The National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) has announced the death of Dr Andrew Kiggundu, a leading Ugandan scientist whose work in agricultural biotechnology shaped research and policy in the sector.
In a statement issued on April 8, NARO Director General Dr Yona Baguma described Dr Kiggundu’s passing as a major loss to the institution, the scientific community and the country.
Dr Kiggundu joined NARO in the early 1990s as a Research Assistant under the National Banana Research Programme. He later pursued a PhD at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before rising through the ranks to become Head of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Centre and Programme Leader for Biodiversity and Biotechnology at the National Agricultural Research Laboratories in Kawanda.
During the early development of biotechnology in Uganda, he played a key role in drafting guiding documents on biotechnology and biosafety regulation.
His expertise later saw him recruited to the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in the United States, where he worked as Project Manager for the Virus Resistant Cassava for Africa (VIRCA) and VIRCA Plus projects. The initiatives covered several countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and Rwanda.
After returning to Uganda, Dr Kiggundu continued to support NARO as a consultant under the vaccine programme. At the time of his death, he was leading a national taskforce aimed at repositioning the National Agricultural Research Laboratories as a Centre of Excellence.
He also served as Secretary to the NARO Institutional Biosafety Committee, where he oversaw the review of 12 confined field trial applications, the highest number recorded by a single country in Africa.
Dr Kiggundu contributed to the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development, focusing on plant genomics and genetic improvement, and served as a country focal person for biotechnology stewardship under a Pan-African programme coordinated by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa.
NARO said his work helped position Uganda as a leader in biotechnology research and biosafety on the continent.
“Dr Kiggundu’s passing is a profound loss,” the statement said, noting that he will be remembered for both his scientific contribution and his warm personality
