Overview of Impact Indicators of Soybean Rust Resistant Varieties on Uganda's Economy

Herein, we document the contribution of soybean (Glycine max) genetic improvement to the economic changes at the community level in Uganda. We have illustrated the case of soybean rust, which has been, and continues to be the greatest obstacle to economic change for communities that primarily depend on soybean. Since the introduction of soybean in Uganda in early 1900s, systematic research only began in the late 1930s. These led to the release of 3 varieties (Kabanyolo 1, Kabanyolo 2 and Congo), that resulted into pioneer large scale planting of soybeans in the 1940s. The opening of the Africa Basic Foods in 1965 (the first soy-foods company) with a focus to produce and market low-cost soy foods, also played a pivotal role in promoting the crop. It suffices to note that soybean breeding between 1939 and 1990 resulted into release of six outstanding varieties that became obsolete upon the outbreak of soybean rust epidemic in 1996. In response to this challenge, breeding for soybean rust resistance became a major breeding objective, and resulted into release of four new varieties (Namsoy 4M, Maksoy 1N, Maksoy 2N and Maksoy 3N). Foundation seed of these varieties was largely (71.7%) disseminated by NGOs. Accordingly, national soybean production showed steady increase from 144,000 hectares in 2004 to 155,000 hectares in 2009, with annual production increasing from 158,000 tons to 181,000 tons respectively. Impact studies showed Maksoy varieties were the most widely planted and accounted for 65% of soybean planted. In parallel, soybean processing capacity increased from 300 tons in 2004 to over 600 tons per day in 2011. Soybean was observed to contribute ~ 1,920,000 Uganda shilling ha-1 to the farmers income and export value increased by 288%. Key words: Breeding, economic impact, soybean rust, Ugand