NARO Demands For More Funding To Improve Research

The National Agricultural Advisory Services Executive Director, Dr Samuel Mugasi, has asked the government to increase funding to the agriculture sector to do more research in a bid to increase productivity.

Dr Samuel Mugasi also revealed that The National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) receives at least Shs 100 billion every financial year but said it’s not enough.

Dr Mugasi made these comments on Thursday afternoon at Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute in Rubanda district as the institute displayed agriculture technologies to the public ahead of world food day scheduled for 16^th October.

“Because we know the importance of research is to solve problems in the modern world. Research, as we know, is to solve to provide solutions to human problems”

“Funding for NARO and research is the problem because we largely depend on donor funding but now we’re urging the government to increase funding for NARO and the government has promised to increase salaries of scientists, but also to increase the budget for research. We have no doubt that NARO will have additional funding.”

However, Dr Mugasi revealed that NARO has started NARO holdings, an entity that shall do business so that the income generated is used to do research.

The director of research at Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (KaZARDI) Dr Alex Barekye talking to our reporter said they receive funding of about Shs 500 Million which he said wasn’t enough. He revealed that the technologies would be better if the funding was enhanced. Our request to policymakers is to increase funding to NARO so that our technologies are improved.

“In NARO we do research and generate technologies to help farmers increase their productivity, fight famine and poverty and enhance nutrition. However, this research needs resources. We implore the government to improve funding for NARO to do better research” Dr Alex Barekye said.