Research and innovation.

Proposed seed trials, farmer services and satellite research for farm credit. Collaboration with national research institutes is proposed.

Our programmes

Our research proposals cover seed and agronomy, farmer services and satellite data for farm credit. The programmes are intended to begin with DMI cooperatives in Teso.

Seed and agronomyProposed. Improved varieties from Uganda's national research institutes, tested on cooperative farms, multiplied under licence and delivered on credit with soil-test based advice.
FarmGateIn development. Planned services include farmer records, programme information, prices, weather, farm accounts and crop sales through basic phones and cooperative clerks.
FieldSightResearch stage. Free satellite imagery and rainfall records, checked against what each farmer delivers, to verify plots, estimate yields and support fair credit.

A farmer examining red coffee berries on a branch — A farmer examining coffee berries, pictured in a ministry sector report. Illustrative photo. Published by MAAIF, Uganda. Sector context; not AVERON operations.

Uganda's research system

The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) is Uganda's public agricultural research body, set up under the National Agricultural Research Act 2005 as an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries. It coordinates 16 public research institutes, seven national and nine zonal, and its strategic plan to 2027/28 is titled Market-Oriented Research Spurring Agro-Industrialization.⁵³

At World Food Day 2026, FAO urged Uganda to take agricultural innovations beyond research stations to farmers.⁴¹ Our proposed collaboration would combine institute varieties, foundation seed and laboratory services with cooperative field trials. The planned Grain Hub would record crop grades and deliveries.

StatusThese are proposed partnerships. AVERON has not yet agreed terms with NARO or any of its institutes, and nothing on this site implies a partnership, licence or endorsement.

What each NARO institute could bring, AVERON's three programmes, and where results reach farmers and markets — What each institute could bring, our three programmes, and where the results reach farmers and markets. Proposed.

Institutes relevant to our programmes

Institute	Mandate and recent work	Why it matters to AVERON
NaSARRI, Serere	Dryland oil crops (groundnut, simsim, sunflower), cotton, legumes and cereals; certified seed.⁵⁴ Released groundnuts NARO Nut 3R, 4R and 5R in 2024;⁶¹ restocking cattle and growing pasture seed in 2026.⁶³	27 km from Soroti, in DMI's cooperative area; the Grain Hub's oilseeds; pasture for feed
NaCRRI, Namulonge	Maize, beans, soybean, rice and cassava.⁵⁵	Feed grains and soybean; estate crops
NaCORI, Kituza	Coffee and cocoa: ten coffee wilt-resistant Robusta varieties and foundation seed;⁵⁶ five heat-tolerant experimental lines under test.⁶²	Export coffee and climate resilience
NARL, Kawanda	Soil testing, a food processing centre, a machinery workshop, the national seed testing laboratory and a weather station.⁵⁷	Soil tests for farmers; product development
NaLIRRI, Maruzi	Beef and dairy research, now headquartered in Apac.⁵⁹	Feed customers; livestock enterprises
Zonal institutes	Nine institutes for adaptive trials; Ngetta in Lira serves 17 districts in Lango and Acholi.⁵⁸	Regional trials beyond Teso

How we work

Farmers firstDesigned with farmers and clerks in our cooperatives, in plain language and local languages.
Consent and fairnessData used only with the farmer's agreement; scores explained, open to review and tested for bias by gender and plot size.
Proven in stagesEach stage ends in a decision. Nothing becomes a product until it works on a season it has not seen.

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