(CMAAE) was launched in September 2005 as an initiative of the African Agricultural Economics Education Network (AAEEN) involving sixteen (16) departments of agricultural economics in 12 countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Adoption of the CMAAE model was informed by a belief in the potential efficiencies accruable from assembling a critical mass of specialists in particular academic domains in one location and then using it to serve the graduate training needs of a larger regional network of universities. This model has gained widespread acceptance as an innovative mechanism to promote postgraduate education in Africa as it is considered to be more focused in its training approach, delivering a graduate product that is more closely in-tune with national development priorities. The program is being more cost effective since it ensures that synergy by the implementation of coordinated training programmes across a number of universities, both nationally and regionally.
To contribute in the improvement of the policy making process in agricultural sector in Eastern and Southern Africa.Theimpact of the project is to improve the agricultural economic development policy making environment in Eastern and Southern Africa through an:
- Increase use of national trained experts in agricultural policy process;
- Improved agricultural sector planning and policy analysis;
- Improved course delivery in agriculture economics;
- Enhanced networks and partnerships to promote national and regional agricultural development
Phase II: The second phase of CMAEE has the three following objective
- Build human capacity for agricultural policy research and analysis in agricultural and applied economics through regional training at the postgraduate level;
- Strengthen the capacity of participating departments including in teaching delivery and in the use of e-learning and
- Promote collaborating networks among economists, agricultural specialists and policymakers.
The project has the following components: (i) Training delivery for Msc in agricultural and applied economics; (ii) Capacity strengthening of collaborating institutions and (iii) Networking.
