Yara Champions Sustainable Agriculture and Innovation at the CropLife Uganda Symposium

Yara Champions Sustainable Agriculture and Innovation at the CropLife Uganda Symposium

Yara East Africa proudly took centre stage at the CropLife Uganda Symposium 2025, held in Kampala, Uganda.

As Africa faces mounting pressure to produce more with fewer resources, this landmark symposium brought together key industry leaders from the private sector, government, and farming communities – all dedicated to advancing resilient and profitable growth for the future.

Adding depth to the discussions, our internal experts include Dr. Winnie Nga’nga, Yara East Africa Director of Government Relations & Public Affairs, Godfrey Ikigu Agronomy Manager  and John Rotich, Commercial Manager for Yara Uganda. 

They took to the stage to share their insights on soil health, policy drivers and barriers, and their impact on the agricultural ecosystem. Their input focused on strategies for sustainable agriculture and the importance of collaboration and partnerships in supporting farmer prosperity.

“Over 70% of Uganda’s population relies on agriculture, yet only 35% of its arable land is under cultivation. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), this underutilisation means Uganda has the potential to feed over 200 million people,” the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative Investment Forum 2024 reports.

One of the initiatives contributing to farmer prosperity currently is the Yara Coffee Nutrition Program. We’ve supported over 5,600 farmers in the Rwenzori and Greater Masaka regions to double their Fair Average Quality (FAQ), and we aim to reach 10,000 farmers next.

Leveraging Digital Tools for Farmer Empowerment

Recognizing the challenge of reaching millions of smallholder farmers affordably, Yara has invested in digital solutions that bring agronomic advice directly to farmers’ mobile phones. These tools offer hyper-local weather data, procurement services (including transportation), and guidance on fertilizer use—turning data into actionable insight.

“New technologies emerge every day,” said a Yara representative. “But the bigger challenge is how to cascade this knowledge quickly and effectively. That’s why our solutions are both farmer-facing and channel-facing—to support the entire ecosystem.”

The Evolution of Fertilizer Use in Africa

Yara East Africa, traced the journey of fertilizer use in Sub-Saharan Africa—from the limited options of the 1970s to today’s era of precision agriculture. He emphasized the role of data in creating customized, climate-smart nutrient solutions.

“Sustainability isn’t an add-on at Yara—it’s built into everything we do,” Ikigu noted. “From reducing our carbon footprint to creating localized multi-nutrient blends, we’re working to support both the planet and the farmer.”