NARO UNDERTAKES RESEARCH ON ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY RICE PRODUCTION PRACTICES

Senior Research Officer at National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Dr. Emmanuel Odama

By Sabir Musa

Arua City

The National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) is conducting a research to ensure continuous production of rice in Uganda using methods that do not interfere with wetlands, yet realizing good yields for farmers.

This is in response to government’s call to protect wetlands which are degraded in some areas by carrying out illegal activities that are against the National Environment Act 2019.

Dr. Emmanuel Odama, NARO Senior Research Officer based at Abi Zonal Agricultural Research and Development Institute (AbiZARDI), revealed that the Promotion of Sustainable Rice Farming Development (Eco-PRiDe) project is focused on addressing the challenge.

“This project therefore is undertaking studies to see how farmers can diversify rice production without necessarily encroaching negatively on the low land aspect.

This is been done here in West Nile and some studies have been done in Eastern Uganda. But ultimately once all this is done, we should be able to come up with production guideline which should be in the next 3 to 5 years, this will go through Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries” he explained.

The Promotion of Sustainable Rice Farming Development (Eco-PRiDe) project is a five years project financed by Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), which started on 17th June 2024.

Five districts, including Koboko, Yumbe, Maracha, Nebbi Municipality and Madi-Okollo, are implementing the project in West Nile.

The Agricultural Officer of Oleba Sub County in Maracha District, Robina Opiru, is hopeful that intervention by NARO, JICA and other partners will have positive impact in rice production and environment protection.

“Good enough NARO is now looking at bringing-in new varieties which can be planted outside, meaning anytime farmers can even plant NARICA 4 in outside land not necessarily in the low land” Opiru said.

For the last three years, Flavia Adiru, has been planting rice in Maracha District, she is now equipped with knowledge of rice production and wetland protection gained from training under the Eco-PriDe project.

“For Eco-PriDe, even though upland you can still plant but it’s all about the number of times you weed the plant to get good yield” Adiru advised.

Under the Promotion of Sustainable Rice Farming Development (Eco-PRiDe) project, farmers receive trained on best ways of eco-friendly rice production through the MUSOMESA Field School (MFS), a strategy of farmer-to-farmer extension approach which was introduced to offset gaps in the traditional system.