Meet the experts who will mentor farmers at Lira Farm Clinic today

Dr Laban Fran Turyagyenda
The director of NgettaZARDI and the chief host of the Farm Clinic event, Turyagyenda holds a doctorate in plant breeding and biotechnology from Makerere University.
He also holds a Master’s of Science degree (MSc) in crop science from the same institution.
Turyagyenda is a certified agricultural researcher with specialisation in plant breeding and biotechnology, crop improvement and production, molecular genetics, crop agronomy and plant physiology.
For 13 years, he has worked with organisations like International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Bioversity International, and coordinated agricultural research and development activities in more than six countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi Kenya, Burundi and eastern DR Congo.

Alfred Kumakech
He has a Master’s of science in crop science and has worked as a research officer at National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) for the last eight years. Kumakech has seven years’ experience in crop research and has also published several articles in peer reviewed journals.
He has developed and produced a number of technology dissemination materials for extension and farmer audiences.

Harriet Atim
Atim possesses a Masters in Management Studies in Human Resource Management and has been an administrative officer at NgettaZARDI since 2009.
She will share information on management given her nine-year experience in that role at NgettaZARDI.

Moses Okao
Okao has Masters in Crop Science from Makerere University and has been with the institute since 2008 specifically engaged in agro-forestry research and outreach within Acholi and Lango sub-regions.

Stephen Opio
Opio holds a diploma in crop production and management from Bukalasa Agricultural College and has worked as a field assistant at NgettaZARDI. He is also a crop entomology technician having attended an eight-month training in Japan on upland rice cultivation. Opio has experience in developing spray regime of pigeon pea, establishing bio pesticides from plant extract to control common pest of beans.

Bushira Apele
With a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences and entrepreneurship from Uganda Christian University, Apele is the institute farm manager.
Apele possesses six years of working experience in agriculture and rural development in West Nile and northern Uganda.
Her main area of interest is in value chain analysis and development, quality seed production and business, agricultural entrepreneurship, farm management and accounts.
She will also mentor farmers on farm production record keeping.

Allan Obonyom Tekkara
Tekkara holds a Post graduate Diploma in monitoring and evaluation from Uganda Management Institute and Masters of Science in applied tropical entomology and parasitology from Gulu University.
He has worked as a research officer at NARO since 2013 as well as an agricultural extension worker in Amuru. Tekkara has special interest in integrated pest management and pest ecology.

Samson Obong
He is currently pursuing a bachelor of Science degree in agriculture at Uganda Martyrs University after acquiring a diploma in crop production and management from Bukalasa Agricultural College.
His main expertise is in general agronomic aspects of field crop production seed testing given that he works as a technician on agronomic aspects of field crops production and management. He has conducted adaptive trials to evaluate performance of different pigeon pea cultivars as well as labour saving smart options of weed management for rice production.

Lawrence Ogwal
He holds a bachelor’s of agriculture from Uganda Martyrs University and a national diploma in general agriculture from Arapai Agricultural College.
He has been a soil fertility technician at NgettaZARDI since 2008.
Ogwal has special skills in rice agronomy, nutrient and water management in rice, and general crop husbandry.

Christine Elong Masambu
Masambu has been the development communication specialist at the institute since 2015 and has Bachelors in Mass Communications from Makerere University.
Her major area of expertise is communication, marketing and development with experience in design, planning and management of communication programmes, communication planning for behavior change, social mobilisation, advocacy and research.
Her wide network will also be helpful. She has previously worked with World Vision Uganda, Mukwano group of companies and NARO

The specifics
Dr Laban Turyagyenda stresses that the dairy production was greatly affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency, so it needs rehabilitating. The government is trying to give farmers Friesian cows (through the poverty eradication initiative, Operation Wealth Creation, but he cites the drought as a constant problem.”