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Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | Uganda Breweries Limited and National Agricultural Research Organisation have launched a partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation commitment that seeks to establish, foster and promote research and development in the agriculture sector.
The MoU signing would promote linkages and partnership for purposes of advancing agricultural productivity under UBL’s Local Raw Materials program (LRM), officials said on May 03.
Local Raw Materials is a Uganda Breweries Program that seeks to source 100% of the materials they use in their production processes locally.
This program has been developed in line with the second objective of the Third National Development Plan (NDP III) which is to “Strengthen the private sector to create jobs” and the overall theme of “Sustainable Industrialization for Inclusive Growth, Employment and Sustainable Wealth Creation.”
UBL executives say, they are making significant investment in Uganda aimed at boosting local production capacity, import substitution, promotion of local content and job creation.
The company’s managing director, Alvin Mbugua said, UBL is now making 96% of its brands locally.
The brewery works with over 20,000 farmers, directly benefiting over 25,000 households countrywide and invests over Shs45bn in farming communities annually.
The 5-year partnership will engage NARO to provide agricultural research and development support to UBL through NARO’s constituent public agricultural research institutes.
It will provide opportunities for conducting laboratory and field research trials as well as provide agricultural research and development technical backstopping that can boost development and growth of the LRM program.
The Director General of NARO Dr. Ambrose Agona said that in partnering with NARO on this venture, Uganda Breweries has contributed to the NARO 10-year goal of innovating for sustainable agricultural transformation through financial support to set up agricultural research infrastructure at NARO’s designated constituent public agricultural research institutes.
