Background: Uganda's youth employment strategy has predominantly emphasized urban-based formal sector jobs, overlooking agriculture's potential to absorb the growing youth population despite the sector's contribution of 24% to GDP and employment of 70% of the workforce, creating a significant agricultural skills gap that perpetuates youth unemployment and rural-urban migration. Objective: This study assessed the agricultural skills gap among Ugandan youth and developed recommendations for integrating agricultural competency development into the national youth employment strategy. Methods: A convergent parallel mixed-methods design was employed across six districts (Kampala, Wakiso, Mbale, Gulu, Mbarara, and Lira) involving 420 youth aged 18-35 years selected through multistage cluster sampling. Quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires assessing demographic characteristics, agricultural skills levels across 12 competency domains, and barriers to agricultural engagement, while qualitative data comprised 36 key informant interviews with stakeholders and 12 focus group discussions with youth. Statistical analysis utilized descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent t-tests, multiple logistic regression, and principal component analysis, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis, with integration occurring through triangulation at the interpretation stage. Results: Only 39.3% (n=165) of youth engaged in agriculture, with significant associations found for age (χ²=18.42, p