Deploying Climate Smart Technologies to deal with impacts of El Nino rains in Kenya
By Ben Moses Ilakut & Genvieve Apio It an undisputed reality that Climate Change is a major challenge to agricultural productivity and food security globally. The devastating effects of climate change are manifested in many ways including El Nino rains, which are affecting several countries in Eastern and Central Africa. Photos above and below show how farmers in Machakos, Kenya were supported to prepare soil based on best agronomic recommendations and establish...
Tracing the impact of ASARECA supported Climate Smart Agriculture innovations in Kenya
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 become risk averse Both episodes have the potential to reduce crop yields, sometimes, they cause total crop failure. In this predicament,...
Saving Sudan: Emergency food aid now, thereafter—back to Agricultural production
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 widespread lack of food that leads to extreme hunger, malnutrition, and increased mortality in a population. Successful farming supported by ASARECA...
Urgent call for collective regional action against crop manace, Banana Bunchy Top Virus
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 a halt. But before that, the disease had wreaked havoc, causing up 100% crop losses in hotspots of East Africa,...
Scaling up Virtual Irrigation Academy in Eastern and Central Africa
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 Africa, less than 5% of the cultivated land is irrigated, compared to a global average of about 20%. The challenges...
We are Hiring
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 mandate is to coordinate regional agricultural research for development in partnership with NARIs. To achieve this mandate, ASARECA seeks to...
ASARECA, CIHEAM Bari, Water Land Resources Centre train Ethiopian farmers in selection of Agricultural Best Management Practices
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT & MOSES ODEKE BAHIR DAR, ETHIOPIA: ASARECA, and the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies-Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari) on April 19-20, 2024, joined Ethiopian partners, Water and Land Resources Centre in a follow-up training and selection of possible BMP scenarios workshop targeting farming communities in Koga catchment in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The workshop was intended to share knowledge among the farmers and technical teams supporting project...
ASARECA Ministers’ Chair, Hon. Mithika Vows to Kick-start Construction of ASARECA Building
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT Dr. Enock Warinda (R) shows Hon. Mithika Linturi around the site for the planned ASARECA Headquarters’ building in Entebbe on April 4, 2024 ENTEBBE, UGANDA: “I will mobilise my colleagues, the Agriculture Ministers to ensure that ASARECA gets a befitting home.” These were the words of Hon. Mithika Linturi, the Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Agriculture and Livestock, the Republic of Kenya during his visit to ASARECA Headquarters in...
ASARECA Ministers’ Chair, Hon. Mithika rallies States to establish Agriculture Innovation Fund
BY BEN MOSES ILAKUT (L-R) Dr. Denis Onkundi, Mithika’s Technical Advisor; Ms Doris Komen, Commercial Attaché, Kenya High Commission in Uganda, Hon. Mithika Linturi; Mr. Richard Mutwota, First Counsellor, Kenya High Commission in Uganda (immediate right to Dr. Mithika on back row); Dr. Enock Warinda; Dr. Wellington Mulinge of the Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) joined by ASARECA Secretariat staff (back row) in Entebbe, Uganda during the event ENTEBBE, UGANDA:...
ASARECA Secretariat Joins Family TARI to Mourn Departed Board Chairman, Dr. Geoffrey Mkamilo
The ASARECA staff joined the family and the staff of Tanzania Agriculture Research Institute (TARI) in Mourning ASARECA departed Board of Directors Chairman and former TARI Director General, Dr. Geoffrey Mkamilo at his ancestral home in Mafulila village, Kilindi District, Dodoma, Tanzania. Representing the Executive Director, Dr. Enock Warinda and ASARECA Governance Organs, Ms Rachael Namuzibwa and Annet Wanyana, the Administrative and Personal Office, and the Acting Head of Finance read...