Browsing by Author "Kalamya, Aaron"

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    AgriConnect’s first year offers a wider view of what farmers need to succeed.
    (Busitema University Library, 2026) Kalamya, Aaron
    One year after AgriConnect was launched, its work across Africa is beginning to show that improving agriculture takes more than helping farmers produce more. Roads, storage, finance, reliable markets, extension services, technology and sound policies all influence whether a good harvest eventually improves a household’s income. The World Bank Group and the International Fund for Agricultural Development launched AgriConnect with other development and private sector partners to connect 300 million family and smallholder farmers worldwide to markets, finance and agricultural services by 2030. Half of the first ten AgriConnect country compacts have been launched in Africa, and the two institutions say their targeted investments have already reached at least 10 million farmers on the continent.
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    IFC investment experience offers lessons for taking Busitema research beyond the university.
    (Busitema University Library, 2026) Kalamya, Aaron
    A promising agricultural innovation can prove itself in a laboratory or field trial and still never reach the farmer who needs it. Moving from research to regular use takes money, production capacity, business skills, strong management and, often, partners willing to invest for the long term. That gap between a good idea and real-world impact is what makes a recent International Finance Corporation (IFC) experience worth examining at Busitema University. IFC, the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, has spent more than a decade working with Thailand-based private equity fund manager Lakeshore Capital, showing how investment can be used not only to grow companies, but also to strengthen the systems that allow them to create jobs and operate responsibly.
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    Reliable water, better harvests : why irrigation research matters.
    (Busitema University Library, 2026) Kalamya, Aaron
    In Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley, the return of reliable irrigation has changed what some families can grow and earn from their land. Fields that had struggled because water could not reach them are producing again. In Usmonobod village, a family growing raspberries has moved from barely one harvest a year to two, with better-quality fruit now reaching the local market. Nearby, an orchard that had been dry is back in production. Behind those changes is a much larger effort to repair an irrigation system that had become increasingly inefficient. The Ferghana Valley is home to about 10 million people and is one of Uzbekistan’s most important agricultural regions. Yet ageing infrastructure, water losses and the effects of climate change were putting growing pressure on farming. At the furthest points of the canal network, water supply could fall about 30 per cent below demand, particularly between April and June when crops needed it most. More than one billion cubic metres of water were being lost each year.
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    What India’s small AI could mean for agricultural research at Busitema University.
    (Busitema University Library, 2026) Kalamya, Aaron
    More than three million downloads in just a few months have turned an agricultural chatbot in India into an interesting case for researchers looking at how artificial intelligence can move beyond laboratories and into everyday farming. The tool, MahaVISTAAR-AI, allows farmers in Maharashtra to ask agricultural questions by voice or text using their own languages and local dialects. Instead of requiring farmers to search through different websites, offices or technical publications, the system draws from trusted sources, including agricultural research institutions and India’s Department of Agriculture, and returns short responses tailored to the farmer’s location
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    World bank findings highlight emerging employment challenges for Busitema researchers.
    (Busitema University Library, 2026) Kalamya, Aaron
    Uganda’s ambition to create 4.4 million new jobs under NDP IV will naturally draw attention to numbers. But a harder question sits behind that target: what kind of jobs will those be? Employment that provides an income today may still offer little security, limited opportunity for skills growth or few prospects for higher productivity. As artificial intelligence, automation and digital platforms reshape occupations, the difference between simply having work and building a stable livelihood is becoming increasingly important.