NARO Deputy Director General in charge of Agricultural Technology Promotion, Dr. Sadik Kassim launched a Grand Challenge for Africa project dumbed “Greening the poultry value chain in Uganda and Burundi” on 19th March 2024. The project titled “Scaling-up Uptake and Effective Use of Climate Resilient Innovations to Address Challenges Affecting Youth-led Agribusinesses in the Chicken Value Chain in Uganda and Burundi” is a project under the Science for Africa Foundation that is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mukono ZARDI in partnership with Gudie Incubation Center and University of Burundi will implement the project in collaboration with experts from Makerere University Department of Geography and Artificial Intelligence Lab.
Dr. Barbara M Zawedde, the Principal Investigator, notes that the project aim at using digital and online platforms to: strengthen multi-stakeholders’ coordination platforms for the chicken value chain in Central Uganda and Burundi; generate and optimize climate resilience solutions for different scenarios and agro-ecological zones; and disseminate local content of proven solutions targeting different actors in the chicken value chain actors. The project plans to map at least 30,000 stakeholders and produce appropriate audio visuals translated in at least four languages that is Luganda, Swahili, French and Kirundi.
Prof. Gudula Basaza, Proprietor for Gudie Incubation Center, noted that if this project is implemented satisfactorily, it will provide answers to their youth agri-preneurs’ network of over 112,000 members who are smallholder farmers that are struggling with keeping up with the climate variabilities. She envisions this project to be a pilot for others to come that will target the other enterprises where their youth have invested. Prof. Tatien Masharabu from University of Burundi pledged commitment to timely delivery of the project outputs.
Dr. Saul Daniel Ddumba, from Makerere University Department of Geography committed to use the most appropriate simulation modelling techniques to help the project deliver on its outputs. Dr. Joyce Nabende, from Makerere University Artificial Intelligence Lab, was excited to integrate the outputs of this project into their Grand Challenges project that uses AI to translate and disseminate agricultural information, as well as capture feedback from, a wider audience beyond this project’s geographical scope.
While launching the project, the Deputy Director General Technology Promotion, Dr. Kassim appreciated MUZARDI and Gudie Leisure Farm for winning the project and Bill gates as funders. We are glad that the project is focusing on both youths and climate resilient innovations as key outputs of NARO. He thanked Burundi University and Makerere University as key collaborators in the project. “I look forward to obtaining tangible outputs at the end of the three years that the project will be operational, he noted.”