Breakthrough: Uganda’s Agricultural research apex body, NARO, launches anti-tick vaccine and production facility
BEN MOSES ILAKUT KAMPALA: Uganda’s apex Agricultural Research for Development body, the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) on April 30, 2026 launched Uganda’s first locally developed anti-tick vaccine, marking a major milestone in efforts to combat tick-borne diseases affecting livestock in Uganda and the African Continent. Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni appreciates the USD 45million vaccine production facility at NARO Considered a national scientific breakthrough through, the commissioning of the country’s livestock vaccine alongside...
WATDEV Project Promotes Adoption of Climate-Smart Water Management BMPs Outside Study Areas in Kenya and Egypt
By Genevieve Apio The WATDEV project successfully conducted a series of training and dissemination events on Best Management Practices (BMPs) in Kenya and Egypt, targeting communities outside the study areas. Held in Laza Village, Tana River County, Kenya (26–27 March 2026) and Sekem Farm, Belbies, Egypt (29–30 March 2026), the trainings brought together farmers, local stakeholders, and technical experts to exchange knowledge, promote innovation, and encourage the adoption of climate-smart agricultural...
Community Based Breeding Programme Revolution: A New Lifeline for Uganda’s Climate-Smart Livestock
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT In the heart of Uganda’s cattle corridors, a transformative initiative is taking root to secure the future of indigenous livestock through the synergy of scientific precision and indigenous wisdom. Between March 3 and 12, 2026, a specialized team of experts led by globally renowned animal geneticist and livestock breeder, Prof. Hans Sölkner and Uganda National Animal Genetic Resources Centre and Databank (NAGRC&DB) (https://nagrc.go.ug/) researcher, Mr. Yunusu Hamira,...
Stakeholders Co-Create Regional CSA Handbook to Boost Climate-Resilient Agriculture in Eastern and Central Africa
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA— “Co-creation of knowledge products and services is indispensable in Agricultural Research for Development due to the diversity of value chain stakeholders and immense expertise in the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) to contribute to product development,” ASARECA Executive Director, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma has told Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) researchers in Ethiopia. “We are gathered here in Addis Ababa not merely to review a...
ASARECA ED, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma holds talks with Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research Director General
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT ADDIS ABABA: The ASARECA Executive Director, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma has held talks with the Director General of the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute Prof. Nigussie Dechassa at his office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Director General and the Executive Director discussed a number of strategic issues including sustainable financing of ASARECA to fulfill its mandate to the National Agricultural Research Systems, ASARECA’s role in facilitating regional research collaboration,...
Shaping the Future of Farming: Eastern and Central Africa experts Endorse Regional Strategy for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture Innovations
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT NAIROBI, KENYA: ASARECA in collaboration with the CGIAR are intensifying the drive to scale up Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) technologies, innovations and management practices to shape the delivery of resilient food systems in Eastern and Central Africa (ECA). During a pivotal Stakeholder Consultation and Validation Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya on (September 29- October 1), ASARECA Executive Director Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma confirmed that the process of finalizing...
Building Resilience of Livelihoods in Refugee host communities through the promotion of Biofortified crops
BY GENEVIEVE APIO KIKUUBE, UGANDA, September 27, 2025 — The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), in collaboration with the International Potato Center (CIP), CARE International, the Pan-Africa Bean Research Alliance (PABRA), the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), and Makerere University College of Health Sciences, successfully conducted a week-long training on the importance of biofortified crops and the scaling of their production in refugee host settlements. The...
Breeding for Resilience: Thanks to AICCRA Project, Western Uganda’s Farmers Take Charge of Saving the Indigenous Goat
BY MICHAEL WAKABI & BEN MOSES ILAKUT BULIISA & KIBAALE, UGANDA: With support from ASARECA, NARO, and global agricultural research for development partners under the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) Project (https://aiccra.cgiar.org/), communities in Kibaale and Buliisa embark on a new chapter of sustainable livestock improvement through Community-Based Breeding Programmes. In the hills and lowlands of Kibaale and the oil-rich plains of Buliisa, a quiet revolution in livestock farming...
When an African farmer earns USD8,276 in a year, we call it success: How ASARECA, AICCRA partners and Virtual Irrigation Academy tool are turning-around smallholder irrigated farming in Uganda
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT KASESE, WESTERN UGANDA—United States Dollars (USD) 8,276 in three seasons in one year. When Johny Benet Murangi and his son, Dedan Murangi, both farmers at the Mobuku-1 Irrigation Scheme in Kasese district in Southwestern Uganda, received soil moisture, temperature, nutrients, and salts monitoring tools from ASARECA and partners in October 2024, they were determined to optimize their use to increase crop productivity and income. Bumper harvest The Murangis witnessed...
Game-changing tool to predict crop potential introduced to Uganda by ASARECA and CGIAR partners
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT KAMPALA, UGANDA: The introduction of a tool meant to enhance the capacity of researchers to predict crop performance viz-a-viz climatic conditions has placed Uganda in a favourable position to transform how farmers, policymakers, and agribusinesses respond to increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. Known as the Climate Smart Agriculture Crop Capability Prediction Tool, the noble tool collects long-term seasonal forecast data, to derive very close estimations on the performance of...