Abstract:

The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) was established in Uganda with a mandate to undertake, promote and coordinate research in all aspects of crops, fisheries, forestry and livestock, and to ensure dissemination and application of research results throughout the country. Recent changes in Government policies, as expressed in the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture, place emphasis upon commercialisation, privatisation, decentralisation and broader participation in the provision of agricultural services, including research. NARO welcomes these challenges and feels they will greatly contribute to the utilisation of technologies and methods which NARO and others have developed over the past decade to the benefit of large numbers of producers and consumers. This technology inventory should also contribute to the greater utilisation of improved technologies, by increasing awareness of what F sc 4 is currently available. This technology inventory summarises the major agricultural technologies developed by NARO from 1992 to 2002. Further information on many of these are available from NARO's Research Institutes, District Agricultural Offices and elsewhere, in the form of leaflets, brochures, posters, etc. One of the core functions of public research institutes in Uganda is to promote agricultural information to agricultural advisers, farmers and other end-users: and this inventory will help potential users to be aware of the improved technologies currently available. With this awareness, farmer groups will be better able to demand advisory services from their agricultural advisers. It is my sincere hope that the information provided in this inventory will contribute to the development of a farmer-driven, demand-led agricultural research and advisiory services in Uganda.