ASARECA ED, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma holds talks with Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research Director General
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT
ADDIS ABABA: The ASARECA Executive Director, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma has held talks with the Director General of the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute Prof. Nigussie Dechassa at his office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The Director General and the Executive Director discussed a number of strategic issues including sustainable financing of ASARECA to fulfill its mandate to the National Agricultural Research Systems, ASARECA’s role in facilitating regional research collaboration, technology transfer, and mobilizing additional resources for collaborative initiatives with EIAR.
Other key priorities discussed included, implementation of agro-ecological initiatives for sustainable agri-food systems, fast tracking digitalization to boost management of knowledge for informed decision making and for enhancing efficiency in the conduct of research. The Director General pledged to ensure all outstanding Membership fees arrears to ASARECA is cleared within a short time to facilitate Secretariat Operations.
Gracing EIAR Agricultural show
After the meeting, Dr. Baguma was invited to join the Advisory State Minister for Agriculture, Dr. Efa Muteta Boru in gracing the launch of EIAR agricultural show which was launched on October 29 at EAIR headquarters in Addis Ababa. The Exhibition is a major annual agricultural platform for showcasing innovative technologies and research findings from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR). It highlights cutting-edge agricultural science and sustainable farming techniques, with an emphasis on collaboration between China and African nations.
The exhibition showcases cutting-edge agricultural science and sustainable farming techniques produced by EAIR and other actors with common interest
Busy week for ASARECA and EIAR
Besides the Show, EIAR and ASARECA this week (October 28 to October 31, 2025), are collaborating in hosting two significant events in the Capital, Adis Ababa. First, ASARECA and EIAR are jointly hosting the stakeholder consultation workshop for the Eastern and Central Africa Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) Handbook at Swiss Inn Hotel, Addis Ababa. Funded by the World Bank under the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) Project, the workshop brings together critical Climate Change experts in Ethiopia to inform the draft Eastern and Central Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Hand Book. Participants drawn mainly form EIAR, the Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopian Metrology Institute, are discussing and identifying CSA priorities for integration into the Hand Book.
ASARECA and EIAR are also part of a major event running from October 28 to 30, 2025 to formally complete successful implementation of the Land, Soil and Crop Information Services (LSC-IS) to support Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) project. The initiative co-funded by the EU’s DeSIRA program and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has presided over the development and handover of Land, Soil, and Crop Information Hubs to the national agricultural research organizations in the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), and the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB).