CCARDESA Strengthens the Capacity of APPSA Scientists in planning and implementation of field trials in Lesotho

Scientists leading Research and Development (R&D) sub-projects under the Agricultural Productivity Programme for Southern Africa (APPSA) in the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, were taken through a hands-on training in planning and implementation of field trials. The training, which was held in Maseru from 17 to 19 October 2022, was facilitated by the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).

The training also covered different methods and approaches of experimental design and field layout.

APPSA is a six-year World Bank funded initiative currently being implemented by the Republic of Angola and the Kingdom of Lesotho, with regional coordination by CCARDESA. The programme is based on regional implementation of collaborative R&D sub-projects. Currently, a total of 18 sub-projects are implemented in both countries focusing on generation and dissemination of improved technologies.

For the APPSA scientists in the Kingdom of Lesotho, this training came at the right time as the production season is about to start and most of them will soon be engaged in their field work. Scientists were exposed to the theory and practical aspects of: (i) planning of field experiments and development of research protocols; (ii) types of experimental designs and the principles and procedures of selecting appropriate ones; (iii) designing of field experiments and developing a field layout using statistical software; and (iv) establishing and managing field trials. With this training, APPSA completes a key milestone in Lesotho as Principal and Co-Principal Investigators leading APPSA R&D sub-projects will now adopt harmonized scientifically approved methods of planning and management of research trials, which will allow them to generate high quality data and research outputs.

The training targeted scientists implementing APPSA R&D subprojects in Lesotho