Kachwekano

Kachwekano Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (KaZARDI) is located in Rubanda District in South Western Uganda. The institute is composed of three stations, Kachwekano (which is an administrative seat), Kalengyere and Bugongi (which are field stations).

Kachwekano ZARDI spearheads agricultural research and development work in Uganda’s south western highlands agro-ecological zone (SWHAEZ) that administratively comprises Kabale, Kisoro, Kanungu, Rukungiri, Rubanda and Rukiga districts.

Kachwekano was established by the British in 1937 for experimentation and demonstration of crops, pastures and livestock of temperate origin.

Vision

Improved livelihoods of the farming communities in SWHAEZ.

Mision

To improve farming systems and livelihoods in the SWHAEZ through conducting strategic, applied and adaptive research on priority commodities.

Mandate

Integrity, Transparency, Teamwork, Adherence to work plan, Security and Political will.

Kachwekano ZARDI Journey

1937

Kachwekano was established by the British in 1937 for experimentation and demonstration of crops, pastures and livestock of temperate origin.

1949

Kachwekano turned into a District Farm Institute (DFI). One of the functions of the DFI was to offer practical courses in agriculture; This equiped local chiefs with skills to disseminate technologies that increased agricultural productivity.

1952

The DFI started popularizing local goats and sheep as a source of income for small holder farmers.

1961

Exotic cattle breeds were introduced and up to now the region has one of the best exotic breeds in Uganda.

2000

Kachwekano was put under the charge of National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) as an Agricultural Research and Development Center (ARDC) to intensify agricultural research on commodities for highland agro ecological areas.

2005

Following the enactment and operationalisation of the 2005 NAR act, Kachwekano became a semi-autonomous Public Agricultural Research Institute under NARO.

2000

The role of the institute was also modified to conduct applied and adaptive research and to facilitate dissemination of appropriate technologies to uptake pathways.

Objectives

To generate and promote agricultural technologies that address needs of the SWHAEZ
To develop and maintain the institute human and infrastructure capacity for effective research services
To strengthen capacity of intermediary agricultural service providers (IASP) for effective dissemination/transfer of research products to target end users in the zone.
To mobilize financial resources for agricultural research and development agenda for the zone.

The institute operates under three programme. Crop and Natural Resources Research programme, Animal Resources Research Programme and Technology Promotion and Outreach Programme.

Potato
Fish
Improved breeds of goats
Highland sorghum varieties
Apple varieties
Adapted tea clones
Bean varieties
Sustainable land management

General functions of Kachwekano

Generating up-to-date information that reflects research and development needs of the people and farming systems in the zone. Such information is then used for re-designing the agricultural research agenda to cater for the dynamism in people’s interests, constraints and emerging enterprise market issues.
Developing technologies, practices, and tools for use by producers, processors and traders in order to continuously improve the farming systems productivity and its agro-enterprise competitiveness.
Building and promoting partnerships with other NARO institutes, CBO’s, local government and private sector organizations for generating and implementing research agenda with the purpose of enhancing quick technology development, adoption and dissemination.
Production of foundation “seed” (planting and stocking materials) of priority crop types, varieties and livestock species.
Promotion, through uptake pathways (e. g NAADS, conventional extension, NGOs, CBO’s) of proven technologies and research products.
Development of multi-stakeholder innovation platforms on various technologies in the zone.