses the capabilities of business associations for conducting meaningful policy engagements with government. Using information from 21 associations and five state institutions, this work investigates the level of autonomy and ability of business associations to coordinate and order their interests for policy decision-making. Findings reveal that the ability to organise an association's own interests is hindered by weak systems and internal structures, especially at sub-sector level. Most associations are financially weak, have limited professional expertise and experience a low level of commitment from members, which affects their capacity for autonomy. It is important that business associations create regulations to make membership ties binding, so as to strengthen their influence on policy. Associations should also be more aggressive in mobilising finances, and they should identify synergies and develop partnerships with the state to build their capacity for participating in policy-making.

Most recently, Uganda increased its trade engagements with COMESA as demonstrated by its submission of accession instruments to COMESA Secretariat in order to access the Free Trade Area (FTA). It is envisaged that trade with COMESA can compensate for the low export demand elsewhere by enabling diversification of the export basket and facilitating value addition to traditional exports. It is also expected to enhance producer competitiveness and consumer welfare. Full exploitation of this requires information on where and in what commodities Uganda's trade niche lies. This study assesses the country competiveness within COMESA based on the concept of Revealed Comparative advantage (RCA). The paper also evaluates the stability of Uganda's RCA in COMESA from 1997-2014 using HS6-digit level export and re-exports data obtained from the World Integrated Trade System. Findings reveal that Uganda's RCA is in all 16 industries at the product chapter level. It is stable in exports of animals, vegetables, food production, wood, textiles, & cloth, stone & glass and metals. Policies for further development of these sectors should aim at addressing sectoral challenges including the low productivity, marketing, and processing capacity in the animal sector, low capacity to test phytosanitary and sanitary certification in the vegetable sector. Additionally, tackling market and low production challenges for the textile sector and, high costs of production for the metals sector will further boost exports to the region.

The presence of quality data and data management is important for the future of food in Africa. Data management can impact agriculture sector performance and food security because it facilitates the identification of agriculture sector problems and planning. However, existing systems, data collection practices, record keeping and handling are all challenged by a myriad of factors that undermine quantity and quality of data output. This paper discusses how countries can improve and implement data capture, record keeping and investment in data management. Using past literature and data management, we assess the current status of data management systems and challenges faced at the farmer, local/NGO, national and international levels. Drawing on best practices currently at work in the private sector and amongst NGO-supported projects, we identify potential investment opportunities and incentives that could promote a culture of record keeping, documentation, data management. Over time, investing in projects that have built-in incentives that solve farmer needs can facilitate record keeping at the farmer level. Putting in place mechanisms such as central registries and platforms for sharing information and coordinating local initiatives can promote the culture of documentation and data management at the local/NGO level. Improvements at the national level may stem from investing more in human and financial resources, capitalizing on public-private partnerships to develop and deploy innovative digital tools for data collection and management, as well as building stronger linkages and tapping into international capacities of agricultural data collection.

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