Uganda is situated in an important centre of diversity for crops of national and global importance. It is also one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of bananas (Musa spp.), a crop for which IPGRI has a special responsibility. For many years, IPGRI and the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda (NARO) have been working together to preserve local species and develop plants resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses, work which has a particular focus on bananas. IPGRI also has close connections with the Ugandan national programme, collaboration starting with joint collecting missions in the late 1980s, followed by organization of a national workshop in 1991 and provision of conservation facilities to Makerere Agricultural Research Institute in Kabanyolo (MUARIK). Following a national policy workshop organized with support from IPGRI, the national programme was institutionalised as a department in NARO. It is currently coordinated by NARO through the Entebbe Botanic Gardens of the Forestry Research Institute (FORI) and has budgetary allocations from NARO to implement various activities. Uganda signed IPGRI’s Establishment Agreement on 9 December 1993. The agreement between IPGRI and the Government of Uganda regarding the Establishment and operation of IPGRI’s office in Uganda was signed on 5 November 1997.

The IPGRI Office in Kampala

The IPGRI-INIBAP Office for East and Southern Africa is situated in Kampala. It was set up in 1997. That same year INIBAP (the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, a programme of IPGRI) was asked by the steering committee of BARNESA (Banana Research Network for Eastern and Southern Africa) to provide the Secretariat and coordination for the network. The BARNESA Steering Committee has agreed that BARNESA will focus on increasing regional collaboration, particularly by providing a forum for the rapid exchange of information, expertise and technologies and by facilitating Musa research and capacity-building activities in the region’s NARS. Through its office in Kampala, IPGRI-INIBAP has developed close links with research institutes in Uganda and is well placed to provide advice and assistance on request. IPGRI staff visit Uganda frequently to participate in training activities, and to provide scientific and technical inputs to the work being carried out.

By its presence in the region, IPGRI is able to assist in the development of national programmes, promote collaboration, and disseminate information on plant genetic resources and their use. The IPGRI-Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Newsletter is distributed to key partners, institutes and NGOs in Uganda and other countries to keep them informed of the latest developments concerning plant genetic resources.

Training

An efficient national system for the conservation of plant genetic resources relies on well-trained staff. To date, IPGRI has assisted 22 Ugandan scientists to receive training related to the conservation of plant genetic resources; six of these students obtained an MSc degree in plant genetic resources from leading European universities. The head of the National Plant Genetic Resources Programme in NARO and one other key staff member were trained by IPGRI. Through the INIBAP programme, training has been provided on the Musa Germplasm Information System used for organizing and exchanging Musa germplasm characterization information. In addition, the INIBAP bibliographic and research databases have been provided to NARO and staff have been trained in their use.

Regional collaboration

The Uganda national programme, through NARO, played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Eastern African Plant Genetic Resources Network (EAPGREN) and the Head is the current Chairman of the Regional Steering Committee of the Network.

Makerere University hosted the inaugural meeting that established the Eastern Africa Plant Genetic Resources Training Consortium and the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry is the Chairman of the initiative.

The Entebbe Botanic Gardens participated actively in an East and Southern Africa programme to collect and conserve wild rice. Through the programme more than 100 accession of wild rice have been collected, and conservation equipment and documentation hardware have been supplied with IPGRI support.

The two Future Harvest centres with an interest in Musa research and development (IITA and IPGRI, through its INIBAP programme) decided in 2000 to integrate their Musa-related activities in Africa.

INIBAP in Uganda

In 1997, INIBAP helped to secure a grant of $138,000 from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) to enable Uganda to participate in the International Musa Testing Programme (IMTP). As a result, a number of improved cultivars, as well as other banana varieties from outside the region, have been tested for their performance in Uganda. Scientists from Uganda were also able to participate fully in the IMTP meetings and collaborative initiatives that ensued. Ugandan scientists have attended international meetings and conferences related to the IMTP and have received visits from banana breeders working in Honduras and Brazil. INIBAP support allowed two Ugandan scientists to participate in an international meeting held in Guadeloupe in 1997 at which PROMUSA, the Global Programme for Musa Improvement, was launched. As a result, Ugandan scientists are now active partners in this programme.

There are a number of important INIBAP-managed projects currently under way in Uganda. The Government of Uganda is investing its allocation of funds to the CGIAR in a project to improve banana production through novel techniques using biotechnology. The INIBAP-coordinated project has brought together Makerere University, NARO, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) in France and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) in Belgium. The project’s aims are not only focussed on developing new varieties of the regionally-favoured East African Highland banana that are resistant to black Sigatoka, nematodes and weevils, but also on establishing strong regional capabilities in biotechnology. To date, five employees have been recruited at NARO and have received training in tissue culture and establishing cell suspensions. New equipment has been supplied and the facilities are being developed to set up a new molecular biology laboratory. The first PhD student has started work on transformation.

Through funding from DFID, NARO and IITA in Uganda are contributing to a farmer-participatory project led by INIBAP to explore integrated pest management options. One of the three field sites in East Africa is at Lwengo in Uganda. A training course was held at NARO in May 2001 to introduce extension workers, technicians and scientists to banana pest and disease assessment protocols, integrated pest management (IPM) technologies, cultivar diversity, farmer-participatory research methodologies and aspects of socioeconomics.

With support from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, NARO is collaborating in another INIBAP project that is similarly dependent on farmer participation. Its aim is to effect the on-farm conservation of banana genetic resources in the Great Lakes region of East Africa through utilization. Data on the current status of banana varieties have been collected from Masaka and Bushenyi in Uganda. Steering groups made up of farmers have been set up and are forming an initiative to study the use of this genetic diversity and ways of preventing its loss.

NARO is also one of the partner institutions gathering baseline information on banana and plantain production through support from the Rockefeller Foundation. The information will be incorporated into a database and form the basis for a comprehensive regional research strategy for this staple crop.

Finally, the Musa germplasm collection in Uganda contains an important part of the unique genetic diversity of the East African region. INIBAP support has allowed Ugandan scientists to characterize and document the collection, and relocate it to a new site.

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