By Ben Moses Ilakut Practically all countries in Eastern and Central African (ECA) depend largely on rain-fed agriculture for livelihoods. Much of the rainfall comes in a few high-intensity events with long dry spells in-between. This results into two catastrophic opposites--extreme episodes such as floods versus intense droughts with scotching heat. Farmers...
Ben Moses Ilakut Top international humanitarian and aid agencies including the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in the last few days called for emergency response to the food situation in Sudan following a declaration of famine in the Zamzam camp. Famine is a severe and...
By Ben Moses Ilakut When the deadly transboundary disease Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) ravaged the East African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda in 2005 to 2010, it was only collective action by scientists from the concerned countries and the CGIAR, all coordinated by ASARECA, that brought the devastation to...
It is widely recognized that the provision of irrigation can help millions of smallholder farmers intensively cultivate their small parcels to improve income and better cope with climate induced uncertainties. However, the irrigation coverage in East and Central Africa is significantly lower than the global average. For instance, in sub-Saharan...
By Martin MUGENGA (SPF), Theophile NDACYAYISENGA (RAB) and Joshua OKONYA (ASARECA) Mr. Isaac Nzabarinda is a 62-year-old lifelong farmer and a married man with nine adult children in Rugi village, Musanze, Rwanda. He shares his journey of renewed success in producing disease-free potato seed. Growing up on a farm, he actively...
Youth benefiting from the AIRTEA Project in Rwanda. By Ben Ilakut; Joshua Okonya; Genevieve Apio Despite the existence of private sector-led multi-stakeholder partnerships for public research institutions, academia, policymakers and civil society in bringing about sustainable transformative change in AR4D, the extent of impact on the ground leaves a lot...
By Ambrose Aheisibwe (SDGC/A), Aloys Musabyisoni (RAB) and Joshua Okonya (ASARECA) My name is Faustin Ntankazarimana, and I chair the Haguka Mudende Innovation Platform (IP) in Mudende, Rubavu district, Rwanda. In 2022, our platform faced challenges, with sporadic meetings and dwindling membership. Members rarely met, and as a result, some had...
The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is a not-for-profit inter-governmental organization of 15 member countries comprising Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Federal Republic of Somalia, Madagascar, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. ASARECA’s core...
L’Association pour le renforcement de la Recherche Agricole en Afrique Orientale et Centrale (ASARECA) est une organisation intergouvernementale créée en 1994 par les Instituts Nationaux de Recherche Agricole (INRA) de 10 pays d’Afrique Orientale et Centrale. Depuis lors, elle compte 15 États membres, à savoir : le Burundi, le Cameroun,...
L’Association pour le renforcement de la Recherche Agricole en Afrique Orientale et Centrale (ASARECA) est une organisation intergouvernementale créée en 1994 par les Instituts Nationaux de Recherche Agricole (INRA) de 10 pays d’Afrique Orientale et Centrale. Depuis lors, elle compte 15 États membres, à savoir : le Burundi, le Cameroun,...
