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Improving capacity for agricultural research through SCARDA

Under the SCARDA project, ASARECA, RUFORUM and PICO team have partnered in Capacity Development initiatives in Rwanda, Burundi and Sudan. Recently, design and learning workshops were conducted at ISAR in Rwanda and ISABU in Burundi as part of the capacity building initiative. The learnings from the design workshops helped to focus the program on those leadership and management issues that were of highest priority to the staff and Management and using an approach that allowed dynamic unravelling of issues, open, candid discussions and co-creation of solutions. Some of the areas that dominated the workshops in both FIs were: staff motivation as a performance enhancer; enhancing skills for personal and organizational visioning and strategic thinking; feedback as a means of improving quality of communication and effectiveness of teams (including its application in the context of staff performance management); role of mentoring and coaching in enhancing individual/personal development, performance improvement overall career development and in creating a cadre of next generation leaders and managers; and situational performance management.

This publication documents the activities, experiences and lessons learned from the interventions of the ASARECA project, Farmer Empowerment for Innovation in Small-holder Agriculture. The experiences will shed light on best-bet choices for in- or outsourcing of services by farmer organizations and will facilitate the replication of success factors in other countries in Eastern and Central Africa.

Increases in agricultural productivity and development in East and Central Africa (ECA) subregion have come in part at the expense of the natural resource base on which biodiversity and farming systems depend. Protected lands, group ranches and private lands in the Serengeti Mara Ecosystem consisting of Serengeti plains, Serengeti National Park, Maasai Mara National Reserve and the adjoining group ranches (Kenya) and village lands (Tanzania) are undergoing a land-use conversion from natural savannah to agriculture and exurban development. Yet, little is known about the ecological and social economic consequences of this change. Although the savannah cover and wildlife habitat have remained intact to a greater extent than elsewhere in the region, there have been a remarkable disappearance of biodiversity and degradation of wild land in the ecosystem. At the same time, there has also been a remarkable deterioration on the human livelihood (income, food, security, and well being) in the SME. To address these problems, there is need for an integrated agro-biodiversity farming system that has enormous potential for biodiversity conservation and livelihoods development.

ASARECA conducted biodiversity survey and social economic surveys at randomly selected points on each type of land use in the wet and dry sides of the Serengeti Mara Ecosystem between July 2009 and December 2010 in order to: (1) map, document and evaluate existing land use practices, (2) document socio-economic status in the ecosystem, (3) document biodiversity status in the ecosystem, (4) assess nature and dynamics of human-wildlife conflicts and their impact on people’s livelihood and natural resources, (5) select best bet sustainable land use practices with local communities, and (6) review existing policies/cultural/societal norms relevant to improve land use and biodiversity conservation

From 2011 to 2013, ASARECA and the National Livestock Resources Research Institute (NaLIRRI) implemented a project. Harnessing crop-livestock integration to enhance food security and livelihoods resilience to effects of climate change in Eastern and Central Africa. The aim of the project was to enhance productivity and value of smallholder crop-livestock systems in Uganda. This was done by promoting market-oriented smallholder dairy and vegetable production units, while developing innovations to boost the resilience of these units to the effects of climate change and variability. This document summarizes farmers experiences in testing climate smart agriculture technologies and innovations in Masaka and Ngora districts of Uganda.

From the time the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) was founded 20 years ago, its role has been facilitation, coordination, capacity development and mobilisation of financial and other resources for the sub-region agricultural research and development. However, throughout implementation of its first operational plan (2009 - 2013) under its strategic plan 2008 - 2018, ASARECA and its national agricultural research system (NARS) stakeholders have been under mounting pressure to achieve greater impact with its research and development effort. Such impact can only be realised through greater efficiency and effectiveness not only of the generation but also of the delivery and utilisation of the research outputs. The strong commitment of ASARECA to improving the delivery, utilisation and impact of science and technology in order to bring about agricultural transformation in the sub-region is evident in its mission. The Association has responded to these concerns in various ways. Among the responses is a study ASARECA conducted in the sub-region to understand the causes of the low adoption, scaling up and impact of proven technologies and innovations. The study provided insights into the root factors that contribute to low adoption and came up with recommendations for improvement. In its second operational plan (2014 - 2018), ASARECA is focusing more of its interventions in research and development on scaling up. This strategy draws on the insights from the findings of the study on causes of low adoption and borrows experiences and lessons from other regions to provide a holistic way to spur technology uptake and scaling up in ways that will trigger agricultural transformation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Maize will continue to play a very important role in the livelihoods of most of the population in East and Central Africa (ECA) to meet households needs for food, feed and income. The development and release of quality protein maize (QPM) varieties, which contain high levels of protein has meant that it can be a substitute for the more costly sources of protein for human food such as meat and for fishmeal or artificial lysine used in the production of feeds for poultry and pig enterprises. The handbook was developed by NARS institutions in Kenya, Tanzania, DR. Congo, Uganda in partnership with the Knowledge Management and Upscaling Programme of ASARECA while promoting scaling out of the QPM technologies in these countries under a project known as Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa (DONATA). This handbook is a comprehensive one-stop source of information on how QPM is grown using recommended practices to achieve genetic potential of the varieties. It also contains management options for economically important diseases and insect pests, post-harvest handling and utilization. The practices documented in this manual are based on practical experience of researchers in the region who worked with farmers to identify common problems in production of QPM and to validate the improved practices presented in it.  These can be applied to  other types of maize and areas within the region that broadly fall within the same mega-maize environment.

Summary: Gender issues in agricultural research occasion dynamic sets of opportunities and constraints that influence research effectiveness. The project Sustainable Intensification of Maize-Legume cropping systems for food security in Eastern and Southern Africa (SIMLESA) was implemented in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania to increase farm-level food security and productivity, in the context of climate risk and change. ASARECA led the gender mainstreaming activities in SIMLESA by conducting capacity building and supporting instrumentation, data management and dissemination. 

To assess the consumer demand for quality and safety of beef products in the ECA region.

This policy brief highlights the progress made in implementing the project ÔÇ£Regional Approach to Biotechnology and Biosafety Policy in Eastern and Southern AfricaÔÇØ (RABESA). It describes briefly the achievements realized towards the harmonization of biosafety policies in the Member States of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) from the start of the project in 2004 to 2011

Declining agricultural and natural resource productivity in sub Saharan Africa call for concerted efforts in view of an increasing population, rising poverty levels, low technological innovations and adoption amidst inadequate institutional arrangements and structures for supporting sustainable natural resources management (NRM). This project aimed at promoting increased adoption of NRM technologies by establishing effective farmer-market value chains for honey (Tanzania), grain amaranth (Kenya) and ground nuts and banana (Uganda); and strengthening NRM governance institutions in selected areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Declining agricultural and natural resource productivity in sub Saharan Africa call for concerted efforts in view of an increasing population, rising poverty levels, low technological innovations and adoption amidst inadequate institutional arrangements and structures for supporting sustainable natural resources management (NRM). This project aimed at promoting increased adoption of NRM technologies by establishing effective farmer-market value chains for honey (Tanzania), grain amaranth (Kenya) and ground nuts and banana (Uganda); and strengthening NRM governance institutions in selected areas of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Increase income and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers living in water stressed environments through integrated water resources management at plot and catchment scales by strengthening forward and backward linkages between soil, water and crop resource use and commodity value chain.

The Intensification of Climbing Bean Systems Project was initiated by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) in collaboration with the National Agricultural Institutes of Rwanda, Burundi and the DR Congo to validate the existing climbing bean production systems and identify the most beneficial for improving livelihoods, increasing food and nutrition security and protect the environment for future generations.