The production department is mandated to provide extension services and farm inputs to farmers for sustainable and market-oriented agricultural production, for food security and household incomes in the district. The department is comprised of five sectors namely: agriculture, veterinary, fisheries, entomology, trade and industry; and cooperatives.

This department is crucial to the district because over 80% of the population depends on agriculture as a means of livelihood. In terms of households 86.4% of the households depends on subsistence farming as source of livelihood. The community mainly practices subsistence farming, characterized by use of rudimentary tools like hand hoes and rearing of local indigenous breeds of livestock. Their production mechanisms heavily rely on nature, which has become unreliable hence impacting on the local economy negatively. This has resulted in low production and productivity in all sectors. For most households in the district, access to food is critically dependent on the level of agricultural production and availability in the market.

Fisheris Sector

Fisheries sub sector has staffs at both district and sub county who are offering technical guidance to the farmers. However aquaculture potentials in the district are not evenly distributed with some sub counties having more fishponds sites than others. For example, Kuju, Ogolai, Wera and Asamuk sub counties have more aquaculture points than other sub counties. The level of fish consumption in the district is increasing steadily as a result of awareness that has been created on the importance of fish proteins and above all the increasing population. The entire district is well endowed with aquaculture potential, which is not fully exploited as a result of challenges faced by the sector.

Industrial activities

Agro processing in the district has been boosted with support from Community Agriculture Infrastructure Improvement Programme (CAIIP2) under which three agro processing facilities have been constructed in the Sub County of Akoromit. These use diesel engine power and have capacity to mill up to 800 kilograms per hour. Northern Uganda ALREP also supported several agro processors with agro processing equipment and machinery. Furthermore, the recent extension of hydropower grid to the district is already promoting industrial activities in those areas of the district, which are already connected. There is one milk cooling and processing plant at Amuria Town Council.

Cooperatives

A cooperative is a special type of enterprise. It is a social enterprise that balances two main goals namely satisfying the members’ needs and pursuing profit and sustainability. There are 20 registered savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in the district. However only two are functional and the rest remain dormant. These two are receiving wholesale funds for lending to members at affordable interest rates from Microfinance Support Centre (MSL), Soroti Regional Office.