Publication cover

Authors:

Nienke Beintema, Daniel Kitone, and Ambrose Agona

Year:

2016

Publisher

International Food Policy Research Institute and National Agricultural Research Organisation

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Continuing growth

Agricultural R&D spending continued its growth path during 2011–2014. Total agricultural spending, adjusted for inflation, was three times higher in 2014 than in 2000. This growth was the result of increased government and donor support to NARO combined with the establishment of new universities. Consequently, the country’s 2014 research intensity ratio nearly reached the recommended 1 percent target set by the African Union and the United Nations.

Capacity strengthening at NARO

First in 2013, and secondly in 2016, the government approved large-scale salary increases, staff promotions, and staff recruitment for Uganda’s civil servants. As a result, NARO researchers received a raise twice since 2010. In addition, through the World Bank projects EAAPP and ATAAS, 42 researchers received, or are currently undertaking, MSc- and PhD-level training in Uganda or abroad (31 and 11 researchers, respectively). With these and other improvements, NARO can now provide a more competitive and incentivedriven working environment.

Increased donor funding to NARO

Under EAAPP, Uganda was selected as home to the subregion’s center of excellence in cassava research, receiving a US$30 million loan under Phase I, the majority of which was allocated to technology generation, researcher training, and the rehabilitation of NARO’s cassava research facilities. Phase-I was completed in 2015, and Phase-II is expected to begin in 2017. NARO also received funding from a wide range of donors, enabling improvements in infrastructure and investment in high-quality equipment. Nonetheless, some of NARO’s laboratories and research facilities remain inadequate.

Establishment of new universities

Rising demand for higher education has prompted a significant increase in the number of (mainly private) universities in Uganda since the 1990s, although only a minority offer agricultural programs. Those that do include four public universities (Makerere University being one), four private universities, two colleges, and one training institute. The establishment of these entities from the late 1990s has resulted in increased research capacity within the higher education sector.