In a significant move towards preserving cultural heritage and advancing agricultural practices, a delegation from the Obwenengo Bwa Bugwe Kingdom paid a visit to the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) on 21st May 2024.
The purpose of their visit was to explore the possibility of entering into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NARO, aimed at fostering mutual benefits through collaboration.
Represented by their esteemed Prime Minister , Rt. Hon Arafat Egessa, said it is important for them to upgrade their farming methods, underscoring that despite possessing arable land conducive for cultivating staple crops such as maize, rice, potatoes and cow peas, they haven’t been able to make the most of it due to a lack of modern techniques.
We believe the collaboration with NARO can change that. As a culture, we have land which is good to grow these crops but our people have been lagging behind because of lack of techniques, we need knowledge and we believe it should come from experts like you because we are fully aware our economy relies entirely on agriculture
Prime Minister , Rt. Hon Arafat Egessa
Egessa also emphasized that the kingdom’s strategic location boosts one of the largest markets in the country situated in Busia, hence the urgency of optimizing agricultural productivity in their region with NAROs technologies which will equip them with the latest advancements in agriculture. This collaboration is therefore a chance for them to explore their untapped potential.
Remarking on the prime ministers statement, the NaCRRI director Dr Godfrey Asea, commended that this collaboration not only equips the Obenenge Bwa Bugwe with the requisite knowledge but also empowers the local community to harness their agricultural potential to its fullest.
The director also assured the delegates about NARO’s commitment of continuous move to delivering the best as the national agricultural research organization and the goal of shifting production to commercial farming.
So we are all required to select appropriate enterprises, knowledge and information needed to identify and train some farmers in a bid to achieve our commercial goal. In this we hope to empower farmers in the region on how best they can respond to the market demands.
Dr Godfrey Asea
Asea earmarked that going beyond farming for consumption is key to unlocking agricultural potential in the region but stressed that this is achievable through proper agronomic practice like soil management, proper sanitation and adopting improved technologies.
This is new opportunity to grab money, we need to go beyond food, I therefore suggest farmer learning and creation of farmer network who can work hand in hand with NARO to pass the Improved technologies to farmers. We are replacing old varieties that don’t yield with the newly developed varieties that are diseased free, stress tolerant and climate adoptable.
Dr. Bernard yada, RootCrops Programme leader, took the delegations through the research works done at NaCRRI and highlighted opportunities available for partnership with the different programmes at the institutes.
He further encouraged the kingdom to interests themselves in value addition. In this, he gave a hint on some of the value products that NARO has developed including starch, wine, bread, bio degraded materials among others.
I would give an example of one farmer I know who had good acre of his crops but he told me he preferred to sell his produce straight from the garden in fear of incurring transportation costs to the market but in this farmers tend to miss out because they are exploited and that is why we encouraged them to go for value addition to gain more, he urged.
The delegation had the opportunity to see a variety of NARO technologies while touring the research fields and laboratories. By identifying common interests and aligning their efforts, the Obwenengo Bwa Bugwe Kingdom and NARO are poised to establish a robust collaboration that not only benefits both parties but also contributes to the overall development and well-being of the communities they serve.