Tag: Uganda

Danish firm offers analytical solutions for Ugandan agricultural sector

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UGANDA – Danish firm FOSS Analytics has offered a fresh cut into the Ugandan market with analytical solutions helping food, feed and agricultural industries optimize quality, efficiency and profitability with best-in-class automated and connected solutions. During a three-day visit organized by the Danish Trade Council, representatives of five Danish companies explored development cooperation relevant to their businesses in the agriculture sector, to understand the dynamics of the agricultural sector as a business in Uganda and visited farmers and big agricultural firms in the country. Always at the forefront of analytical…

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New hope for Ugandan biotech sector as scientists urge re-tabling of adoption bill

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UGANDA – Ugandan scientists have issued a communique urging parliament to re-table the biotechnology adoption bill for further debate, raising new hope for the technology despite the previous disincentive regulatory climate. Faced with weather extremes, food insecurity and a fast-growing population, there is growing acceptance in Uganda for adopting innovative biotechnologies to address climate change-related agricultural challenges. Unlike its neighbor, Kenya, which has warmed up to and benefitted from biotechnology, Uganda has faced long odds, primarily due to the lack of a supportive biosafety law and low awareness about the…

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UNBS to commence portable laboratory testing for select consumer products

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UGANDA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) is set to start mobile laboratory testing for selected products authorized by the government of Uganda, in a bid to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises’ (MSMEs’) COVID-19 recovery and resilience. The products eligible for mobile laboratory testing include maize grain, maize flour and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). The development follows a boost of the UNBS Laboratory testing equipment  by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda(PSFU) under the PSFU/MasterCard Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience Programme Project. The equipment is part of PSFU’s assorted…

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Uganda National Bureau of Standards partners with USAID to support MSMES

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UGANDA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Feed the Future (FtF) Uganda Inclusive Agricultural Markets (IAM) Activity, aimed at supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to improve the quality of their products, services and systems. The MoU intends to increase product certification in the areas of health, safety and food processing, standards awareness and conformity requirements among MSMEs and build capacity and certification of private labs to conduct product conformity tests.…

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UNBS unveils second round of Inter-Laboratory Comparison programme

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UGANDA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has unveiled its second edition of the Inter-Laboratory Comparison (ILC) programme and called upon laboratory owners and institutions to participate, to ensure accuracy of their results. The unveiling was done during an online stakeholder engagement organized by UNBS to encourage the industry to register and participate in the scheme. The Deputy Executive Director-Standards, Ms. Patricia Bageine Ejalu said that inter-laboratory comparisons are undertaken to verify that a laboratory provides correct results within the stated measurement uncertainty. She added that the need…

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GMOs approval stalls in Uganda despite successful field trials

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UGANDA – Ugandan scientists have struggled to progress their Genetically Modified (GM) crop research beyond confined field trials (CFTs) thanks to lack of biosafety regulations to guide GM crops commercialization. This has led scientists developing an improved GM maize variety that is drought-tolerant and insect-resistant at Uganda’s National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI), to halt their research and destroy their results. “We have completed confined field trials for Bt maize, but we cannot apply for environmental release because we don’t have a law to guide usage of Genetically Modified Organisms…

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UNBS urges manufacturers to acquire Q-Mark

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UGANDA – The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), has echoed the need for manufacturers to get their products certified and warned those engaging in illegal certification processes. The Public Relations Officer at UNBS, Victoria Namutebi, informed that people planning on manufacturing products should seek the bureau’s services for technical guidance before large scale production is commenced. “For those who are out there and they have not certified their products but are already manufacturing, you are also welcome to apply for certification,” she said. She enlightened that there are mandatory…

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UNBS implores manufacturing companies to execute Management Systems Certification

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UGANDA – Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has entreated Ugandan companies to implement Management Systems Certification to give their products and services a fair chance of competing locally, regionally and internationally. Management Systems Certification (MSC) is a confirmation from an independent, competent, and accredited agency that the business adheres to the requirements of an internationally recognized quality management system standard. The call was made by the UNBS Deputy Executive Director-Standards, Patricia Ejalu, during an online awareness workshop held to enlighten service providers, manufacturers, industry and all relevant stakeholders about…

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UNBS cuts down on certification charges to encourage procurement of Q-Mark

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UGANDA – Ugandan enterprises can now breathe a sigh of relief as the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has phased out some of the charges which were previously being levied on initial and surveillance audit fees for acquisition of the Quality Mark (Q-Mark). A number of products on Ugandan market are not certified due to high cost of acquiring the Q-Mark which was made compulsory for all products that fall under mandatory certification in 2018. UNBS has in a statement informed that, Micro and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) will now…

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