News and updates

Call for Effective Partnerships, Political Will, Science and Innovation Dominate CGIAR Inaugural Science Week

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT GIGIRI, NAIROBI, KENYA—Partnerships. Joint action. Collaboration. This semantic field, denoting effectively working together and underscoring the importance of leveraging competences and resources from multiple institutions and actors in the food systems resonated throughout the week-long CGIAR inaugural Science which just ended on April 12, at the United Nations Campus in Gigiri in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The event was dedicated to advancing science and innovation through the...


ASARECA, CIHEAM BARI, Land Resources Centre boost Ethiopian farmers capacity to sustain Water and Land productivity

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT DEBRE ZEIT, ETHIOPIA—The Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Centra Africa (ASARECA), the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies-Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari) and the Italian Agency for Development Corporation (AICS) have joined Ethiopian partners, Water and Land Resource Centre (WLRC), Addis Ababa University, in a show of support in the Stakeholder Capacity Building Workshop on Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Innovation Roadshow Event...


Full Job Description for the Position of Executive Director, ASARECA: Available in English and French

ENGLISH   RECRUITMENT OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EXTENSION OF APPLICATION DEADLINE Refer to the Advertisement and Full Job description below for the recruitment of ASARECA Executive Director. Kindly note that the application deadline has been extended from 19th to 24th April. The application information below including the access link is still valid. 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,...


Participants from at the Agroecology Policy Dialogue in Nairobi Kenya

Enabling Policy Environment for Agroecology takes the Spotlight at Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference  

Julian Barungi, Wandabwa Wanyama & Ben Moses Ilakut NAIROBI, KENYA –ASARECA, in partnership with the European Commission, IFAD, CORAF, CCARDESA, FARA, and AFAAS on March 25, 2025 hosted a pivotal side event during the 2nd Eastern Africa Agroecology Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The event, titled “Regional Policy Roundtable on Enhancing the Integration of Agroecology into the Post-Malabo CAADP Process” aimed at highlighting the essential role of agroecology enabling policy environment in...


ASARECA Executive Director Hosts ISABU DG and Deputy at Secretariat

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT ENTEBBE, UGANDA: ASARECA Interim Executive Director, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma on March 6, 2025 received the Director General (DG) Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi (ISABU), Dr. Samson Musonerimana at ASARECA Secretariat offices in Entebbe Uganda. The Director General was accompanied by the Director for Research, ISABU, Dr. Micheline Inamahoro, who is also Burundi’s National Focal Person (NFP) for ASARECA.   Dr. Baguma briefed the DG and the Director...


ASARECA ED, top management meet Kenya’s Agriculture Cabinet Secretary and Council of Patron Ministers’ Chair

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT NAIROBI, KENYA: ASARECA Acting Board of Directors Chairman, Ambassador Dr. Kipyego Cheluget together with the Interim Executive Director, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma and the Director General, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) have held a meeting with Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Agriculture and Livestock Development Hon. Mutahi Kagwe EHG.   Hon. Mutahi Kagwe is the current rotational Chairperson of the ASARECA Council of Patron Ministers (CPM), a...


ASARECA IED, Sylvester Dickson Baguma backs onboarding agricultural research in regional integration

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT NAIROBI, KENYA—ASARECA Interim Executive Director, Dr. Sylvester Dickson Baguma has highlighted the importance of Agricultural Research and Development (AR4D) in the integration of economies in the East African Community (EAC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) regions. “Our Regional Economic Communities are promoting free movement of people and trade across Member States of the EAC and COMESA, however, just as the movements contribute facilitate...


Some of the farmers who received an assortment of items to embark on quality seed multiplication

ASARECA boosts access to quality potato seed for Rwandan farmers using EU, World Bank funding.

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT MUSANZE, RWANDA: ASARECA Interim Executive Director, Dr. Syslvester Dickson Baguma has handed over 2.5 tons of Quality Certified potato seed, 11 spraying pumps, 200kgs of fertilizer, and assorted pesticides to 300 farmers belonging to the Dukomeze Ubuzima Cooperative, in Shingiro, Musanze, Rwanda.   Handing over the kitty during a training, demonstration and technology dissemination workshop in Shingiro in Musanze, Rwanda, on February 12, 2025, Dr. Baguma told participants that...


ASARECA, CIHEAM Bari, Heliopolis University and AICS engage Egyptian farmers in Agricultural Best Management Practices

BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT SEKEM FARM, BELBIES, EGYPT: ASARECA, the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies-Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari) and the Italian Agency for Development Corporation (AICS) on February 2 and 3rd, 2025 joined Egyptian partners, Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development in Egypt and the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture in a workshop to sensitize farmers on utilization of proven agricultural soil and water management practices.    According to ASARECA Acting Head...


Project Partners Convene in Kigali for Land Soil Crop Information Services Annual Meeting  

By Genevieve Apio Kigali, Rwanda, 25–26 November 2024: Key stakeholders in the Land Soil Crop Information Services (LSC Hubs) project (https://lsc-hubs.org)  gathered in Kigali for the Annual Project Meeting (APM), aimed at evaluating 2024's progress, addressing challenges, and preparing for the final project year in 2025. The meeting was hosted by the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB). Project leadsfrom Wageningen Center for Development Innovation (WCDI), ISRIC - World Soil...