Development of New Groundnut Variety in Uganda to Boost Production

The National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) in Uganda is in the final trial stages for a new groundnut variety that is expected to be more productive than currently cultivated varieties. The average yield of Ugandan groundnuts is 290kg/acre, which is way below the potential of 1200kg/acre. The development of the new variety will help bridge this production gap. Uganda has a high domestic demand for groundnuts, although a significant volume is exported annually, mainly to the neighboring countries. In the 2020/21 season, Uganda's groundnut exports to Kenya were at USD 897K, to Tanzania at USD 93K, and to South Sudan were USD 89K.