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NERICA’s flying start in Uganda
 Within 3 years of its introduction, NERICA has got off to a flying start in Uganda thanks to a successful partnership between the national program,
international NGOs, seed companies, and farmers. Over 6000 hectares are under NERICA cultivation in Uganda.
“I was amazed to see the growing NERICA boom in the country during my trip in October 2003,” exclaimed Dr Nwanze. NERICA has become so popular
in certain areas of Uganda that some farmers are even abandoning tobacco—the country’s second largest cash crop—to grow it. Uganda is indeed
poised to become as successful a model for NERICA adoption in East Africa as Guinea is for West Africa.
However, the pattern of NERICA uptake in Uganda is quite different from that of Guinea according to Dr Nwanze. “I think the difference lies in the
way rice is perceived; in Uganda, rice is considered a commercial product rather than a food crop, in contrast to West Africa. The private sector is,
therefore, actively involved in the NERICA trade (food grain and seed sectors) in Uganda.”
Similar to Guinea, there is a high-level political support to NERICA dissemination in the country. The New Vision—Uganda’s leading
newspaper—reported on its website in March 2004 that as part of a major initiative to reduce poverty through the promotion of upland rice, Uganda’s
President Yoweri Museveni distributed NERICA seeds to representatives of farmers’ groups from 11 districts.
The initiative, led by the Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, will help farmers sell their NERICA harvest to a rice cooperative. From the proceeds of
their sale, farmers are expected to make a down payment toward the purchase of low-cost model houses for themselves.
The secret behind NERICA’s popularity in Uganda is that farmers, traders, and the government are convinced of its commercial value. The New Vision
cites a farmer who was wonderstruck when he was paid 1.6 million Ugandan shillings (about $850) for his first harvest of NERICA grown on less than
a hectare. “They told me that I would get a lot of money but I didn’t think that it would be this much. I still have a few sacks at home which my
family can consume,” the farmer exclaimed.
“The fact that Uganda’s seed traders have embraced NERICA, it means that there is money in it,” was a constant remark heard by the high-level
delegation of representatives from the World Bank, the Government of Japan, and WARDA, which visited the NERICA project in Masindi, Uganda, in
October 2003.
Rice is a relatively new crop in Uganda. It was introduced on a large scale in the 1960s and is now widely grown in many parts of the country,
especially in the eastern and northern regions. To meet the increasing demand for rice, Uganda imports about $100 million worth of rice every year.
The NERICA boom in Uganda began in 2002 when NERICA 4 was released after national scientists selected it from the set of improved lines sent from
WARDA. Incidentally, Uganda is the second African country after Côte d’Ivoire to release a NERICA variety.
The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) has since then informed WARDA that NERICA 4 (WAB 450-1-B-P-91-HB) was most probably
released under two names in Uganda: NARIC 3 and Suparica 2. This happened because two groups of researchers, one from the NASECO seed
company and the other from NARO, independently submitted the same line to the Variety Release Committee under different names. The next Variety
Release Committee meeting is expected to clear this confusion in names.
During Dr Nwanze’s trip to Uganda, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between WARDA and NARO to facilitate joint activities on rice R&D,
exchange of germplasm and information, and capacity building.
Speaking of the importance of WARDA’s future collaboration with Uganda, Dr Nwanze said, “In Eastern Africa, Uganda is WARDA’s entry point by
virtue of the comprehensive work-plan we have engaged in with the Ministry of Agriculture, NARO, Sasakawa-Global 2000, private seed companies
and the sub-regional organization—the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), based in
Entebbe.”
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