The government on Friday said the escalating food prices in the country is attributed to an increase in food exports to the neighbouring countries.

Speaking to farmers who gathered in Kampala for a public hearing on agricultural policy and processes, State Minister for Agriculture Henry Bagiire said, food prices were escalating because of increased food exports.

"It is true that changes in climate led to a reduction in food supply but some of our people are riding bicycles with bananas through Ruramira Hills to Rwanda," Mr Bagiire said.

He said the purchase of planting materials by farmers from Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan has worsened the situation as it has led to a reduction in planting materials.

"The Sudanese are seriously buying food from Uganda especially cassava where they are even uprooting roots, stems and leaves, a situation that has made this country to have limited planting materials," Mr Bagiire said adding.

"When I went to Kenya recently, they told me that they had a deficit of 80 tonnes of beans which they got from Uganda."

Since the beginning of the year, food prices in the country have remained high with sellers citing increase in transport costs coupled with a reduction in food production.

A kilogramme of maize floor in Kampala markets for instance, currently costs between Shs1300 and Shs1500, rice between Shs2300 and Shs2500, pumpkin Shs2000 and Shs2500 and a kilogramme of onions costing between Shs2000 and Shs3000.

Further, a half litre of milk is costing Shs800 in Kampala and Shs600 and Shs1000 in Lira and Mbale respectively.

Mr Bagiire said although the government is rehabilitating many roads across the country, those in rural areas were impassable, a state that has hindered the transportation of food to urban areas.

"Due to poor status of roads in rural areas, trucks cannot reach in these areas where there is food and this has made prices to go high," Mr Bagiire said.

He said the government has earmarked Shs30 billion for the rehabilitation of Mobuku, Doho, Agoro and Oreing irrigation schemes, the process he said has already started.

Since this year, Uganda has been faced with acute shortage of food due to prolonged drought, with Teso and West Nile regions being the mostly affected.

The government in the financial year 2009/10 allocated Shs310 billion to the agricultural sector.

The sector, according to the Uganda National Bureau of Statistics, contributes approximately 15 per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product. Agriculture remains the economy's backbone.