Makerere University and CGIAR Work to Shape Future Gender and Agriculture Researchers in Africa
Photo: Adam Öjdahl / IWMI
This blog was originally posted on the CAES webpage.
The Department of Extension and Innovation Studies at CAES, Makerere University through the Gender-responsive Researchers for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) Project convened a Stakeholder Consultative Workshop on proposed postgraduate programs in gender and agriculture at Makerere University.
This event was part of the activities of the renewed partnership between the University and the CGIAR. Makerere University and the CGIAR in August 2024 renewed their Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate efforts to create more inclusive agricultural systems in Africa.
Supported through the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform, Makerere implements the activities through GREAT, co-implemented by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the School of Women and Gender Studies. This is in line with the broader aim of nurturing a cadre of gender responsive agricultural researchers, equipped to contribute to inclusive and effective Agricultural systems that address the priorities of both women and men in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
According to the PI, GREAT, Dr. Florence Birungi Kyazze, the GREAT has offered short courses for over 8 years. Some of the lessons learnt along the way are that the short courses are not sufficient to produce the kind of calibre that can drive gender and agricultural development. "Despite having a fully-fledged School of Women and Gender Studies, and a College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at Makerere University, there’s no specific programme on gender and agriculture hence the need to institutionalize through an MSc and Postgraduate Diploma," Dr Kyazze explained.
Addressing participants at the half-day stakeholder consultative workshop held on 30th September 2024 at Grand Global Hotel in Kampala, Dr Kyazze noted that there was a lot of quality content from the decade-long efforts of GREAT to support the programs. The workshop was geared towards engaging stakeholders on the core competencies and requirements for MSc and Postgraduate Diploma training in gender and Agriculture. It was attended by representatives from the Uganda National Planning Authority (NPA), the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), the Gender Mainstreaming Division at Makerere University, School of Women and Gender Studies – Makerere University. School of Agricultural Sciences – Makerere University, Gulu University, Mountains of the Moon University, and Uganda Christian University – Mukono. Other stakeholders participated in the virtual consultation survey.