Africa-Press – Uganda. Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries Frank Tumwebaze has inaugurated the new Governing Council of the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) with a directive to spearhead an intensive shift toward technology-driven farming in Uganda.
Speaking at the ceremony on Monday morning, Tumwebaze applauded NARO for “supporting and sustaining our country’s food ecosystem with its enabling research work.” However, he cautioned that the institution must now move beyond traditional research roles and aggressively drive Uganda into a modern era of mechanisation and precision agriculture.
He said the country must embrace what he called “New Agriculture,” a system where farming is powered by advanced tools and digital solutions.
“‘New Agriculture’ is that type of precision farming powered/driven by mechanisation and technology,” Tumwebaze said.
The minister emphasised that integrating technology into agricultural operations is essential for transforming Uganda’s predominantly subsistence sector into a productive commercial industry.
“An effective agri-tech system with precision farming solutions must be developed and deployed for uptake among farmers,” he said, urging the new Council to accelerate modernisation across the value chain.
He pointed to the digitisation of key agricultural processes such as planting, crop management and harvesting as the next strategic focus.
“We must aim at digitising most of our input processes from planting, crop management to harvesting,” he noted, adding that such changes would boost yields and profitability.
“This is how production will increase exponentially and thus make farming more commercial and gainful,” Tumwebaze said.
As part of the directive, Tumwebaze announced that NARO will establish a new directorate dedicated to the development and deployment of agricultural technologies nationwide.
“I have accordingly directed NARO to establish a directorate for agriculture technology development & deployment (drones, AI solutions, blockchain, etc etc) within its organisational structure,” he stated.
The directorate is expected to focus on scaling innovation and ensuring technologies reach farmers faster including drones for field surveillance, artificial intelligence for crop health analysis, and digital traceability tools like blockchain.
The Agricultural Research Organisation has been central to food security and innovation in Uganda for years, but Tumwebaze said the institution must now assume a more proactive leadership role.
He challenged the incoming council members to strategically guide Uganda’s transition towards modern agricultural practices.
“Naro must strategically lead & guide the country into the ‘New Agriculture’ revolution,” he said.
The minister’s remarks align with the government’s broader agenda to transform agriculture into a high-value commercial sector that supports exports, reduces post-harvest losses, and increases farmer incomes.
Uganda’s agriculture sector employs more than 70% of the population but remains vulnerable to climate shocks, low mechanisation, limited extension services and inefficiencies in value chains.
Experts say greater investment in technology could help close the productivity gap and enable farmers to compete in regional and global markets.
However, concerns persist about whether rural farmers have the resources and digital literacy needed to adopt advanced tools.
Tumwebaze assured that the government will support NARO’s expanded mandate to ensure new technologies are accessible and affordable to farmers at all levels.
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