Following Uganda's excellent performance in research and developmet of upland rice NERICA and subsequent adoption to cultivate rice, the country has been named the first East African country to be admitted to the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA).

WARDA is one of the 15 international agricultural research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and works to alleviate poverty and food security in Africa through research, development and partnership activities.

Other members of WARDA include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.