Soybean research and breeding activities were conducted by the Centre for Soybean Improvement and Development, Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute, Kabanyolo (MUARIK), in all major soybean growing areas of Uganda using a participatory approach. Research was executed in research institutes, technology verification centres and farmers fields all over the country.

The main objectives were to develop soybean varieties that are: high yielding with media maturity of less than 120 days; resistant to diseases and pest with focus on soybean rust disease and groundnut leaf miners; resistant to lodging and pod shattering; promiscuous in the formation of active nodules with local rhizobia; rich in protein and oil contents; having high pod clearance; and having general end-user acceptance in terms of seed appearance and other traits.

When the soybean rust epidemic hit Uganda in 1996, two strategies (short and long-term) were adopted to mitigate the effects of the epidemic. The short-term strategy involved introduction and testing of germplasm, while long-term comprised of making crosses between resistant and elite susceptible soybean lines, which resulted in the release of six new varieties that included Namsoy 4M, Maksoy 1N, Maksoy 2N, Maksoy 3N, Maksoy 4N and Maksoy 5N.

These high-yielding varieties as a result of 13 years of soybean research at Makerere University has led to rapid increase in the number of industries involved in processing soybean in Uganda and neighbouring countries. Community Based Organisations (CBOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were instrumental and accounted for 50% of nationwide dissemination of foundation seed to different stakeholders for further multiplication. Maksoy 1N is the most widely adopted variety by farmers, while Maksoy 3N has the largest quantities of foundation seed disseminated by the program.  Recent impact studies showed that new Maksoy varieties were the most planted and accounted for 93% of soybean vaieties grown by Ugandan farmers, contributing an estimated UGX 1,1185,600/= per hectare per season to smallholder household incomes.

Please see Downloads to view the detailed SOYBEAN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN UGANDA. A case of paradigm shift in an African University (2002-2015) report.

To view a documentary on soybean research and development, please click here https://youtu.be/70JiNpXpndA

For additional information on soybean research at Makerere University, please write to p.tuka[at]caes.mak.ac.ug