With preparations for the CONNECTED Africa Launch Conference well under way, details of keynote speakers are being confirmed.

On Monday 7 May, the first of the three days of the Uganda conference, there will be keynote research-focused presentations from

• Dr Titus Alicai, National Agricultural Research Organisation, Uganda

• Joseph Ndunguru, Head of Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Cooperatives, Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute, Tanzania

• Professor Sue Seal, University of Greenwich, Natural Resources Institute, UK.

The first day will also feature talks on:

• Crop Certification, by Joseph Bazaale, Commissioner for Seed Certification and Inspection, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda

• Extension, by Patience Rwamigisa, Commissioner for Agriculture Extension Services and Skills Management, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda

• Plant Health by Dr Isaac Macharia, General Manager Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)

Day Two of the conference will see delegates transported from the Kampala conference base to The National Crops Resources Research Institute at Namulonge, 30 km north east of Kampala. They will be given a tour of the facilities and a workshop there will aim to identify gaps in plant disease research that could potentially be filled by some of the pump-prime funding being made available by the CONNECTED project.

Delegates will return to Kampala in the evening, ready for the conference’s third and final day, which will feature further workshops focusing on interdisciplinary working, and the training needs of CONNECTED network members.

The conference will be followed by a two-day training workshop aimed specifically at early career researchers. It will take place at The Skyz Hotel, Kampala, the same location as Days One and Three of the Launch Conference.