The region practises both plantational and subsistence agriculture; mainly the growing of food crops for home consumption and the excess for commercial use. The commonly grown crops on plantation basis are sugar cane and coffee. Sugarcane is mainly grown by Kakira Sugar Works for manufacturing of sugar and coffee is for export and foreign. Other crops like millet, Rice, Maize, Bananas, potatoes, Cassava, fruits and vegetables are grown throughout Busoga. Some are grown for commercial purposes especially the horticultural crops.

Some parts like Budondo in Jinja district have specialised in growing of fruits and vegetables purposely for income. Most of their produce has attracted ready local and distance markets across boarders to Kenya and abroad. Pastoralism is practised in the Northern parts of Busoga (Kamuli district) which lie in the cattle corridor of East Africa. Besides this area, zero grazing is practised through other parts of Busoga and this enables steady supply of diary produce to the steadily increasing population.

Although fishing on Lake Victoria has mainly increased for foreign earning to Uganda as a nation, fishing on other water bodies, e.g. Lake Kyoga, River Nile, Mpologoma and large wetlands provide food and income to a good percentage of the population.