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The Miracle of NERICA (New Rice for Africa) and the bonding nature of baseball Reflections on Uganda/Japan Relations Address by James Baba, Ambassador of Uganda to Japan 9th October 2004 Today marks the 42nd anniversary of Uganda's independence. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our profound gratitude to the Government and the people of Japan for their support and for always standing by us over the years. Uganda is beginning to transform into a stable country with the prospect of a vibrant economy, a secure environment for good governance, human rights observance, accountability and freedom of expression which are all being seriously promoted and enhanced. The overriding goal is to make Uganda a very secure environment for all the people living in Uganda and to provide a safe haven for public and private sector investments and to promote rapid export-led, value added growth. The ultimate objective is to eliminate abject poverty in the shortest possible time. Presently 38 percent of Ugandans live below the unacceptable poverty line of $1 a day. Prior to 1986, 56 percent of the population lived below that level. A very high priority for government is therefore to increase exports in support of our rapid economic transformation. The strategy is to produce diversified high quality and value added goods for export. The challenge is to secure markets for them. In the case of Japan since April 2003, Japan has opened its markets to Least Developed Countries for their agricultural products to enter into Japan “Duty Free and Quota Free”. Today Uganda products exported to Japan such as Nile Perch frozen fish fillet, vanilla and coffee are benefiting from this access and we are grateful to the Japanese government. We are grateful to other developed partners who have opened their doors through specific trade initiatives. These offers of trade opportunities should be most beneficial and advantageous to Africa if the industrialised countries could at the same time remove all the subsidies they are presently offering to the very products we in Africa are most capable of producing, exporting and competing with. It is now firmly established that trade is the best strategy to transform society. Trade is the greatest stimulus for employment, economic development and social transformation and remains also the best strategy for transforming society through sustained growth. I wish to take this opportunity to salute Yamato International Inc., of Osaka, the first-ever Japanese company to invest in Uganda in the early 1970's. Yamato International bequeathed their franchise to United Garment Industries Limited (UGIL), as its successor. Today PHENIX Logistics (U) Ltd., is the latest Japanese investor to have come and acquired UGIL and is now well established while continuing to maintain historic and close links with Yamato International Inc. The time has come for many more Japanese entrepreneurs, enterprises and individuals to come and invest and do business in Uganda and to take their cue from Yamato International Inc. and PHENIX Logistics (U) Ltd., as proof that mutually beneficial business and investment relations can be successfully carried out between Uganda and Japan. Many Japanese travellers have also come to discover Uganda to be a leading and an interesting eco-tourism destination. They have been able to see the great wonders of Uganda that include the world's second biggest fresh water lake (Victoria), the source of the world's longest river (Nile), the world's biggest mountain gorilla settlement (Bwindi) and the world's tallest snow capped mountain on the equator (Rwenzori, 5,100 meters). This is an opportunity for me to invite many more Japanese visitors to come to Uganda to enjoy these rare and unique attractions unequaled in the region. At Aichi Expo 2005, Uganda will present the bounty nature has provided us, with which we have endeavored to live harmoniously. Furthermore, Shinkawa City in Aichi prefecture just outside Nagoya has been twinned with Uganda during Expo. Earlier this month, the people of Shinkawa organized a festival celebrating Shinkawa-Uganda relations as a warm-up to the Expo. As Uganda is known for being the source of River Nile in its 7,000-km journey to the Mediterranean Sea through Sudan and Egypt, so too is Shinkawa famous for its man-made river which is the pride of the city and a symbol of its determined spirit to succeed. We look forward to a very fruitful relationship with Shinkawa City during Expo 2005 and beyond. Mrs. Sheila Baba, wife of the Ambassador with young children at Shinkawa Festival Aichi 2nd October 2004 During the festival Bugishu Elgon Arabica Coffee, the only coffee in the world cultivated at more that 2,000 meters above sea level, was served by Katsuhara Group of Nagoya. Katsuhara now has more than 11 coffee shops in Nagoya specializing only in Bugishu Elgon Arabica coffee from Uganda. Bugishu Elgon Arabica Coffee of Katsuhara Group Nagoya In our bilateral cooperation, the appointment of a new Japanese Ambassador to Uganda has signaled a new bond of friendship between our two countries. With the new Ambassador in place, Uganda is beginning to see increasing support from the Japanese Government and its people. Uganda has benefited from several projects and programmes through ODA/Grants and through Intergovernmental Organisations and NGOs. Some of the projects include budget support, debt cancellation, infrastructural development, support to agriculture, health, education, water, and the democratization process as well as supply of machinery and equipments and technical cooperation programmes through the commendable efforts of JICA. JETRO has continued to open doors for us to enter into the Japanese market, for which we are also grateful. There have been two exciting developments in the last two years in our bilateral cooperation. From last year, for the first time ever, members of the Japan Overseas Volunteer Corps (JOVC) began arriving. These volunteers are the greatest Ambassadors anyone could have. They work and live with the peoples and they bring with them greatly needed skills. Most significantly, they generate much interest back in Japan amongst relatives, friends and colleagues about their new home, Uganda. JOVC volunteers introduced baseball to Uganda, and the sport has since generated a great deal o f interest. With support of the Association for Friendship of African Baseball, a team of young players came to Japan to hold games with Japanese children in Gunma, Chiba and Osaka. They were also coached by the famous, now retired, player Ishige. What better way to promote and cement relations. Japan/ Uganda Baseball Teams Friendship game was held at Kanra City, Gunma Prefecture on 3rd August 2004 sponsored by Association for Friends of African Baseball of Japan visit their website www.catchball.net Trials of Nerica, the new rice for Africa in Uganda, have been a great success. Nerica, unlike paddy rice, is rain-watered. The rice, in addition to maturing in only 90-104 days, has other advantages. In Uganda the yields are between 2-4.5 tons per hectare; it is generating a great deal of income to the farmers and has begun to serve as a critical food security measure. Paddy rice, which was associated with bilharzias and malaria from mosquitoes, has begun to be substantially curtailed as Nerica, grown upland, gains a significant foothold. Vice President Prof. Bukenya is at the forefront of promoting the new upland rice in Uganda. Dr. Bigirwa, Director of Namulonge Agriculture Research Center, Kampala, Uganda explaining to Mr. James B. Baba, Ambassador of Uganda to Japan, November 2003 on Nerica Rice experiment Other new developments in Uganda include the establishment of Ashinaga Rainbow House in Uganda, which is proving to be a very useful home for counseling AIDS orphans in Nansana Village just outside Kampala. It is the first of its kind in Africa. President Museveni is the patron of Ashinaga Uganda and has provided a great deal of encouragement. Tokushukai Medical Corporation of Japan led by Dr. Torao Tokuda is in the process of establishing an ultra modern hospital in Uganda for the benefit of the Ugandan people. The Tokushukai operating principle is to put the patient at the center of health care delivery system and to provide excellent health care at low cost. The Ugandan government has embraced this principle. Already, over ten Ugandan doctors have come to Tokushukai hospitals throughout Japan to gain firsthand experience of the Tokushukai principle, which they expect to apply in the new hospital. These developments have helped to energize Japan-Uganda relations to a high degree and the people in Uganda are taking a great deal of pride in the developments. We look forward to a future that promises strengthened Japan-Uganda relations and wish to thank all the Japanese making this possible. Profile of Uganda Area: Land Water : Total : 197,097 sq. km 43,942 sq. km 241,039 sq. km Population : Rate of annual increase : 26 Million (2004) 2.8 percent Percentage of School attendance : 70 percent Language: Official Others : English Swahili, Luganda Economy : Growth rate : GDP $7 billion 6 percent Climate : Average temperature 22° - 26° Celsius. Average Humidity : 65 - 75 percent Annual rainfall : 138 cm Altitude: Lowest Highest : 620 meters above sea level (Albert Nile) 5,110 meters above sea level (Mt Rwenzori)