The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST)- Mr. Ramathan Ngobi together with Moses Byaruhanga (Senior Presidential advisor/ Political Affairs) visited NARO’s National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) in Nakyesasa on a familiarization visit on the 11th/November/2022. They were received by the host Director of Research (DOR) Dr. Swidiq Mugerwa, Dr. Yona Baguma (Deputy Director of General Research Coordination), Dr. Kassim Sadiq (Deputy Director of General Agricultural Technology), Abbey Sseguya (Principal Planning Officer) along with other staff.
The guests were given a guided tour of a number of the institute facilities, among which are the pasture conservation area, feed mill unit, aflasafe production facility, vaccine production platform, zero waste unit, aeroponics unit, and milking parlor. The vaccine production facility when completed will have the capacity to produce 30 million doses per year and it will address Tick issues, Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), and African swine fever (ASF) in pigs.
In his remarks in a brief meeting after the tour, PSST Ngobi said he was impressed with the work being done and had enjoyed the experience. “I always knew NARO as a serious organization but had never found time to visit.”
He went on to say, he is always keen on transformative ideas and knowledge that bring new solutions to old challenges and the visit showed him that the scientists were on the right path. He pledged the continued support of the Government of Uganda for agricultural research and development, regarding mechanization, he advised the need to develop models that are easy to maintain to reduce production costs. Moses Byaruhanga commended NARO for the good work and that all the work being done is contributing towards building the pathogen economy that the Government is positioning Uganda for. He went on to say that there is a need for NARO to get an operation formula that is self-accounting to fund the livestock research work and commerce side. He went on to say that the research gap between animal and human research innovations needs to be complementary to make Uganda more independent economically.
Dr. Yona Baguma (the Deputy Director of General Research Coordination) in his remarks thanked them for taking the time to visit the institute and presented three critical areas for financial support that includes the completion of the ’alfasafe production line, vaccine production facility, and a compressor unit for the zero-waste unit. He also pledged NARO’s continued commitment to service.
