Support local innovations

For some time now, individuals and institutions such as Makerere University have led innovation projects of products such as cars, tractors, drugs to mention but a few. Reports of such innovations receive mixed reactions with some applauding them and others skeptical that such innovations are not authentic but simply modifications of already existing prototypes.

Such innovations are, however, good additions to our journey to sustainable development. We should applauded them but more importantly, government should support and fund them. Only then will they bear fruit and amount to much more than just newspaper headlines.

Recently, Makerere University unveiled a multi-purpose tractor dubbed the MV Mulimi at the Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo. The tractor’s body is made out of wood and steel. The three-wheel vehicle ploughs fields, can transport produce, thresh maize, pump water for irrigation and charge phones.

Dr Nicholas Kiggundu, one of the project lead researchers, revealed that the tractor can thresh half a tonne of maize in an eight-hour shift, and the wheelbase allows it to carry up to two tonnes of produce.

Similarly, Daily Monitor published a story on Mr Solomon Ongora, a Makerere University student, who invented the medicinal liquid smoke which can treat cancer and diabetes. More than 5,000 people countrywide are already using the medication to treat a wide range of diseases. It can also be applied on wounds, burns, skin rashes, fungal infections and on jiggers and can also be used to preserve food, manufacture cosmetics and agricultural fertilisers. The good news is that Mr Ongora’s liquid smoke and Kiln technology have been granted certificates of compliance by the government analytical laboratory and the Uganda Industrial Research Institute.

In 2011, Makerere University’s College of Engineering Design, Art and Technology also launched a two-seater vehicle (Kiira EV) that runs on rechargeable lithium batteries instead of petrol. This was under the Presidential Initiative for Science and Technology.

These are only a few of the numerous innovations by various Ugandans in different parts of the country. Other innovations are never heard of while many suffer stillbirth due to lack of funding and support.

These innovations should be supported, exploited and funded from the time they are discovered to when they bear fruit. Innovators such as Ongora should be given all the support they need to improve their products and supply to a bigger market. This way, Ugandans will gain confidence in local innovations.