The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening collaboration with the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) to accelerate agricultural transformation, enhance climate resilience and harness emerging technologies for the benefit of farmers in Uganda and beyond.
The commitment was made today when the CABI Chief Executive Officer, Dr Daniel Elger, paid a courtesy visit to NARO top management at the Organisation’s headquarters in Entebbe.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the two organisations to review their longstanding partnership and explore new areas of collaboration, particularly in climate change adaptation, agricultural digitisation, artificial intelligence (AI), data governance, pest and disease management, and joint resource mobilisation.
Dr Elger described NARO as a crucial partner within the CABI family of member countries, noting that the two organisations have built an extensive collaboration over many years.
“NARO is a crucial part for us. NARO represents Uganda in the CABI family of member countries, and we came to discuss some of the most urgent priorities that NARO is envisaging for the future,” Dr Elger said.
He noted that the discussions were aimed at building on existing areas of cooperation while identifying opportunities to deploy additional expertise and resources in areas of strategic importance to Uganda’s agricultural sector.
Among the priority areas identified were climate change and adaptation, digitalisation, data and data governance, as well as joint efforts to mobilise resources to support agricultural research and innovation.
Dr Elger highlighted climate change as a growing threat to agricultural productivity, particularly because of its influence on the distribution and behaviour of pests and diseases.
He observed that changing climatic conditions are contributing to changes in pest and disease patterns globally, including the emergence of invasive species in new locations and changes in the timing and geographical distribution of agricultural pests.
CABI, he said, brings particular expertise in addressing these threats through approaches such as early warning systems and sustainable, nature-based solutions.
“Climate change is an absolute key priority. We work with our member countries on ways to make agriculture more resilient in the face of some of these pressures, particularly for smallholder farmers, and to help ensure food security,” he said.
Dr Elger emphasised that protecting food production goes beyond controlling pests and diseases. It also requires ensuring that farmers receive timely and appropriate information and technologies that enable them to maintain productive, profitable and sustainable farming systems despite emerging challenges.
The discussions also placed significant emphasis on the growing importance of data and artificial intelligence in agricultural research and service delivery.
Dr Elger noted that national agricultural research systems such as NARO not only generate technologies and provide advice to farmers but also collect valuable data and evidence on what works in different farming environments.
He said there was an opportunity for NARO and CABI to strengthen the management, governance and utilisation of such data to inform policy, research and investment decisions.
“How do we make the most of that data? How do we harness that data? How do we ensure that that data is managed in a respectful way from the perspective of the people who’ve generated that data and put to the best possible use?” he asked.
For NARO, the discussions come at a time when the Organisation is exploring ways of harnessing artificial intelligence to improve agricultural research and service delivery.
NARO Director General, Dr Yona Baguma, welcomed the CABI delegation and said the Organisation was looking forward to deepening the longstanding partnership.
“We are happy to host you. NARO and CABI have been partners for many years,” Dr Baguma said.
He said NARO was in the process of establishing a team to spearhead the Organisation’s work on artificial intelligence and expressed interest in working with CABI to develop an institutional framework for harnessing AI for the benefit of humanity.
“Working with the team from CABI, we will look forward to developing an institutional framework to harness AI for service of humanity,” Dr Baguma said.
Dr Baguma further identified climate change transformation, digitisation of research processes and data sharing as key areas where NARO and CABI could expand their collaboration.
He said the two organisations could work together on climate change transformative activities and digitise research processes to enable NARO to deliver its services at scale.
He also proposed collaboration on shared data platforms to strengthen evidence-based investment and decision-making in agriculture.
“We want NARO to be a champion in establishing a governance framework for AI in Uganda,” Dr Baguma said.
The proposed collaboration is expected to contribute to NARO’s broader mandate of generating and disseminating agricultural research, technologies and innovations that respond to the evolving needs of farmers, value-chain actors and policymakers.
The two organisations also expressed interest in strengthening joint resource mobilisation to support agricultural research and innovation in Uganda and the wider region.
Dr Baguma said NARO looked forward to working with CABI to mobilise additional resources for agricultural research, noting that stronger partnerships would be critical in addressing emerging challenges facing agriculture.
The engagement reinforced the strategic importance of partnerships between national agricultural research institutions and international scientific organisations in developing solutions to challenges such as climate change, emerging pests and diseases, food insecurity and the need for more efficient agricultural information systems.
The meeting was attended by the NARO Deputy Director General, Dr Sadik Kassim; Director of Audit, Denis Owor; Director of Finance, Julius Tegiike, alongside other senior officials from NARO and CABI.
