Following the adoption of the Global Plan of Action (GPA) and the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources Report, several informal consultations catalyzed by IPGRI , FAO and the Nordic Gene Bank (NordGen now)were held particularly during the FAO Commission meetings. These efforts culminated to the preparatory meeting held in Kampala, Uganda from 3-5 November 1997 to establish Eastern Africa Plant Genetic Resources Network (EAPGREN) funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). After a gestation period of 5 years developing the project and tracking funding, the network was established in May 2003 and operationalized at regional level in 2004. EAPGREN is a regional joint project of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) of the ASARECA member countries viz. Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sudan and Uganda. Within these countries, there are national focal persons for the network which undertake the activities at national level and represent the national program in the regional EAPGREN processes.