The Department of Extension and Innovation Studies at CAES, Makerere University through the Gender-responsive Researchers for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) Project is developing two programmes to enhance postgraduate training in gender and agriculture in line with the requirements 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. With funding of USD 99, 935 through the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform, Makerere will implement the activities through the GREAT Project, co-implemented by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the School of Women and Gender Studies. The renewed partnership focuses on developing and enhancing postgraduate training and research in gender and agrifood systems at Makerere University. This is line with the broader aim of nurturing a cadre of gender responsive agricultural reseachers, 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 the PI, GREAT, Dr Florence Birungi Kyazze, the short courses currently offered by the programme 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 a 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 meeting held on 30th September 2024 at Grand Global Hotel in Kampala, Dr Kyazze emphasized the need to develop the programmes noting that there was a lot of quality content to support the training.
The workshop was geared towards engaging stakeholders on the core competencies and requirements for MSc and Postgradute Diploma training in gender and Agriculture.
In her remarks, the Principal, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Makerere University, Prof. Gorettie Nabanoga expressed gratitude for the renewed partnership between Makerere University and the CGIAR. She highlighted the need for staff to pay attention to the contribution of their research if meaningful transformation is to be realized. “As a College, we are intentional on making meaningful and positive contribution to national development through research, but we haven’t yet achieved this,” she noted, calling calling on staff to focus on research that will drive national Transformation.
About GREAT
The GREAT initiative started in 2015 as a 5-year collaborative capacity building project between Makerere University and Cornell University in USA, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
GREAT equips researcher to create more inclusive and effective Agricultural systems by addressing the priorities of both women and men in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project has built ample technical capacity of staff at Makerere University, established strategic partnerships with various institutions, and developed ample training material to enhance curriculum.
Over the years, GREAT has continued to deliver courses to Agricultural Researchers in the theory and practice of gender-responsive research, seeking to increase opportunities for equitable participation and sharing of benefits from Agricultural research to improve the output of smallholder women farmer, entrepreneurs, and farmer organizations.
Details about the renewed partnership between Makerere University and the CGIAR: