Dr. Lastus Serunjogi died on June 30, 2022.. He was a breeder by profession and served the agriculture industry in Uganda for almost half a century. Lastus had a B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry and Botany with specialization in Genetics from the Makerere University in Uganda (1972). He received M.Phil. (Plant Breeding) from the Cambridge University U.K. (1987) and a Ph.D. (Plant Breeding, with a major in Seed Technology) from the Ohio State University, USA in 1993. Lastus worked as a cotton breeder and Leader of the Cotton Research Program at the National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute (NaSARRI) in Uganda from 1972 to 2005. He and his team developed eleven varieties, from the Albar germplasm of the Gossypium hirsutum origin, which have earned premium prices for Uganda’s cotton. During 2001-2005, Lastus served as Director of Research at NaSARRI.
Lastus was a Member of the 8th Parliament of Uganda from 2006 to 2011 . He served, for one year, as Vice-chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Services (Education and Health), and three years as a Vice-chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture. From 2011 to the recent, he served as a Technical Advisor to the Cotton Development Organisation (CDO), the Regulatory body of the Cotton sub-sector in Uganda. He coordinated and harmonized the cotton research activities at NaSARRI with CDO’s programs. I feel proud to say that he was a keen cotton farmer too.
Lastus published his work in many forms, research papers, conference proceedings, book chapters and popular articles. Lastus enjoyed very close relationship with the ICAC and has been regularly attending Plenary Meeting of the ICAC for a long time. He presented papers at the Plenary Meetings, World Cotton Research Conferences and represented Uganda Govt at many regional meetings. Lastus will be missed in Uganda and internationally.