Tooro Kingdom, NARO partner to fight food insecurity
NARO director general Dr Yona Baguma and Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Stephen Kiyingi (C) with other officials pose for a photo after singing the MoU in ort Portal on September 11, 2024. PHOTO/ALEX ASHABA.
What you need to know:
- Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Stephen Kiyingi said signing of the MoU comes at a time when the sub-region is grappling with malnutrition.
Tooro Kingdom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO) to boost food security in the Tooro sub-region.
The MoU is also expected to address stunted growth among children by supplying various technologies to the people, authorities said on Wednesday.
According to a recent Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, 40.6 percent of children below five years in the sub-region are stunted, 2.4 percent suffer from wasting, and 10.3 percent are born with a low birth weight below 2.5kg.
Additionally, anaemia affects 45 percent of children below five years and 29.4 percent of women of reproductive age.
NARO director general says new technology could help the region reverse the trend amid climate change concerns.
“NARO has developed different crop varieties that are rich in nutrients such as zinc which will be supplied to people for planting,” he remarked.
He added: “We have many technologies ranging from tea, bananas, fish, and others. We have a new purple tea that is medicinal, and if embraced by farmers, it can increase their incomes. Through this MoU, we also want to eradicate poverty from the Tooro sub-region.”
Dr Baguma said they want to promote commercial agriculture to support agro-industrialization by integrating daily production with crop cultivation to drive transformation.
NARO governing council chairman Dr William Olaho Mukani said Tooro Kingdom is the third cultural institution to sign a similar MoU after Buganda and Busoga.
"We don't want to see Ugandans suffering from poverty anymore, especially in this kingdom. We want Tooro Kingdom to thrive. We are prepared to reach out to all farmers. Tooro is known for growing Irish potatoes, and we want people to use good technologies that are adaptable to climate change," he said.
Tooro Kingdom Prime Minister Stephen Kiyingi said signing of the MoU comes at a time when the sub-region is grappling with malnutrition.
"I keep wondering why the sub-region [Tooro], with its good soils and climate, is not making progress in fighting poverty, and why children are stunted. We want NARO to help us acquire technologies for value addition and to improve our incomes," he appeald.
