Innovations in Climate Adaptation: Lessons From Uganda's National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO)

• Citation: (2024) IPLJ 134
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v12/a6
• Published date: 27 January 2025
• Pages: 134-157
• Author: Kakooza, A.C.K
• Date: 27 January 2025

134

https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v12/a6

INNOVATIONS IN CLIMATE

ADAPTATION: LESSONS

FROM UGANDA’S NATIONAL

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH



 

Lecturer and Ag. Head of the Co mmercial Law Department , School of Law at

Makerere Universit y, Uganda, where he lectures Intellect ual Property Law.

ABST RACT

New weather phenomen a are raisin g concern s across the glob e. Similarly, chang ing weather

pattern s are negatively impacti ng food security du e to their effects on the a gricultura l

sector. These effec ts include early or late mat urity of crops which h as poorly affected

cultivation, t he emergence or spread of pest d iseases, and harsh weat her conditions, such

    

are taki ng drastic action to ad dress these challenge s before it is too late.

Climate ada ptation is, therefore, a key st rategic measur e being employed in Uganda

to address t he current and future i mpacts of climate change. A key govern ment agency

driving i nnovations in the agr icultural sector r elated to climate adapt ation is the National

Agricultu ral Research Organ isation (NARO).

This study foc uses on the work of NARO and it s efforts in ge nerating va rious innova tions

that contri bute to climate adapt ation. These effort s include establishi ng partnersh ips

with private age ncies, conducting trai ning sessions for farmin g communities, and more.

The study und erscores the impor tance of monitoring intelle ctual propert y rights (IPR),

particul arly in scenarios where NARO’s work is dissem inated across the count ry. It also

highlights t hat these innovation s are supported by a n Intellectual P roperty (IP) legal

framework, wh ich facilitates thei r administ ration and protection . However, the study

        

the need to str engthen the IP legisla tive structure. Stren gthening this frame work would

enable countr ies like Uganda to bet ter manage the utili sation and enforcement of t heir

IPRs while add ressing climate ad aptation. The stu dy argues that a robust I P legal

framework is a cr itical enabler for the effective u se of innovations in climate a daptation,

ultimately lea ding to improved managem ent of climate change.

KEY WORDS: Cli mate change, climate ad aptation, innovat ion, intellectual pr operty rights

      

Cambridge Unive rsity and the Open Af rican Innovatio n (OpenAIR) part nership and was fu nded by

the UK Engine ering and Physica l Science Researc h Council’s Impact Acceler ation Account (EPSRC-

IAA) Strateg ic Impact Partnership s Fund as well as the Policy Suppo rt Fund at the Universit y of

Cambridge. Th e author acknowledges t he input of Professor Caroli ne Ncube DSI/NR F/SARChI

Chair on Intel lectual Prop erty, Innovat ion and Development, Unive rsity of Cape Town, GOCI A team

members and pa rticipants at the W IPO-WTO colloquiu m for IP teachers and I P Scholars Africa

Conference whe re the work was presented as well as t he DSI/NRF/SARChI Chair o n Intellectual

Propert y, Innovation and Develop ment, University of C ape Town which support ed travel (NR F Grant

Number 115716). The author takes resp onsibility for all a rguments, st atements and er rors in the pape r

and none of the fu nders and suppor ters accept any li ability in this re gard.

    

gmail.com

(2024) IPLJ 134

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https://doi.org/10.47348/SAIPL/v12/a6

  

Climate adaptat ion involves taking action to prepare for and adjust t o

the current and p rojected impacts of climate change.1 These preparator y

measures and adjust ments require clear policy direc tion at the government

level. In this regard, the Uganda n government has been at the forefront on

          

to address the effect s of climate change.2 In 1992, Uganda was one of the

            

Convention on Climate Cha nge (UNFCCC).3 Thereaft er Uganda signed

the Kyoto Protocol in 2004 and the Paris Agre ement in November 2016.

The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol provide strat egies that can help

reduce current levels of green house gases in the atmosphere a nd curtail

future em issions. Article 3(1) of the Kyoto Protocol establishes emission

reduction targets for indu strialised countr ies and under article 12, the

Protocol incorpor ates a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for trading

carbon credits gener ated by projects implemented in developing countries.4

The Paris Agreeme nt also commits contracti ng states to address climat e

change. Ar ticle 2(1)(a) of the Agreement serves the pur pose of committing

contracting st ates to hold ‘the increase in the global average tempe rature to

well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels’ and pursue efforts ‘to l imit the

temperatur e increase to 1.5°C above pre-industr ial levels’.5

Ratifying t hese international treaties on climate cha nge was Uganda’s way



            

national plan towards add ressing climate change.6 In April 2015, Uganda

launched the National Climate C hange Policy (NCCP). The policy aims to

provide direction for key sectors and st akeholders, facilitating adapt ation

and mitigation while streng thening efforts to build a more re silient national

development process.7 In terms of mitigation potentia l, the focus of the

policy includes land use, land-use cha nge and forestry (LULUCF); wetlands,

1 Global Center for Ada ptation ‘What is climat e adaptation?’, available at https://gca.org /what-is-

climate-a daptation/ (access ed 1 August 2024).

2 World Bank Group ‘Uga ndan government st eps up efforts to mit igate and adapt to cli mate

change’, available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/05/31/ugandan-

government-s teps-up-effor ts-to-mitigat e-and-adapt-t o-climate-c hange (accessed 4 Januar y

2024).

3 Uganda signed the Conven tion on 13 June 1992 at the Earth Sum mit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

and subsequen tly ratified it on 8 Sept ember 1993. See ‘Foreword’ of Uganda First Natio nal

Communicat ion – UNFCCC at 1, available at ht tps://unfccc.int/site s/default/files/re source/

natcom-web.pdf (acces sed 19 November 2024).

4 United Nations Climat e Change ‘What is the Kyoto Prot ocol?’, available at https://unfccc.in t/

kyoto_pr otocol (accessed 8 Februa ry 2024).

5 United Nations Cli mate Change ‘What is the Pa ris Agreement?’, available at htt ps://unfccc.int/

process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement (accessed 8 February 2024).

6 World Bank Group (n2).

7 The Repu blic of Uganda (Min istry of Water and Env ironment) ‘Uganda Nat ional Climate C hange

Policy, Theme: Transforma tion through clim ate change mitigation a nd adaptation April 2015’

at vii, available at https://www.mwe.go.ug/sites/default/files/libra ry/National%20Climate%20

Change%20Policy%20April%202015%20final.pdf.

INNOVATIONS IN CLIMATE ADAPTATION: LESSONS FROM UGANDA’S

NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (NARO) 135

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