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On Monday, April 8, 2024, Members of Parliament on the agriculture committee visited three research institutes of the National Agricultural Research Institution (NARO).

The three institutions are the Mukono Zonal Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MUZARDI), the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLRRI) and the National Crop Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI).

Moses Dhikusooka Tefula senior research officer and head of vaccine research in NARO taking the legislators through a study. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

During the visit the MPs were taken to various installations and innovations; one of those was the National Animal Tick Vaccine plant that is in its final stages of completion at NaCRRI in Namulonge.

Upon completion, the plant will produce 10 million animal vaccines monthly for cows, goats and sheep available to all farmers at affordable prices.

MPs on the agriculture parliamentary committee at the local chicken poultry breeding unit in Kawanda. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

MPs on the agriculture parliamentary committee at the local chicken poultry breeding unit in Kawanda. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

NARO and the MPs also talked about some of the pressing issues in the agricultural sector.

Mandatory animal vaccination

The Director General NARO, Yona Baguma asked the legislators to come up with legislation compelling all farmers to vaccinate their animals.

Cattle at National Agriculture Research Laboratories in Kawanda. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

Cattle at National Agriculture Research Laboratories in Kawanda. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

He said this would make animal vaccination mandatory thus helping in the fight against ticks in animals in the country. 

MPs want NARO to produce aflatoxin-resistant maize

The MPs also asked NARO to develop maize seed varieties resistant to aflatoxin.

According to the Ngora District Woman Member of Parliament Stella Isodo, the new varieties could save farmers losses incurred at post-harvest and storage stages due to the formation of moulds that lead to the development of toxins in food.

Maize seed varieties at NARO. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

“Is there a way they can develop varieties that can resist the aflatoxin in the gardens or other measures that prevent contamination of these toxins into foods before we get to these stages of testing for the toxins using advanced machines, which may be costly to a farmer?” Isodo asked.

She appealed after MPs were shown the different aflatoxin control measures at NARO, which include the aflatoxin binders that are sprinkled in the garden before planting and then the Evidence Investigator Machine that tests for aflatoxin in grains, especially for traders and exporters.

Maize seeds in the NARO stores. (Photo by Maria Wamala)

Information from the agriculture ministry indicates that aflatoxin contamination of foods begins on the farm and continues throughout the value chain.

As a result, management of this problem must begin on-farm with farming practices (good agricultural practices) and extend to the produce's postharvest cycle, which includes processing and marketing.

They add that the prevalence of aflatoxins in Uganda is generally due to poor food/ feed handling practices.

Recent data from NARO shows aflatoxin contamination in the central, northern and eastern parts of Uganda on groundnuts, cassava, maize, sorghum and on animal feeds revealed that among human foods, maize had the highest level of aflatoxin contamination at 56%, followed by groundnuts at 55%, followed by sorghum at 53% and lastly dry cassava at 27%.

Dr Godfrey Asea, director of research at NaCRRI, assured the public that research has started to breed tolerant maize varieties to aflatoxin. He, however, said the process will take some time.

In the meantime, he advised farmers to take advantage of the biological control measures of aflasafe to manage toxins from the gardens.