Addressing these threats requires a multi-thronged approach involving various actors. Therefore, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has sought to work with other Development Partners, as well as Government and non- non-government actors to guarantee human security, especially in developing countries.
According to Inoue Yoichi, the Chief Representative, JICA Uganda office, this year marks a milestone in JICA’s development cooperation in Uganda’s agriculture sector. It is 20 years of constructive cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Uganda, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), and other key stakeholders in Uganda’s agriculture sector.
Inoue says the 20 years have not only underscored Japan’s unwavering commitment to Uganda’s development process but also yielded substantial developments in its agriculture sector. The major areas of intervention have been rice industry development, promotion of market-oriented vegetable production, and improved capacity for animal disease diagnosis and control, with Ugandans not only encouraged to recognize their development needs but also empowered to participate in addressing them as agents of development rather than recipients of aid handouts.
“I realized the high potential for rice production in Uganda because there’s very good rainfall and the soil is very fertile”, said Tsuboi Tatsushi, JICA’s first rice expert in Uganda (2004–2019).
That realization set in motion the above interventions by JICA in Uganda’s agriculture sector, with 11 development cooperation projects (9 Technical Cooperation and 2 Grant Aid Cooperation) implemented since 2004.
Rice industry development has been the most outstanding aspect of all Japan’s development cooperation activities in Uganda, given the role
of rice as one of the most important commodities in the world for food and income security.
Japan has for thousands of years practiced rice culture, and in recent years leveraged this longstanding experience to develop the rice industries of its partner countries, including Uganda.
Driven by the desire to enhance Uganda’s food and income security, JICA has from the onset collaborated with MAAIF and NARO to develop Uganda’s rice industry. Two Technical Cooperation Projects (TCP) pioneered JICA’s technical cooperation in the industry; Sustainable Irrigated Agricultural Development (SIAD), and NERICA Rice Promotion (NRP) were implemented from 2008 to 2011 in collaboration with MAAIF and NARO, respectively.
While SIAD sought to increase rice production and productivity through the introduction of sustainable irrigated agriculture techniques, NRP sought to improve the quality and quantity of NERICA Rice production through enhancing research and extension capacity. It is upon the foundation of SIAD and NRP that subsequent all rice development projects were designed.
Working under the auspices of the Coalition of African Rice Development (CARD) Initiative (2018-2030), JICA has recently sought to promote the achievement of rice self-sufficiency for Uganda by supporting interventions for boosting production and productivity.
To this end, JICA has contributed to capacity building for rice research, quality seed production and multiplication, and improved access to extension services with the ultimate objective of improving livelihoods for especially the smallholder farmers. According to Dr. Godfrey Asea, the Director of Research at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), it would be impossible to talk about fostering of human resources for research and development without the cooperation of Japan.
Through the Technical Cooperation Project for the Promotion of Rice Development (PRiDe), Phase I (2011-2019), JICA sought to inculcate in more Ugandans the culture of rice production, and by that, increase not only the number of rice farmers but also the area under rice production.
However, focus was shifted under PRiDe II (2019 – 2024) and directed to increasing rice productivity, much in sync with the agricultural production and productivity sub-program of the Agro-Industrialization Programme in the National Development Plan (NDP) III. To this effect, JICA’s recent development cooperation interventions have sought, through technology transfer, to strengthen not only the technical capacity of key actors on the rice production chain, but also functionality of research-extension- farmer linkages.
In a further effort to develop Uganda’s rice industry through irrigated rice production, in 2018, JICA and the Government of the Republic of Uganda signed a Grant Aid Agreement to jointly implement the Project for Development of Irrigation Systems in Atari Basin Area.
The Project shall see the construction of irrigation infrastructure spread across approx. 600ha on the adjacent sides of river Atari in Bulambuli and Kween Districts in Eastern Uganda. Relatedly, the Technical Cooperation Project on Sustainable Utilization, Operation and Management of Irrigation Systems is currently being implemented in collaboration with MAAIF and the District Local Governments of Kween and Bulambuli, to equip the people of Atari area with skills to not only manage and operate the expected irrigation facility but also apply improved rice cultivation technologies.
The Projects are expected to boost rice production and productivity, and ultimately the livelihoods of people in the Eastern region and Uganda at large. Beyond rice, JICA has since 2015 worked with MAAIF and the District Local Governments of Acholi sub-region in the implementation of the Northern Uganda Farmers’ Livelihood Improvement Project (NUFLIP), Phase 1&2. NUFLIP seeks to improve the livelihoods of people in Acholi sub-region and Northern Uganda at large through building capacity for market-oriented vegetable production and promoting the application of quality-of-life improvement practices.
From 2008 to-date, there have been various development cooperation interventions to boost technical capacity for not only animal disease diagnosis and control, but also reproduction and quality of milk improvement. MAAIF, National Animal Disease Diagnostic and Epidemiology Centre (NADDEC), Central Diagnostic Laboratory (CDL), Tropical Centre for Tropical Diseases and Vector Control, and the District Local Governments of Kiboga and Mbarara have been key partners in this regard.
Throughout the development cooperation, JICA has sought to promote the application of environment-friendly agriculture production technologies, cognizant of commitments by the Governments of Japan and Uganda as parties to international conventions on environmental conservation.
