ASARECA Region Experiences in Capacity Building for Agricultural Information & Communication Management: The Case for Capacity Building

3rd IAALD Africa Chapter Conference 23rd May 2012

Presented By Nodumo Dhlamini

ABOUT RUFORUM Established in 2004;

Formerly a Rockefeller Funded Project which was called FORUM (1992-2003)

29 Member Universities in 17 countries

Regional Secretariat based at Makerere University, Kampala Uganda

WWW.ruforum.org

Background to the MSc AICM • RUFORUM supports a number of regional

postgraduate training programs in agriculture• 2003 the Regional Agricultural Information Network

(RAIN) was established as a programme for the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)

• Priority setting exercise for RAIN, network members unanimously agreed that enhancing skills in ICM in Eastern and Central Africa (ECA) was the most important problem-solving area that RAIN should focus on.

Background to the MSc AICM • RAIN conducted a regional study to assess human

resource capacities and training needs in Eastern and Central Africa (ECA).

• Development of the Master of Science in Agricultural Information and Communication Management (MSc AICM) programme was strongly supported by the findings of this training needs assessment (TNA) undertaken by RAIN in 2005

• Regional Partnership in the program development: ASARECA, FARA, RUFORUM and various stakeholders from National Research Organizations, Private Sector and Universities

Key Findings of 2005 TNA• Agricultural professionals of all cadres in the

ASARECA region with AICM skills were few or lacking.

• Agricultural researchers, educators and technologists in national agricultural research systems (NARIs), universities and extension services lacked skills that could make them self-sufficient in meeting basic information needs to generate and disseminate technology.

• Agricultural research results are not known or effectively transmitted to the international research community. As a result, African concerns do not drive the international research agenda.

Key Findings of 2005 TNA• There was also a scarcity of trained professional

scientific editors capable of assisting African scientists to get their papers and other literature published in international refereed journals.

• Existing university programmes did not have adequate ICT/ICM content, explaining the low ICT/ICM competency among graduates, and there was a growing recognition that ICM was emerging as a ‘new’ profession in development.

The Curriculum

2 Elective courses total 6 credit hrs

Agricultural Science 9 credit hrs

Specializations

Intake Agriculture Fresh Graduates

10 Core Courses Total 24 credit hrs

Electives

Non-agric Graduates

ICT/ICM Basics8 credit hrs

Remedial Coursework

Core Competencies

Thesis Research 12 credit hrs

Graduates of Any Backgrounds

4 Specialization areas 2 courses eachTotal 6 credit hrs + project 6 credit hrs

Product Non-thesis

MScMSc by Thesis

Mini- Project

PGD

The Courses

Core Courses

Fundamentals of AICMManagement of Agricultural Information and communication Systems Information System Analysis and DesignDatabase Design and ManagementAgricultural Knowledge Management Web Content Design and ManagementCommunication for Innovation Farming Systems and Rural LivelihoodsStatistical and Research Methods in AICMSeminar on Current TopicsThesis

The Experiences of Implementing MSc AICM• 2008: RUFORUM took over the implementation of the

program• 1st group of 14 students at Egerton University in Kenya

supported by FARA/ASARECA through SCARDA and others by RUFORUM

• In 2008 University of Nairobi took up the programme• In 2010 Haramaya University (Ethiopia) took up the

programme• In 2012 Makerere University will commence the

programme

Egerton University StatisticsName of University

Intake # and Year

Total # of Students

No of Females

No of Males

Egerton University 1st - 2008 14 5 9

2nd – 2009 9 5 4

3rd - 2010 3 1 2

4th - 2011 7 3 4

Regional Representation

DRC, Ethiopia, , Kenya,Tanzania , Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Total Graduated Three graduated in 2011

Funding Profile of Students

The 1st intake was financed under the DFID funded SCARDA project and some were funded from RUFORUM sources. The second and third intakes were funded from other means identified by the students.

Delivery of Program

MSc AICM Programme delivered as a full-time regular semester programme. Participants are fresh post Bachelor students or employees on study leave.

Haramaya University StatisticsName of University Intake # and Year Total # of

StudentsNo of Females No of

MalesHaramaya University 1st - 2010 (Regular) 13 2 11

1st - 2010 (Summer In Service)

13 1 12

Regional Representation

All Ethiopian

Total Graduated None Yet

Funding Profile of Students

Students are sponsored by the Ethiopian Government and RUFORUM for their research

Delivery of Program MSc AICM Programme delivered in two ways: as a full-time regular semester programme and also as summer vacation programme. Some of the participants are full time employees.

University of Nairobi StatisticsName of University Intake # and

YearTotal # of Students

No of Females No of Males

University of Nairobi

1st - 2008 10 4 6

2nd – 2009 12 4 8

3rd - 2010 11 4 7

4th - 2011 13 6 7

Regional Representation

All Kenyans

Total Graduated Four graduated in 2011

Funding Profile of Students

Students are self –sponsored

Delivery of Program MSc AICM Programme delivered as a part-time weekend and or evening programme. Participants are full time employees.

What the Alumni Say

What the Alumni Say

• 85 AICM professionals have been trained by the three universities. Some of these have graduated and others are at the research phase of their academic work. And additional 20 have just commenced their studies as part of the 4th intakes to the programme.

• Therefore the objective has been partially met - the initial plan was to have all the 9 ASARECA countries implement the AICM program by 2012. The plan was grand and ambitious – targeting 180 students being admitted annually in the 9 countries over 5 years..

Discussions (I)

• There is a need to carry out a tracer study to be able to say that the programme has produced competent AICM experts with intended competencies. There is also a need to carry out a tracer study to be able to say that the programme has enhanced the competency of agric researchers and other development workers in AICM.

• Capacity building for universities has been in the area of e-learning and e-content development. To date 15 AICM modules have been converted to e-format and 8 have been uploaded on the RUFORUM moodle system. Due to funding limitations, we have been unable to build the capacity of PhD level AICM professionals to teach on this programme.

Discussions (II)

• Ideally the research agenda of the AICM students must be tightly knit to the gaps and needs of the agricultural sector in terms of AICM. We need to support staff and student exchanges and seminars to strengthen the linkages.

• Marketing of the AICM programme could be improved to attract more students and support for the programme

Discussions (III)

• Internships & Practical Training for AICM students: virtual internships to support IAALD online platforms

• Partnerships for the development of AICM teaching materials is an important and pending activity. The area of AICM is lacking in terms of teaching materials, textbooks, case studies and other resources.

• We need to provide opportunities for AICM training at Module, Certificate and PhD levels.

Opportunities for Collaboration (I)

• Support for staff/student exchanges. Opportunities for engaging with AICM faculty and students through tailored AICM seminars and learning internships with strategic agricultural institutions.

• AICM Research would be more relevant if stakeholders were to be engaged in mapping the research themes together with the universities. Need to support the development of the research themes, supervision of the research MSc AICM research needs to be well integrated into agricultural value chain systems in order to add value to solving real agricultural information and communication management problems.

Opportunities for Collaboration (II)

• Need for this programme not disputed. Universities in the Caribbean & Pacific have shown interest.

• Capacity building through MSc AICM, PGD, Certificate is recommended for the Agricultural Entrepreneurs, Extension Workers and related Agents

• The integrated systems approach to solving agricultural development challenges should incorporate the AICM curriculum

Conclusions