This issue of the Podcaster reports on results from the research work stream. We have some interesting findings showing really stunning responses to inoculation and phosphorus in some countries with soyabean, although such responses are not found everywhere. The baseline studies are now available from most countries and are providing some interesting insights into gender and legume use. We include reports from MSc students who have conducted their research thesis work within the N2Africa project.

Agronomic trials conducted for two seasons in East and Central Africa and for one season in West and Southern Africa are yielding interesting results. We have observed a lot of variations in crop yields within treatments, between farms and across agro-ecological zones. We attribute this huge yield variation with the existing soil fertility and management gradients as well spatial and temporal environmental differences. For example, at Mushomo site in-DRC soybean yields in the control treatments varied enormously between different farmers; from 200 kg/ha to 2500 kg/ha.

Alastair Simmons from UK based Strategic Communications, Project and Knowledge Management Consultancy, Taskscape Associates Ltd has joined the project as the acting work stream leader for Project Administration and Communications. Last year Alastair directed some videos to promote and explain the work of the project: and in February this year he facilitated the Annual Project Meeting in Harare. Here he explains briefly, why he believes good communication is key to the success of N2 Africa.

When we launched the N2Africa newsletter in 2010 we ran a competition to give the newsletter a name. At the N2Africa planning meeting in February that was held in Harare, we were delighted to present a beautiful book entitled "Legumes of the World"  to Professor Barbara Maasdorp, a forage legume specialist from the University of Zimbabwe who came up with the name N2Africa Podcaster. For those of you without a strong botanical background - the definition of a legume is a "plant with a pod" so we found the name highly appropriate.

The months of March and April earmarked the harvesting season in Zimbabwe and farmers who participated in the N2Africa Project showed their appreciation and how much they gain the project by organising field days in their respective Districts and wards. 

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La femme rwandaise a été, depuis longtemps, victime d’une série d’injustices sociales générées par des lois, tant coutumières que modernes, qui la plaçaient dans une position d’infériorité par rapport à l’homme. Bien que, sur le plan juridique, certains changements ont été opérés dans le but de permettre à la femme rwandaise de jouir des mêmes droits que l’homme, force est de constater que beaucoup de femmes ignorent, jusqu’à présent, cette évolution des temps et du droit positif rwandais en leur faveur.

In Rwanda, N2Africa has 5 partners, among which 1 research institution (ISAR), and 4 non-government organizations (NGOs), namely DRD, COCOF, EPR, and CARITAS, involved mostly in technology dissemination.

The N2Africa project is partnering with a new project called “Increasing smallholder farm productivity, income, and health through widespread adoption of Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) in the Great Lake Regions and Southern Africa.” The leader of this project in Zimbabwe and Malawi is Nelson Mango (the person on the right with a big hat).

BNF dissemination activities in west Kenya are entering their second year and are built around some great new legume varieties, recently commercialized rhizobium inoculant and some key accompanying technologies. During its first year, the project mobilized the efforts of 14 grassroots farmer associations and local NGOs to install 87 grain legume technology demonstrations and conduct 3410 on-farm BNF technology tests. During the second year, the number of collaborators will increase to 23 grassroots groups and 4000 new farmers examining soybean (SB 19 and 24) and climbing bean (cv. Tamu).