The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) is an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)
With the mandate to coordinate and oversee all aspects of public-funded agricultural research in Uganda.
Established as a body corporate by the National Agricultural Research Act of 2005, NARO comprises a Governing Council, a Secretariat and 16 Public Agricultural Research Institutes (PARIs) spread across the country.
NARO is mandated to undertake research in all aspects of agriculture including crops, livestock, fisheries, forestry, agro-machinery, natural resources and socio-economics.
Vision
A competitive society supported by a dynamic agricultural research innovation system.
Core Values
Inclusivity, Transparency, Integrity, Accountability, and Excellence
Mandate
Coordinating, overseeing and guiding agricultural research in Uganda.
Mission
To innovate for sustainable agricultural transformation
Our Goal
To increase total factor productivity and access to agricultural research products and services for inclusive growth.
How We Work
NARO’s work is channelled through 10-year strategic plans that spell out research priorities over the period. The last strategic plan cycle focused on the improvement of agricultural production and productivity. NARO’s current strategic plan for the period 2018/19 – 2027/28, is themed: “Market-Oriented Research Spurring Agro-Industrialization”.
The Technical Research Agenda revolves around farm power and mechanization which is intended to move the majority of the farmers that are still involved in subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture through the adoption of affordable agricultural mechanization.
In so doing NARO’s agricultural engineering arm has developed several agro-machinery proto-types including the fishing kiln, thresher, water pump. Food nutrition, health and industrial health, genetic resources harnessing and management, market and marketing enhancing technologies, post-harvest handling and value addition studies are also carried out under Technical Research. Other studies here include production and productivity plus technology development, access and application.
Under the Institutional Research Agenda, the focus is more on policy and partnerships, research capacity (human and infrastructure), funding and funding diversity. The National Agricultural Research Organization and Agroecological Zones.