Uganda Adopts Japanese Bio-stimulant To Boost Crop Yields Amid Worsening Climate Change

Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja on Monday launched the national roll-out of Skeepon Technology, a Japanese-developed plant bio-stimulant that enables crops to withstand drought and heat stress for up to three months, in a move government says will transform Uganda’s agricultural sector in the face of worsening climate change.

The launch took place at the 2026 National Agricultural Show in Jinja, where Nabbanja said government would continue supporting innovations that improve farmer resilience and productivity as unpredictable weather patterns increasingly threaten food security and household incomes across the country.

“Climate change continues to pose one of the greatest threats to our agricultural sector. Skeepon Technology is one such innovation that will enable our farmers to produce more despite increasingly unpredictable weather conditions,” the Prime Minister said.

Skeepon Technology, developed by Tokyo-based Ac-Planta Inc., works by activating a plant’s own natural drought and heat tolerance mechanisms rather than introducing external chemicals.

Field trials conducted by the National Agricultural Research Organisation across two cropping seasons recorded more than 30 percent higher maize yields and over 45 percent higher vegetable yields compared to untreated crops, with researchers also observing faster growth and improved plant vigour.

The Director General of NARO, Dr. Yona Baguma, said the results demonstrated the power of science in addressing practical farming challenges. “This innovation demonstrates the power of science in solving real problems facing our farmers. The positive results from our research give us confidence that Skeepon will significantly contribute to Uganda’s food security and economic transformation,” he said.

Government’s partnership with Ac-Planta began after Nabbanja met the company’s founder at the Uganda-Japan Business Forum in December 2022, after which the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries and NARO entered a research collaboration agreement with the Japanese firm to validate the technology under Ugandan conditions before its registration and deployment.

The technology, already in commercial use in Japan, the United States and South Korea, will be distributed nationally through NARO Holdings Limited in partnership with government agencies, farmer organisations, cooperatives, agro-input dealers and private sector distributors. It is priced at between UGX 12,000 and UGX 27,000 per acre, which government describes as an affordable entry point for smallholder farmers.

Government also announced plans to explore local formulation and manufacturing of Skeepon as demand grows, a move expected to reduce import costs, create jobs and position Uganda as a regional hub for climate-smart agricultural inputs.

The launch responds directly to findings from the Presidential Parish Development Model assessment tours, where farmers consistently cited erratic weather, limited irrigation infrastructure and declining productivity as the most pressing constraints to their production.

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