World Food Day: Uganda launches two new crop varieties

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Uganda has unveiled two varieties of beans and groundnuts with a call on farmers to adopt modern, sustainable farming practices and focus on diversified production.

Vice President, Jessica Alupo, while launching the new seeds said that, adopting this practices is better bearing in mind the needs for the family on one hand and the market on the other because it is important to not only be food secure but income secure as well.

The new groundnut varieties unveiled at the national commemoration of  the 44th World Food Day include: Naronut 3R, Naronut 4R and Naronut 5R while for beans included Nabe 12 CR and Nabe 14R.

The events took place earlier today (Wednesday October 16) at the National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) in Serere District in eastern Uganda.

Speaking under this year’s theme, ”right to food for a better life and better future", Alupo said its critical for the people to reflect on the right to food as a basic human right-one that is central to improving the quality of life of all Ugandans, and creating a prosperous, food-secure future.

She said this year’s theme underscores the NRM Government’s commitment to ensuring that every citizen has access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Alupo recognizes this as fundamental to national development.

“As the country strides to increase agricultural production and productivity for food and animal feed security, with improvements in crop varieties such as beans, maize, cassava, and groundnuts and breeding stocks cognizant of climate change with the associated effects, we also remain alive to the need for Investments in supportive infrastructure such as irrigation and water resource management, mechanization, and post-harvest handling facilities,” she said.

VP Alupo, MAAIF Minister Frank Tumwebaze, Fisheries state Minister, Hellen Adoa and MP Serere, Emmanuel Omoding, during the release of new crop varieties in Serere on Wednesday. (Credit Emmanuel Alomu)

She reiterated the government’s commitment to Climate-Smart Agriculture practices that ensure sustainable food production in the face of climate change.

According to her, the President Yoweri Museveni has continuously called on all stakeholders —farmers, researchers, policymakers, and the private sector—to embrace climate-resilient methods to mitigate the effects of climate change on agriculture. But we each need to play our roles at various levels.

Alupo said there is a need to improve food safety standards and promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture, ensuring that food not only fills bellies but is also nutritious to make children have healthier lives.

Government, she said will continue to ensure access to quality agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizers, etc.) and extension services; support agro-processing and value addition to enhance incomes and create jobs, especially for the youth and women; encourage the private sector to invest in agriculture value chains, and market access;  and Invest in research and innovation, working with institutions like NaSARRI to release varieties that are more productive yet resilient, as well as beneficial for health, like sorghum and millet for diabetic patients and nutritional improvement.

VP Alupo, Minister Adoa and Tumwebaze inspecting the stalls during the World Food Day in Serere District on Wednesday. (Credit Emmanuel Alomu)

Frank Tumwebaze, the minister of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries who hailed the scientists for developing the first maturing crops which is in line with smart climate agriculture, observed that Agriculture plays a critical role in shaping the national development of the country.

He also commended the NaSARRI team, whom he said, helped to revive orphaned crops like millet and sorghum which are beneficial for people with health complications like diabetes.

The minister reiterated the commitment by NARO to continue developing varieties which are high yielding, drought and disease resistant under the climate smart agriculture project as the means of reviving the economy.

He however appealed to the leaders across the country to protect the land of agricultural institutions that he said are under attack by the community.

“There is so much pressure from real estate developers who think that we have idle land, your excellence, the land for research is not idle, it's not meant to have skyscrapers, it's for field trials. If we don’t have this land to support the eco system of research, our food system will be affected,” Tumwebaze observed.

Tumwebaze, who did not name the MAAIF institutions under attack, called on the various stakeholders to protect the research land from encroachers or developers because the land is meant for irrigation systems, trials of agricultural inputs not for development of hotels.

Hellen Adoa, the state minister for Fisheries, noted with concern that there is growing food scarcity that has resulted in the rampant killings and domestic violence in the region.

She expressed disappointment that the extension workers have left farmers to struggle alone without any knowledge of farming.

The minister noted that many people are drowning in the lakes because most of the trees have been cut down, something that has made the soil to be swept into the lakes thus making them slippery.

Dr. Yona Baguma, the director general of NARO, said their organization has so far developed over 30 different groundnut varieties with NARONUT IV being the best in the country.

According to him, NARO has developed more than 1,000 technologies since its establishment in 1992.

However, Baguma raised a concern that NARO has a shortfall of 443 staff and limited infrastructure

The Serere District LCV Chairperson, Stephen Ochola, highlighted the challenges faced by NaSARRI, ranging from inadequate irrigation systems, farm machineries and dilapidated livestock structures among others.

Emmanuel Omoding, the Serere County Member of Parliament, noted that the next expensive mineral coming up is food, where he called on the experts to empower and encourage the farmers to produce more food, and plant more trees so as to address climate change.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) 2023 report, 1.73m Ugandans face acute food shortage and a third don’t have a healthy diet thus contributing to problems like obesity.