January - June 2008 - Kenya Agricultural Research Institute

SUCAPRI E-Platform Workshop
By JM Ndubi, KARI Headquarters
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in conjunction
with Strengthening of University Capacity for
Promoting, Facilitating and Teaching Rural
Innovation processes (SUCAPRI) organised a three-day
workshop at the University of Nairobi, College of
Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences (CAVS), 13-15
February 2008 to deliberate on the selection of an e-
platform for the SUCAPRI project.
The objectives of this workshop were to collectively
agree upon the main purposes and functions of an e-
platform and to jointly select an appropriate e-
communication platform after evaluating existing platforms
and agree on the modalities of operation of the e-platform.
Five of the eight SUCAPRI members and associates
namely: University of Nairobi (UoN), Makerere University
(MAK), Kenyatta University (KU), Kenya Agricultural
Research Institute (KARI), and Jomo Kenyatta University
of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) were represented
in this workshop.
Discussions on the concept of Open Educational
Resources (OER’s) were facilitated by the COL’s
consultant. OERs were defined (including the critical role
they play in Africa). It was noted that though the concept
of sharing was acceptable, issues of inadequate manpower
and infrastructure could hinder the sharing of these
resources. However, this should not be seen as a
stumbling block as the issues of access are being
addressed through various national, regional and
international interventions.
The discussions were followed by the identification
of the SUCAPRI needs, which constitute both
communication and e-platform requirements. The
communication platform would facilitate the transfer and
sharing of information and knowledge related to SUCAPRI
members and stakeholders. This communication platform
will have the following:
• Support for emails and exchange of files (audio, video,
text, graphics and documents)
• Incorporate Voice Over IP (VoIP) support including
short message service (sms) and internet telephony
• Support discussion forum, chats and internal emails
• Support group collaboration and project planning
• Help in the development and implementation of a
communication strategy
The e-platform that will be used to implement the Learning
Management System and Content Development platform
should support:
• Collaborative Content Development
• Reach a larger number of stakeholders while being
able to support rigorous quality assurance before
hosting for learners use
• Learners’ activities and address pedagogical issues
Key features of the various learning management
systems (Moodle and Atutor) were discussed highlighting
their main features in course and learning management,
learners’ activities and facilitation. The focus was placed
on two content management systems (Joomla and Drupal)
to complement the existing mailing list as a communication
platform and also cater for the website. All the platforms
were subjected to a common criterion of evaluation and
ranked.
Joomla was selected as the communication platform
while WikiEducator and Moodle were selected as the e-
platforms to be used by the project.
KARI Seed Unit
Certified Seeds from KARI Seed Unit for maize, cowpeas,
green grams among others. Seeds are available in each of
the KARI Centres and Companies listed below:
Crop
Variet
y
Centre/Area/Compan y
Soya
bean wheat
Variou
s
KARI-Njoro
Maize, beans, cowpeas, green
grams, pigeon pea and Dolichos
Katumani and DLC
Maize
KARI-Katumani
Cassava/Sweet
potatoes
Variou s
Katumani, Mtwapa, Kakamega
and Embu
Fruit
tree seedlings
Variou s
Katumani, Embu,
and Matuga
Thika, Perkerra
Hybrid Maize
Hybrid
Maize
KH600-11D and
KH600-14E
KH600-15A
Freshco Seed Company
East African Seed Company
Certified Seed
Varieties
Hybrid
Maize
EMCO
KARI-Emb u
Hybrid
Maize
KSTP94
KARI-Kakameg a
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