The dark side of Uganda’s economic growth
The
NRM government launched an economic policy in the early 1990s following
agreements with major donors that focused on economic growth and export
diversification.
into non-traditional exports of foodstuffs previously grown for domestic
consumption such as beans. Peasants were encouraged to grow for cash, not for
the stomach. It soon became apparent that the policy was damaging ecological conditions
at an alarming rate as more land was cleared, trees felled and fish caught for
the export market and malnutrition was spreading and deepening.