National Agricultural Research Organization

What National Agricultural Research Organization does

National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) is a statutory agency of Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, established in 1992 to coordinate national agricultural research. Headquartered in Entebbe, Uganda, NARO operates with 10,000+ employees and functions as the apex public body responsible for agricultural research policy, knowledge generation, and extension services across the country.

NARO's documented operational focus centers on supporting smallholder tea farmers in Uganda's tea-producing districts of Kabarole and Bushenyi through training programs in post-harvest handling, branding, herbal processing, and the production of specialty teas that command up to 3x the price of conventional black tea. In partnership with the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, the organization delivers extension services aimed at value addition, market access, and export logistics support for small-scale producers. Documented outcomes include a 7.7% rise in Uganda's tea export earnings from $3.03 million to $3.26 million between August and September.

As a government statutory body rather than a commercial enterprise, NARO does not disclose pricing or revenue and is funded through state appropriation under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture. Its customer base consists of smallholder farming cooperatives and farmers reached through government extension programs, with tea identified as the primary vertical. No proprietary technology products, patents, certifications, app platforms, or AI/ML capabilities are described in the available source material.

Name

National Agricultural Research Organization

Legal name

National Agricultural Research Organization

Website

https://naro.go.ug

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

NARO is Uganda's statutory agricultural research agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, coordinating national research and supporting smallholder tea farmers with training in post-harvest handling, branding, and specialty tea processing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Entebbe

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Core offering

NARO coordinates and delivers agricultural research, farmer training, and extension services across Uganda, with current emphasis on supporting smallholder tea farmers in transitioning to specialty tea production. It provides technical training in post-harvest handling, branding, herbal processing, and value addition, enabling farmers to access higher-priced markets (up to 3x regular black tea prices).

Product overview

National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) is Uganda's government agricultural research agency that supports smallholder farmers through training programs in post-harvest handling, branding, and herbal processing. According to source material, NARO collaborates with the Uganda Industrial Research Institute to support value addition initiatives in the agricultural sector, though specific named products or service offerings are not detailed in the available sources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Specialty Tea Production Training Program Training program for smallholder tea farmers in Uganda covering specialty tea production, post-harvest handling, branding, and herbal tea processing to enable access to higher-priced export markets. Delivered in partnership with the Uganda Industrial Research Institute.
• Agricultural Research Coordination Services National-level coordination of agricultural research activities under the supervision of Uganda's Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries, supporting the country's broader agricultural development goals.

Quantifiable outcome

• Uganda's tea export earnings rose 7.7% from $3.03 million to $3.26 million between August and September

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Uganda Industrial Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNARO works alongside the Uganda Industrial Research Institute as a government agency supporting Uganda's tea industry transition. Both institutions provide training in post-harvest handling, branding, and herbal processing to smallholder farmers in Kabarole and Bushenyi districts.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI): A CGIAR research center headquartered in Kenya with a livestock-focused mandate and smallholder-oriented delivery model in East Africa. Comparable as a regional agricultural research counterpart with similar smallholder farmer extension work.
• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT: A CGIAR research alliance delivering agricultural biodiversity and food systems research with a strong smallholder farmer extension focus across the tropics. Comparable in research-to-extension model and smallholder outcome orientation.
• International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA): A leading CGIAR research center delivering tropical agricultural R&D across Africa, including crop improvement, value addition, and smallholder extension. Comparable in mission and smallholder focus, though operating at international rather than national scale.
• Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO): Kenya's statutory national agricultural research organization, structurally analogous to NARO in mandate, scale, and government backing. Directly comparable as a regional peer delivering agricultural R&D and extension services to smallholder farmers.
• Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB): Rwanda's statutory body for agricultural research and extension, structurally analogous to NARO with a national mandate to coordinate agricultural research and farmer support services in a neighboring East African jurisdiction.
• Tea Research Institute of Kenya (TRFK): Kenya's dedicated tea research institute focused on cultivar development, processing, and smallholder tea farmer support. Directly comparable to NARO's tea-specific value-addition and extension work in Kabarole and Bushenyi.
• Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI): Tanzania's national agricultural research body operating under a similar government-mandated, multi-crop research and extension model. Closely comparable in East African regional scope and smallholder-focused delivery.

Others

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): The UN agency that provides policy frameworks, technical assistance, and funding to national agricultural research bodies including NARO. Comparable as a funder and policy enabler rather than a direct delivery competitor.

Broad incumbents

• CGIAR System Organization: The global coordinating entity for international agricultural research centers that fund and collaborate with NARO and similar national programs. Comparable as the umbrella organization structuring relationships between national research bodies like NARO and international R&D funders.

Regional players

• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – CSIR Ghana: Ghana's national scientific and industrial research body covering agriculture among other disciplines. Comparable in West African regional government research mandate, though broader than NARO's agricultural-only scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/narouganda
• Facebookfacebook.com/narougandaofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-agricultural-research-organisation-naro-uganda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Agricultural Research Organization