12 May 2004
document
Kampala — NARO's current programme was developed in 1999 from nation-wide stakeholders' consultations. The activities focused on addressing what were categorized as "killer constraints". When the Plan for the Modernisation of Agriculture (PMA) was developed, NARO's Medium Term Plan (MTP) 2000-2005 reviewed and operational funds were released from 2002. NARO's originally planned Mid Term Evaluation was converted into a wider National Agricultural Research System (NARS) Review-Reform process. This led to the development of a new National Agricultural Research Policy (NARP) which focuses on establishing a new institutional framework for conducting agricultural research. A new National Agricultu.ral Research Bill is also in the process towards establishing the National Agricultural Research Council as Apex Coordinating body. In reality, these reforms just change the institutional framework and method of doing things and the outputs from the scientists will still be knowledge, technologies and policy advice.
Briefly, NARO operates nine (9) Research Institutes and eleven (11) Agricultural Research and Development Centres (ARDCs) located in the agro-ecological zones of the country. These are summarized in Tables 1 and 2.
NARO Secretariat located at Entebbe coordinates all the work in the institutes and ARDCs. NARO also collaborates with sixteen (16) International Agricultural Research Centres, thirteen (13) of whom have their offices in Uganda. There is also regional collaboration under the Association of Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) with Headquarters at Entebbe.
NARO operates in a multi and interdisciplinary manner. While technology generation takes place at the Institutes, development and adaptations mainly takes place at the ARDCs from where dissemination proceeds in collaboration with NAADS where they also operate. Therefore NARO has developed effective partnerships right from farmer groups to international institutions.
NARO uses all the available means to report and disseminate research results including the following:
(a) Workshops/Conferences
(b) TV and Radio programmes
(c) News Paper articles
(d) NARO Bulletins
(e) Other Magazines
(f) Uganda Journal of Agricultural
Sciences and other Journal articles
(g) Specific technology manuals
(h) Technical Reports
(i) Web-site
(j) Actual Field Demonstrations
(k) Open days at Institutes and ARDCs
(l) Public functions (e.g. agricultural shows)
(m) Private companies (e.g. Seed Multiplication and sale)
(n) Calendars
(o) Special documentation requests such as this one.
Despite the interruptions and attendant uncertainties created by the unending reforms, the nationalistic, patriotic, committed and self-motivated scientists that have remained have continued to work hard to generate, develop and disseminate appropriate technologies.
NARO's outputs can be categorized into three as follows:
(a) Knowledge
(b) Technologies (e.g. varieties, breeds, tools, methods)
(c) Policy advice
In brief NARO's outputs during 2002/3, planned activities for 2004/5 and the constraints are summarized in Table 3.
Out of the numerous technologies, those that could be described as "Golden" research outputs include the following:
(a) Water hyacinth control
(b) Production of Mosaic free cassava varieties
(c) The high protein maize (Longe 5)
(d) The orange-fleshed Sweet potato (with vitamin A)
(e) The white sorghum "Epuri puri" for brewing Eagle larger beer with the Nile Breweries.
(f) The NERICA Rice variety
(g) The white sim sim
(h) The high yielding banana varieties (FHIA group
(i) The improved goats
(j) The improved local chicken
(k) The introduction of Apples in Kabale
(l) The Clonal Eucalyptus introductions
(m) The cotton varieties BPA 2000 and BPA 2002 are in a class of their own.
All the production technologies are with the farmers at various levels of commercialization. The biggest constraints in this process which are beyond NARO's control are:
(i) Other components of PMA are not operating at the same scale as NARO and NAADS.
(ii) There is lack of effective national farmer organizations engaged in commercial farming.
(iii) There is lack of organized and sustainable marketing at national, regional and international level.
NARO has not yet done a full nation-wide impact studies to determine the exact contribution of its technologies to poverty eradication, income generation and food security.
However studies done by independent and international institutions 2003 and 2004 give the impact of investment in agricultural research and development in Uganda as follows:
Benefit Cost RATIO 12.38
Poverty Reduction 58.31 as compared with interventions in other components of PMA (Table 4).
In Africa Uganda has the third highest rate of return on investment in agricultural research and development (50%) behind Ethiopia (58%) and Morocco (57%) and maintains the same position globally. Of course NARO has been the institution carrying out nationally prioritized and accounted public-funded research.
NARO has continued to produce high quality breeder and foundation seed of the varieties and breeds in its control listed earlier. Multiplication and sale are beyond NARO's control.
There are a number of Seed Companies which have come up to multiply and sell seed. They have formed Uganda Seed Traders' Association (USTA) to coordinate their activities. NARO has signed a formal agreement with three leading companies to multiply and sell three maize varieties.
The Uganda Vegetable Oil Development Project (UVODP) is multiplying and selling oil seeds to its farmers.
The Uganda National Seed Potato Producers Association (UNSPPA) is handling the potato seed multiplication and sale while Kachwekano ARDC maintains the breeder seeds.
AGRO-TECHNOLOGIES (AGT), a private company has now started multiplication and sale of bananas, coffee, fruits and trees planting materials using tissue culture method.
Other farmer groups are handling the orange-fleshed sweet potato vine and cassava stem multiplication and sale.
The proposed Plant Variety Protection Bill is designed to motivate and protect breeders, farmers and community rights and to enable them benefit from the Intellectual Property Rights. The sooner this law is passed, the better for "breeders" of all categories.
Fruit Production in Uganda
The horticulture industry embraces the following categories of crops: vegetables, fruits, flowers, ornamentals, spices, essential oils, herbs, and in some cases medicinal plants. Fruits are grown for both local and international markets in both fresh and dried forms. They add to the diversity of food resources for family food supply and income generation. The climate is favourable for the growing of many types of fruits (tropical, sub-tropical and temperate types). The following are some of the fruits that have been tested by NARO and are grown in different parts of Uganda:
Bananas, Plantains, Apple bananas, pineapples, passion fruits, papaya, oranges, tangerines, limes, Jackfruits, Guava, lemons, grapes, and Carambola. The main growing areas for these fruits are Mukono, Mpigi, Wakiso, Mubende, Luwero, Kapchorwa, Iganga, Soroti. The National Census conducted in 1990/91 indicated that the total area cultivated under fruits was 16,000 ha with total production of 188,000 Mt giving an average yield of 11.8 Mt/ha.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, establishment of the nurseries and mother gardens took place and thereafter extended to Masaka, Nakabango, Mityana, Tororo and Mukono for multiplication and supply of quality planting materials.
Demonstration fields were set up in the districts of Luwero, Masaka, Mukono, Wakiso, Mpigi as pilot districts for Mangoes, Citrus, Avocado, Passion fruits and Pineapples.
NARO runs low-level Horticultural Programme dealing with selected fruits and vegetables whose outputs include improved varieties and production guidelines. The large scale growing and processing is a private business affair and beyond NARO's control.
However, during the Strategic Export Programme (SEP), NARO was given the responsibility to facilitate the following activities in collaboration with various stakeholders to undertake the following activities:
a. Introduction and production of improved planting materials.
b. Multiplication and distribution of planting materials.
c. Management and production of high quality export products.
d. Product quality assurance.
e. Establishment of fora for horticultural crops stakeholders.
f. Establishment of an apex body for horticulture stakeholders.
Basic achievements are as follows:
Introduction of improved varieties of mangoes, passion fruits, citrus, apples, pears, avocadoes, pawpaws, etc.
Training of farmers in nursery production techniques and management, production skills, harvesting, post-harvest handling, cottage/household level processing (juice production, drying, packaging and storage).
Follow-up production, processing and marketing is beyond NARO's control and is in the hands of several companies, but these work hand in hand with NARO.
Meeting the newly introduced EUREP GAP requirements remains the biggest challenge. To this end several exporters, working with NARO and some institutions in The Netherlands, efforts to trace producers is being addressed.
Plans for mass production of fruits More than 350 nursery managers from 11 districts were trained in establishment of mother gardens and management of fruit nurseries. The districts were: Luwero, Iganga, Tororo, Mbale, Soroti, Apac, Lira, Arua, Nebbi, Mbarara and Kasese.
There are plans by MAAIF to register nursery operators in future to help farmers to obtain certified disease free planting materials. KARI is continuing to produce disease-free materials for enabling farmers to establish mother gardens in fruit growing areas.
Production of planting material Training clients and nursery operators on nursery establishment and orchard management from various districts with the exception of the districts from the North, North East, Kalangala and Kisoro. More and more clients were trained on fruit tree propagation and management (basically beginning with 16 districts) and later other districts will be covered for future continuous supply of high quality products for export and agro-industries.
The following districts obtained planting materials and are producing fruits of mangoes, citrus, avocado, and passion fruits:
Kasese, Mbarara, Tororo, Iganga, Arua, Nebbi, Luwero, Soroti, Mbale, Kamuli, Lira, Mukono, Wakiso, Apac, Jinja, Masindi, Kamwenge, Mpigi, Kumi, Pallisa, Kayunga and Kisoro.
The northern eastern districts took the highest number of mangoes and citrus on the grounds that these hotter and drier and this favours production of these crops. Avocado and passion fruits, however, were distributed to farmers in Central, South and Western parts of the country.
Temperate fruits especially apples, pears, plums, nectarines, etc have been introduced and are being evaluated and grown in the highlands of Kabale. Talks are underway with South African scientists for provision of technical assistance that includes exchange of germplasm of these temperate fruits.
International Markets for Ugandan Fruits
The New Spitalfields Market of the United Kingdom (UK) is the major market for the fruits exported from Uganda to Europe. Other countries like The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany import fruits from Uganda. Kenya, Rwanda, Japan and the Middle East are some of the other fruit markets. Canada and the USA have started importing dried fruits from Uganda but the quantities are still extremely small.
It is not quite sure when the reform process will be finalized with everything in place for effective implementation. NARO's current research programme is designed to be completed by June 2005.
It is vital that a new research programme is developed by the end of 2004, NARS fully established, staff recruited and motivated to remain in agricultural research and adequate funds are availed for research as agricultural research is indispensable for the modernization of agriculture.
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