Ciara Varley, Angharad Johnston
Monday, August 19th – Saturday, August 24th, 2024
LEG4DEV PhD researchers attended the Southern Africa Hub Retreat facilitated by IITA. Researchers met with IITA staff and students from WACCI and PAULESI to share research findings, network and discuss next steps for IITA Southern Africa Regional Hub’s 10 -year strategic plan.
The IITA Southern Africa Regional Hub recently held a retreat for IITA-affiliated staff and students to meet and reflect on progress and next steps for IITA Southern Africa Regional Hub’s 10 -year strategic plan.
The programme brought together LEG4DEV PhD researchers and students from WACCI (West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement) and PAULESI (Pan African University Life and Earth Sciences Institute) to share findings from their research projects, participate in panel discussions and discuss emerging research areas aligned with IITA’s strategic objectives.
The workshop aimed to define three core areas of focus for IITA’s future research activities. LEG4DEV PhD students shared their ongoing research and insights into best practices for scaling of legumes and maize in southern Africa, incorporating topics across our activity areas including advanced legume gene technologies, gender, policy approaches, supply models, soil and fertiliser use and labour demands, among others.
Each of the LEG4DEV PhD researchers presented on their research findings and progress across the six LEG4DEV work packages, under the titles:
- Pacsu Simwaka: ‘Optimizing: Maize-Soybean Productivity in Southern Africa’s Diverse Agro-Climatic Zones: A Nutrient Response Study’
- Kareem Longwe: ‘Yield response of soybean genotypes to rhizobium inoculants, under differential N fertilizer rates and timings’
- Tima Munthali: ‘Issues of gender in scaling legume production in East and Southern Africa: A systematic review’
- Decolius Kalumo: ‘Comparative assessment of labour demand and labour peaks of legume mono and multi-cropping systems by smallholders in Malawi’
- Remeredzai Oliver Mushangure: ‘Dynamics of Smallholder Labour Demand Peaks Associated over Cropping Season for Legume Cropping Systems in sub-Saharan Africa – A Systematic Review.’
- Theresa Kinkese: ‘Options for policy reforms of Agriculture Input Subsidies (AIS) for enhanced livelihoods and resilience in East and Southern Africa’
- Tione Kaonga: ‘Evaluating supply models, identifying gaps and exploring opportunities for scaling legume inoculants in East and Southern Africa. A Review’
- Emmanual Ngonga: ‘Understanding the spatial variation of soil physical properties in Zambia and Malawi to better inform soybean and maize cultivation.’
Alongside presenting, PhD researchers engaged in workshop sessions focused on climate threats for east and southern Africa, stakeholder engagement and resource mobilisation, delivery pathways, and monitoring and evaluation strategies. LEG4DEV researchers also participated in a panel discussion where they addressed questions stemming from their research presentations and proposed emerging research areas aligned with IITA’s strategic objectives. Through these sessions, LEG4DEV researchers contributed to IITA’s strategic plan for the Southern African Hub, providing insights into a broad range of areas including gender, policy, supply chains and technologies.
Overall, the retreat offered a fantastic opportunity for LEG4DEV researchers to discuss their research projects and receive feedback on their project direction, network, and up-skill as they continue their research projects.