Welcome Note

Dear Delegates,

The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) is a sub-regional Inter-Governmental organization of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) of 14 Member States namely: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.  

The Member States have mandated ASARECA to regionally coordinate and convene human, physical, financial and institutional capital to implement Agricultural Research for Development initiatives in Eastern and Central Africa. 

The ASARECA Constitution (2019) designates the Council of Patron Ministers (CPM) as the highest Organ of the Association with a clear mandate to provide guidance to the Association on regional and national strategic matters in Agricultural Research for Development. The CPM comprises the Ministers responsible for agricultural research in each Member State. 

As the Chairman of the ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers (CPM), I take this opportunity to invite and welcome you to participate during ASARECA Agriculture Ministerial Conference (AAMC), which will be held on May 17^th –  19^th, 2023, at Speke Resort, Munyonyo in Uganda.  The AAMC incorporates the ASARECA General Assembly (17^th May 2023), Council of Patron Ministers (CPM) Meeting (18^th May 2023) and the Scientific Conference (19^th May 2023). 

The theme of the ASARECA Agriculture Ministerial Conference (AAMC) is: Building Resilient Food Systems to Feed Africa for Generations.

The Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, the event host, in conjunction with the ASARECA Secretariat have prepared adequately to ensure that your participation during this important meeting will be well facilitated and lead to the expected outputs. We are keen on ensuring that the Summit provides a platform for expanding the frontiers of agriculture-led growth and development in our region. 

We acknowledge all the Governments of the 14 ASARECA Member States for providing financial, technical and political support to ASARECA to deliver its mandate despite the numerous challenges. In the same breath, I thank the Development Partners, especially the European Union for providing financial support to ASARECA and the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme Ex-Pillar IV (CAADP-XP4) Programme. On the same breath, I thank the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for providing diligent management for the capacity development initiatives under the CAADP-XP4 Programme. 

I thank all the delegates who have confirmed participation during the CPM and GA and encourage others to do so.  

The organising committee comprising the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF)—Uganda; Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)—Uganda; ASARECA Secretariat and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO)—Uganda has provided a logistics note with the various forms information to prepare you for the summit. 

Looking forward to hosting you

The theme of the ASARECA Agriculture Ministerial Conference (AAMC) is: Building Resilient Food Systems to Feed Africa for Generations.