General
GREAT Project 4th Course on Gender Responsive Breeding Attracts India, Thailand Teams
The GREAT Project has opened its 4th training and General course on gender responsive plant breeding attracting more men and other participants beyond Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
Gender-responsive Researchers Equipped for Agricultural Transformation (GREAT) is a 5 year (2015-2020) Makerere University (Uganda) and Cornell University (USA) joint certificate program in applied gender training for agricultural researchers funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
It offers skills in gender-responsive research tailored to assisting agricultural researchers to address gender issues along the design, implementation, evaluation, and communication pathway of their research projects.
At Makerere University, the project is jointly implemented by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and the School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS). The project has been operational for the past three years.
Week 1 of the fourth training was officially opened by Makerere University’s GREAT Project PI Prof. Margaret Najjingo Mangheni at the Forest Cottages in Bukoto-Kampala on 22nd July 2019.
The training brought together social scientists and plant breeders from East, West and South Africa as well as Asia. The participants included research teams from India, Thailand, Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
Speaking during the opening ceremony, Prof. Mangheni said, the GREAT Project has been in operation for the last three years where three cohorts have been trained in different commodities.
“The first one was focusing on breeders doing work on root tubers and bananas. The second one was on cereal grains and the third one was on legumes.
This year, we have opened up so that we are working with breeding programs focusing on a whole range of crops not restricted to a commodity. But still, they are coming as an interdisciplinary team of social scientists working with a breeder on a breeding program.” The PI explained.
Prof. Mangheni said the goal of the trainings is to strengthen the capacity of these research teams to be able to conceptualize, design, implement and communicate gender responsive research within a breeding program.
This year, the course attracted more men than women with other participants coming from as far as India.
“Actually we are excited with this cohort because we have been able to broaden the reach of GREAT. Initially, we were targeting Sub-Saharan Africa but when we sent out the call for applications, it attracted a broad range beyond the anticipated target catchment area of SSA.
We have a team for this course from the World Vegetable Centre (Worldveg) South Asia/Central Asia based in Hyderabad India working on Mechanised Mungbean Harvesting in Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan and they have come in to train alongside the SSA research counterparts,” Prof. Mangheni explained.
She said the GREAT Project is funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation but the model had inbuilt models for sustainability so that progressively, the funding by the project decreases and the funding from participants increases.
“We hope that next year we shall run a course that is 100 percent funded by participants based on demand. This time, we have seen a significant increased level of funding from participants themselves, self-supported teams but we are also funding some participants from the project, so it is a mix”. Prof. Mangheni said.
In her key message Prof. Mangheni emphasized that Gender responsiveness needs to be the norm in terms of breeding.
“The emphasis we have is that when we breed varieties, we send them out there through the seed system and we need to be cautious about stakeholders and cultural context from which they come and; this cultural context shapes and positions men and women differently and if one is not paying due attention to these socio-cultural contexts, you may end up causing unintended harm,” Mangheni explained
The nine day training program focuses on different aspects including Gender concepts and why gender matters in Agriculture, What men and masculinity have to do with gender and agriculture, Why gender matters in plant breeding, Positionality, The science of gender and plant breeding, Principles of quantitative gender research,
Quantitative gender analysis plan, Setting breeding priorities, and Qualitative gender research methods, mixed methods and practical sessions on interviewing techniques and Field case studies among others.
The courses are being delivered by a team of over 15 facilitators from Makerere University’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), the School of Women and Gender studies, staff from collaborative research institution, and consultants from abroad.
“I am very excited to deliver the gender responsive course which is this time broadened in approach compared to the previous ones that we held focusing on specific commodities.
This time it is breeding of different types of commodities. We don’t want to leave any one behind in the breeding world. We have brought most people on board, those breeding tomatoes, beans, maize, cowpeas and animal breeding commodities.
This is our fourth year of the course and we hope we shall harness the opportunities and knowledge brought from the commodity-based training now to this broad spectrum,” Dr. Brenda Bonabaana from the CAES Department of Forestry Biodiversity and Tourism, CAES narrated.
She was proud of the high diversity of the current cohort saying, the course was becoming more demanded with more participants from West, South and East Africa than before.
Dr. Bonabaana who is also an Associate Coordinator of GREAT project will be delivering sessions on principles of qualitative and quantitative gender research with a focus on data collection methods and tools, session on women empowerment and also coordinating the mentorship program.
Delivering on gender concepts and why gender matters in agriculture, Dr Peace Musimenta from the School of Women and Gender Studies described gender as development issue adding that Human Development, if not engendered, is endangered.
She noted that women’s domination or exclusion from participation in agricultural opportunities raises gender issues in agriculture as a sector in as far as the division of labour, land ownership and control, decision making and agricultural marketing and irrigation are concerned.
“Agriculture is the backbone of many economies of the developing countries…if women had access to the same productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20-30%.This could in turn reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17 % .
Women compared to men are 10 times likely to invest more of their earnings in their families’ well-being,” Dr. Musimenta asserted.
She said although many women depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, they face numerous gender based constraints or barriers such as unpaid care work, stereotypes, low education, discriminatory laws e.g on land, limited access to productive resources, limited mobility and inability to make independent decisions. She advised gender responsive researchers to strive for rigorous gender focused research.
“Aim at conceptual clarity, achieve greater precision in terminology, collect data carefully and accurately, avoid stereotypes; build the evidence base, and recognise that gender equality is good for communities, families, women and men, is key to achieving sustainable development,” Dr. Musimenta advised.
Speaking on Gender and Agricultural Development and what men and masculinities have got to do with it, Dr. Amon Ashaba Mwiine from the School of Women and Gender Studies said men are unavoidably involved in gender concerns including control of equitable resources, decision making and being custodians of traditional knowledge.
“Some forms of masculinities can be harmful to men and women and detrimental to development. The subordination of women and other men, the desire to control agricultural technologies, marketing, networks, information, proceeds and men withdrawing labor from agricultural production raises gender concerns”. Dr. Mwiine said.
The don emphasized the need for gender responsive researchers to involve men in their research programs to realize gender equitable development.
“Expectations, attributes, behaviors and roles associated with men can hinder or promote agricultural innovations. In your research outputs, technologies and interventions, consider men’s ways of living and relationships, Dr. Mwiine advised.
About the GREAT theme Four training
The course has three components: Week 1 of classroom work (22-31 July 2019) and Field work with support from Field trainers.
Week 2 of classroom work will take place on 13-17 January 2020. The course includes a variety of applied learning activities.
During Week 1, each participating team will complete a plan for data collection to be conducted in their field site for analysis during Week 2 of the course.
At the end of Week 1, participants are expected to come up with a Gender research question related to participants’ projects, a sampling framework and design, draft data collection methods and tools, a Research plan and timeline and a draft budget for the field research grant
During the Field Training Phase, participants are expected to come up with Qualitative and quantitative data sets to be analyzed during Week 2.
During Week 2 participants will write a Seed grant proposal. For teams selected for seed grants, a detailed timeline and budget for ensuing work will be submitted.
Funding for the fieldwork phase will be supported by teams’ research projects, except one team. The cost is about $1000.
Teams will develop the fieldwork concept and tools progressively during the course and the final product presented on Day 9 for trainers’ feedback. Teams will present a well thought out research plan covering the Brief contextual background and the Case Study description.
Competitive research grants of $5000-10,000 for each of the top three teams or individual participants will be available post Week 2.
Evaluation based on criteria will be shared during the course. Field trainers will support in completing seed grant research work, and publication of outputs.
Two social scientist who have demonstrated competency and have an interest in further developing their gender research skills will be selected as GREAT Gender Fellows (GGFs) at the end of Week 2: Other opportunities include professional mentorship and additional research funding and getting positions on the GREAT CoP Advisory Board.
Report compiled by:
Jane Anyango,
Principal Communication Officer, CAES
Makerere University staff have been urged to embrace servant leadership, integrity and compassion as they prepare to welcome students for the 2026/2027 Academic Year.
The call was made during the Makerere University Staff Prayer Breakfast held on 31st July 2026 at St. Francis Students Centre Upper Hall under the theme “Faithful Stewards: A Servant Heart with Integrity and Wisdom,” drawn from Colossians 3:23–24 and Mark 10:35–45.
The prayer breakfast brought together members of Council, University Management, academic, and administrative staff to dedicate the new academic year to God while reflecting on their responsibility of serving students with excellence, humility and integrity.
A Call to Seek God’s Wisdom
Host Rev. Dr. Lydia Nsaale Kitayimbwa reminded staff that no amount of professional experience or academic expertise can replace God’s guidance.
She noted that the University’s mission can only be fulfilled when staff continually seek God’s wisdom in serving students and one another.
“There is no amount of experience or expertise that can replace God’s wisdom.”
Rev. Dr. Kitayimbwa observed that students remain the reason universities exist and challenged staff to approach their work as a calling rather than merely employment.
“Without students, there is no university,” she said, encouraging members of staff to remain united, avoid unhealthy competition and trust God as they begin another academic year.
She further urged staff to become faithful stewards who work together in harmony, which she summed up as, “United we stand; divided we fall.”
A Community, Not Just a Centre of Research
In her remarks, Dean of Students Dr. Winnie Kabumbuli welcomed the Council Chairperson, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Members of Management to the breakfast, and reminded staff that a university’s value cannot be measured by research and innovation alone.
She described Makerere as a community held together by the spiritual as well as academic wellbeing of its people, and called on staff to renew their commitment to one another as much as to the institution they serve.
Draw Inspiration From Stewardship
Representing the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic Affairs) Prof. Sarah Ssali told staff that this year’s breakfast carried special significance.
“This is the first prayer breakfast we are having ever since we launched our strategic plan,” she said, referring to the University’s new Strategic Plan, launched on 2nd July 2026.
She encouraged staff to hold on to the morning’s reflections as a guide for implementing the plan over the next five years, describing Makerere as an institution many families choose above all others for the vision and training it offers their children. She urged staff to see themselves as stewards of that trust rather than simply employees carrying out a job.
Compassion and Discipline Must Go Together
Delivering her remarks, Makerere University Council Chairperson Dr. Lorna Magara challenged staff to strike a balance between compassion and discipline when dealing with students.
She observed that many students face different personal and academic challenges, making encouragement and timely support essential throughout their university journey.
“A word of encouragement can restore hope and prevent costly mistakes,” she noted.
Dr. Lorna encouraged lecturers and administrators to respond promptly to students’ concerns, explaining that delays, insensitive decisions and abuse of authority can discourage students and negatively affect their academic experience.
She reminded staff that students often remember how they were treated long after they have forgotten what was taught in class.
“Students may eventually forget what we teach them, but they will always remember how we treated them.”
She added that education goes beyond transferring knowledge.
“Education is more than knowledge. We communicate life, character and values.”
Quoting Mark 10, Dr. Lorna called upon staff to embrace servant leadership by exercising authority with humility, integrity and accountability.
She encouraged members of staff to ask themselves whether they would treat every student the same way ashey would treat their own child.
“We may not always have all the answers,” she said, “but we can communicate honestly, take responsibility and treat every student with dignity.”
She concluded by urging different colleges and administrative units to work together instead of operating in isolation, noting that unity strengthens the University community.
Referring to Galatians 6:2, she reminded staff to carry one another’s burdens and remain faithful stewards of the responsibility entrusted to them.
Servant Leadership Begins with Faithfulness
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. James Magara, husband to Dr. Lorna Magara, called on members of staff to embrace servant leadership grounded in humility, faithfulness and service to others.
Drawing from Mark 10:35–45, Dr. Magara reflected on the account in which James and John asked Jesus for positions of honour in His kingdom, prompting discontent among the other disciples. He observed that despite walking closely with Christ, the disciples continued to struggle with the desire for status and recognition. He noted that such competition remained evident even during the Last Supper, where concerns over positions and prominence persisted.
Dr. Magara said that Jesus responded to these human tendencies by redefining leadership through service rather than authority. He described Christ’s act of washing the disciples’ feet as the ultimate demonstration of servant leadership, explaining that genuine leaders are willing to undertake even the humblest responsibilities in service of others.
Referencing Philippians 2, he urged staff to emulate Christ’s humility and selflessness, contrasting it with the pride and self-exaltation illustrated in Isaiah 14. He emphasised that lasting influence and greatness are not measured by titles, positions or recognition, but by one’s willingness to serve faithfully and put the needs of others before personal ambition.
Drawing on his own leadership journey spanning several decades, Dr. Magara challenged leaders across the University to cultivate humility, integrity and a servant heart in the execution of their responsibilities. He cautioned that leadership driven by pride and personal ambition undermines both individual effectiveness and institutional progress, whereas servant leadership strengthens organisations and fosters lasting impact.
The prayer breakfast concluded with a call for unity and collective commitment as Makerere University prepares to begin a new academic year. Organisers noted that the reflections on stewardship, integrity and servant leadership would provide a strong foundation for the University community as it advances the implementation of the Makerere University Strategic Plan 2025–2030.
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