All is set for ASARECA Patron Minister’s Summit
Preparations for ASARECA Patron Ministers Summit are in advanced stages. This week, Uganda’s Minister of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries Hon. Vincent Bamulangaki Ssempijja announced to Ugandans and the entire global Agricultural Research fraternity that Uganda is ready to host delegates.
“We have convened this Press Conference with the main objective of informing the public that the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries (MAAIF), in conjunction with the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) are convening and Hosting the ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers Summit on May 2-4 at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Uganda,” the Minister said.
The Minister was flanked by ASARECA Executive Director, Prof. Jean Jacques Mbonigaba Muhinda and Dr. Drake Mubiru from the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO, Uganda).
A total of 11 ministerial delegations out of 14 ministers invited have confirmed that they will attend the meeting. These include delegations from Kenya, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Malawi and Mozambique. Over 200 out of the invited 222 delegates, summit facilitators and service providers have confirmed participation in the Summit.
Other critical delegates that have been invited to the meeting include: The Heads of Regional Economic Communities (RECS: EAC, COMESA, and IGAD), the African Union Commission; Director Generals of National Agricultural Research Institutes from ASARECA countries, ASARECA Board of Directors, national directors of extension, development partners, private sector actors, farmers’ organizations, and heads of sub-regional, regional and international research organizations, among others.
Other Ugandan ministers that have been invited to grace the occasion include Ministers of Science and Technology; Finance; East African Affairs, Water and Environment, and Land, Housing and Urban Development.
ABOUT ASARECA COUNCIL OF PATRON MINISTERS' SUMMIT
ASARECA is an inter-governmental body of the 12 member States (listed above), which is mandated to coordinate joint collaborative research and sharing of agricultural technologies and innovations within member States in the eastern and central Africa region. In the recent years, and considering the changing environment in which ASARECA operates, the Governments of the 12 countries have demanded that the ASARECA Governance structure be reformed to better serve the interests of member States by supporting the implementation of national agricultural investment plans and priorities.
Tremendous progress has been made towards implementing key reforms needed to reposition the institution accordingly. Specifically, ASARECA has developed a new 10-year Strategy and Results Framework (2019-2028), which spells out how and where it will support the member States and the Regional Economic Communities, and the reforms in governance and management structures put in place to fulfill the mandate given by the States.
The Council of Patron Ministers Summit has therefore been convened to endorse and launch a new way of doing things, as the highest governance organ of ASARECA.
To engage the Ministers beyond Governance issues, a Ministers’ panel discussion on “conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification (CASI) technologies and practices” has been organized. CASI requires that farmers minimize soil disturbance through zero or reduced forms of tillage; maintain a permanent soil cover and diversify cropping patterns through intercropping or rotations in addition to using input packages optimized to their contexts.
The evidence generated over the last eight years shows that CASI technologies and practices increase yields, reduce the risk of total crop failure due to climate change and improve soil fertility and health. The approach, when combined with smallholder appropriate mechanization also takes drudgery out of farming, making it more attractive to youth and less demanding on farmers’ time especially women’s time. This time can be rechanneled into other farm and non-farm income generating activities or better care for our children, helping us move closer to a middle-income prosperous nation and continent.
SIMLESA, the project that generated this evidence was implemented in Uganda and seven other countries including Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania. SIMLESA was funded by the Australian government and coordinated by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in partnership with ASARECA and several other institutions.
This evidence highlights the benefits of regionally coordinated agricultural research for development initiatives and what we can achieve by working together as a region to help achieve key development priorities. Our priorities, as you know ladies and gentlemen include food security and enhancing resilience to climate change. Based on the evidence, the forum will enable dialogue and commitments by the Ministers and other high level delegates on the policy priorities, program design and investment choices needed to institutionalize conservation agriculture-based sustainable intensification (CASI) and take it to more farmers and cropping systems through the region.
The Summit is convened by Uganda’s Agriculture Ministry in conjunction with ASARECA. It is co-hosted by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and NARO, and co-financed by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).
For more information about the summit, visit: https://www.asareca.org/summit2019/
