Nile Breweries Launches a Lager Built Around Ugandan Sorghum

In December 2001, Nile Breweries launched Eagle Lager in Uganda using Epuripur sorghum selected through cooperation with Uganda’s National Agricultural Research Organisation and technical trials of candidate grains. Beginning with the 2002 cropping season, the project multiplied seed and developed a contract system that guaranteed purchases when farmers met specified quality standards. The project linked an alternative brewing grain to smallholder agriculture and industrial lager production. It created market opportunities but also placed seed, quality, and purchasing decisions within a brewery-led supply chain, so its development effects should not be treated as automatic or uniformly distributed.