By Julius Mugaga Tukacungurwa, Umoja Standard.
JINJA City: The National Agricultural Research Organisation asserted scientific authority at the just concluded 32nd National Agricultural Show, securing recognition as Best Government Institution during UNFFE’s closing ceremony in Jinja City on July 4, 2026. The accolade, announced by evaluation committee chair Benjamin Isabirye, cited NARO’s record in developing practical technologies and disseminating scientific solutions that recalibrate Uganda’s agricultural productivity toward commercial metrics.
The 9-day exhibition, staged June 26–July 4 under the theme “Agri-Leap to Middle Income: 10-Fold Strategy through Farm Innovation and Agri-Industrialisation,” convened over 400 exhibitors and targeted 200,000 visitors at the UNFFE Showgrounds, positioning farm innovation and value addition as levers for accelerating incomes beyond subsistence thresholds.
NARO’s pavilion functioned as a technical demonstration hub rather than a display gallery, with scientists translating research outputs into field-ready applications across crops, livestock, forestry and post-harvest systems. Among the innovations presented were a newly developed anti-tick vaccine targeting vector-borne losses in cattle, value-added banana products extending shelf life and marketability, coffee value chain technologies aimed at quality differentiation, and forestry innovations aligned to climate resilience.
For semi-arid zones, NARO showcased agronomic packages designed for moisture stress, alongside improved crop varieties delivering higher yields, enhanced nutrition and resistance to pests and diseases. Mechanisation equipment exhibited addressed labour bottlenecks, while a newly introduced black rice variety drew attention for nutritional density and health attributes.
Practical training sessions ran concurrently with exhibitions, equipping farmers and agripreneurs with hands-on skills to adopt technologies at farm level and convert research into measurable gains. The focus on value addition reflected economic priorities in regions where raw commodity trade erodes margins.
Students from Bombo Army Secondary School engaged directly with banana fibre products, illustrating the institution’s emphasis on youth exposure to science-based enterprise.
Isabirye noted that NARO distinguished itself through excellence in agricultural research, technology development and the dissemination of innovations that support transformation of farming into a calculable, data-driven enterprise.
The show’s architecture reinforced that orientation. UNFFE, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, delivered the event in two phases, with phase one dedicated to the agricultural value chain and phase two shifting to youth education and skills pathways from July 5–11.
Daily engagements addressed mechanisation, climate-smart practices, agro-processing, agricultural finance and digital solutions, while extension clinics provided advisory interfaces for producers. Chinese experts participating under the FAO-China South-South Programme exhibited high-yielding rice and foxtail millet varieties plus small agricultural gadgets, enabling side-by-side assessment of imported and domestic technologies.
Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja, representing President Museveni at the June 30 opening, launched the Wealth Creation Village established by Operation Wealth Creation to exhibit state interventions migrating households from subsistence to commercial operations. Museveni’s message commended OWC and the Parish Development Model for expanding community access to productive assets and urged participants to utilize the platform for yield improvement and income expansion.
The 12th Best Farmers Competition, launched in Njeru with a Shs4.1 billion Netherlands Embassy grant, broadened eligibility to large-scale farmers and cooperatives, with thirteen winners slated for financial awards and exposure visits to Dutch agricultural systems.
By foregrounding NARO’s innovations and embedding them within policy, finance and market dialogues, the 32nd Show operationalized its theme beyond rhetoric. The emphasis remained on technologies that alter cost structures, raise unit productivity and insert Ugandan produce into competitive value chains, with NARO’s portfolio serving as the technical spine of that transition.
