RUFORUM Publications

From Conflict to Prosperity: Researchers and Small-scale Farmers Benefit from Collaboration. Sitting in the shade of a tall, spreading mango tree, a group of community leaders and elders are discussing the beneficial properties of Ebelangite, a local traditional herb, with researchers from Makerere University.  Lucy Aloka, who is nearly 100 years old, tells the researchers that she drinks Ebelangiteevery morning—which is why she remains healthy and strong enough to dig her own fields and harvest her crops. To the elders, Ebelangite is a valued mainstay of life. Yet Aloka and her companions fret that their children and grand children have lost their appreciation of the traditional ways, and are more interested in moving to the cities to find factory jobs. The elders say they hope that the scientists can help them study and document their traditional knowledge and resources, such as Ebalangite, so that the younger generations will begin to recognise the value of their heritage. “We want our local life to survive, as it is dying now,” explains Stephen Oroni, another community elder. When researchers first encountered this community, located in the Bukedea District of Eastern Uganda, nearly 20 years ago, the place was emerging from a devastating clash of local rebels against government troops. The people had been herded into refugee camps, and their homes destroyed. Back then, when researchers from Makerere University arrived in the community, offering new, more productive varieties of cowpeas and  groundnuts to improve food security, the community made a conscious decision to embrace innovation as a strategy  for survival, and have never looked back. Today, life here is stable, and the group, called P’kwii, which stands for Popular Knowledge Women’s Initiative, is in the midst of pioneering countless new social and commercial innovations, which are helping them to build prosperous lives as small-scale rural farmers.

Achieving food security and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa will require a large cadre of well-trained agriculturists, and development partnerships that derive their agenda from the needs and voices of the continent’s populace. It will require team work, combined with a new set of leaders who use participatory approaches and tools relevant to Africa’s socio-economic situation. Institutions in Africa must develop new ways of teaching with tools that can be adapted to the training needs of African scholars so that they can re-orient their students to: think creatively, value team work and partnerships, recognise that they belong to a global world, and that whatever they do, should contribute to the improvement of the welfare of African’s people.
Unfortunately African scholars and fieldworkers often lack reference materials that are based on local experiences.The Green Book is intended to equip young African scholars with guidance for their thesis study, and to prepare them for the leadership roles that
will be expected of them on completion of their studies. The book is written as a guide and examples from the continent are used to highlight the issues. It implores students to always be aware of the bigger picture – the development goal – and to realise that he/she is not operating in a box. We are all part of a community, and indeed, of a global world that is changing – and we must adjust in order to cope with the changing needs of society.
This first edition is relevant to all students, but is biased towards those in eastern and southern African universities. It is hoped that the second edition, that will be published in both French and English, will be broader in scope and will include West African reality. The editors welcome all comments and suggestions for improvement in future editions.
The Green Book is linked to many other books, organisations, institutions, and dedicated persons, we acknowledge their contributions and those of all contributors. This book is published under the aegis of the African Crop Science Society (ACSS) which is pan-African in its coverage. The ACSS was the brainchild of staff at Makerere University where it is based, thus, it was a natural choice as publisher. The ACSS has been closely associated with the Rockefeller Foundation since its inception  and is grateful for the provision of funds to develop and publish the Green Book

In a region characterised by post-conflict reconstruction, food insecurity and agrarian economies, the need for trained experts in agriculture is massive, and will only increase. The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), an organisational network comprised of 29 member universities across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region, has positioned itself to ensure that universities respond to the needs of the region through the kinds of training and research they provide.
Working with universities within the network, RUFORUM has coordinated and helped to establish regional master’s and PhD programmes that harness pockets of strength and expertise existing within the universities, in areas of strategic need.

Strengthening Regional Networking and Learning activities - Annual Report 2006-2007