Jacob Godfrey Agea was born on 21.09.1976, in Apac district of Northern Uganda. His mother tongue is the great Luo, although, He is more than fluent in English. He holds a First Class BSc degree in Forestry (October 2001) and an MSc degree in Forestry (October 2004) from Makerere University. He is a Lecturer in the Department of Community Forestry & Extension, Faculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Makerere University Kampala, Uganda. Currently, he is pursuing his Doctoral study in University of Wales, Bangor in United Kingdom. With: much of his childhood in the poor rural areas, a good comprehension of poverty, and a sympathy for the rural poor; his continuous research integrating the natural sciences with "soft" sciences (social sciences) with state-of-art theory and approaches; he has immense experience in teaching, training, research & consultancies. He has conducted research mainly on the commercialization of Ruspolia nitidula- a delicious grasshoppers locally known in central Uganda as Nsenene; Potential of domesticating indigenous fruit trees for income & household food security in Northern Uganda (funded by NURRU); Ecology, conservation & agroforestry potential of ‘gum Arabic tree’- Acacia senegal in the Uganda’s rangelands (financed by NORAD); Socio-economic analysis of Uganda and Kenya’s forest policies (funded by AFORNET).
He has undertaken several consultancies including Analysis of forest & land resource utilization, management & their impact on livelihoods in Teso & Lango farming systems, sponsored by DFID through National Forest Resources Research Institute- Uganda); Development of component 4 (capacity building, dissemination & replication strategy) for a project on removing barriers to the effective management of invasive alien species (IAS) in Africa (under a GEF-CABI funded initiative by the NARO; Baseline survey on biodiversity usage & conservation in relation to the local communities’ livelihoods, Dokolo District (financed by YICAFA through UNDP); Training of trainers (TOT) of YICAFA on Agroforestry & Environment Protection sponsored by UNDP through Rural Energy & Environmental Conservation Project (REECA) in Dokolo. He has also been a resource person in several training workshops like in-service training of district service providers in appropriate agroforestry intervention (I@mak project), and development of curriculum through the DACUM process for training NGOs in sustainable agriculture & natural resource management (funded by Environmental Alert). He is research collaborator in the on-going departmental research (from 2007), which aims at assessing the relationship between Access to Forest and Tree Resources and Livelihoods in Central Uganda- a project funded by (funded by Norwegian Support to Makerere University IDP - Phase II). Besides, he is a committed team member of the currently on-going research (from December 2006) titled Development of a national beekeeping calendar and honeybee pest and disease control methods to promote planning of appropriate interventions to boost production of honey and other hive products (funded by NARO Uganda). He is also involved in the ongoing (from 2007) Carnegie-Makerere Competitive Research funded project aimed at assessing on-farm conservation strategies, post-harvest handling and nutritional value of the Shea tree (Vitellaria Paradoxa) & Shea products in Uganda.
He as since 1997 won several awards and grants. For instance, He was jointly awarded research grant from Norwegian Support to Makerere University by Makerere University School of Graduate Studies in August 2008 to research on the nutritional analysis and innovative approaches in the value addition of Ruspolia nitidula (‘Nsenene’ grasshoppers) for income generation in Uganda; He won the annual Bangor University Beyond Boundaries Conference award prize for the conference overall best oral paper presenter of 2008 (http://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/full.php?Id=425); He was awarded the very competitive Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholarships in August 2007 to pursue Doctoral (PhD) study in Ethnobotany & Food of Security at the University of Wales, Bangor in United Kingdom; He awarded Sida/SAREC Doctoral Research Grant in 2007 to fund his PhD research activities ‘’ Use and Potential of Wild and Semi-Wild Food Plants in Household Poverty Alleviation: A Case Study of Bunyoro-Kitara Kingdom, Uganda’’; He was in 2006, jointly awarded research grant from Norwegian Support to Makerere University by Makerere University School of Graduate Studies to research on the relationship between access to forest and tree resources and livelihoods of the poor and female-headed Households in central Uganda; He was jointly awarded the Carnegie-Makerere Competitive Research Grant in November 2006 to conduct research on on-farm conservation strategies, post-harvest handling and nutritional value of Vitellaria paradoxa (shea nut tree) products in Uganda;
He was jointly awarded a competitive research grant by Natural Agricultural Research Organization (NARO Uganda) in December 2006 to conduct research on the possibility of developing honey beekeeping calendar and honeybee pest and disease control methods for Uganda; He was jointly awarded research grant by the African Forest Research Network (AFORNET) in 2005 to conduct research on Socio-economic analysis of Kenya and Uganda’s forest management and conservation policies; he was awarded Network of Ugandan Researchers and Research Users (NURRU) competitive research grant in July 2003 to conduct research on the Potential of Indigenous Fruit Trees in Uganda; He was awarded Norwegian Institutional Support Grant in 2001 to pursue Master of Science Degree in Forestry at Makerere University Kampala; He was also awarded the Uganda’s Government Scholarship in 1997 to pursue Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry at Makerere University Kampala. His broad areas of interest are Applied Ethnobotany (use of wild food resources) & Food Security; Research Methods, & Agroforestry. He is a young relentless academia and below are some of his publications, books and book chapters:
Agea J.G, Lugangwa E, Obua J & Kambugu R K (2008). Role of indigenous knowledge in enhancing household food security : a case study of Mukungwe, Masaka District, Central Uganda. Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge System, Volume 7 (1): 64-71.
Agea J.G, Biryomumaisho D, Buyinza M & Nabanoga G.N (2008). Commercialization of Ruspolia nitidula (Nsenene Grasshoppers) in Central Uganda. African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Vol. 8 (3):319-332.
Agea J G, Katongole B, Waiswa D, and Nabanoga G N (2008). Market Survey Of Mondia whytei (Mulondo) Roots in Kampala City, Uganda. Afr. J. Trad. CAM, 5 (4): 399 – 408.
Agea J.G; Obua J; Kaboggoza JRS & Waiswa D (2007). Diversity of indigenous fruit trees in the traditional cotton-millet farming system: The case of Adwari sub-county, Lira District, Uganda. African Journal of Ecology, Afr. J. Ecol., 45 (Suppl. 3), 39–43.
Agea J G, Ongom S O, Babwetera F & Kaboggoza JRS (2007). Abundance and Utilization of Pyrenacantha sylvestris in Budongo Forest Reserve, Western Uganda. Afr. J. Ecol., 45 (suppl. 1), 107-111.
Yikii F, Agea J.G & Kaboggoza JRS (2006). Eucalyptus versus indigenous trees: what do tobacco farmers prefer in Northwestern Uganda. Makerere University Research Journal (MURJ)., Vol. 001(2):pp. 171-177.
Obua J; Agea J.G; Namirembe S; Egadu, S. P & Mucunguzi, P (2006). The Potential of Acacia senegal for Dryland Agroforestry and Gum Arabic Production in Uganda Journal of the Drylands 1(2): 186-193.
Agea J.G & Fungo B (2006). Natural resource governance, conflict prevention, peace building and development: A case of African continent. Abstract In Tenywa M.M., Ssemalulu O., Kasenge, V., Taulya G and Musinguzi P Edition. Enhancing stakeholders’ participation in natural resource Management: A key to improved livelihoods. The proceeding of the 23rd Soil Science Society of East Africa (SSSEA) Conference, Masaka, Uganda.
Agea J.G; Obua J; Namirembe S & Buyinza M (2005). Agroforestry potential of Acacia senegal in the rangelands of Luwero and Nakasongola districts. Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 11: 34-39.
Agea J.G; Obua J; Namirembe S & Buyinza M (2005). Ecology and conservation of Acacia senegal in the rangelands of Luwero and Nakasongola districts. Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 11: 40-46.
Agea J. G & Ssebuliba S (2005). Marketing of agroforestry products in Nama sub-county, Mukono district, Uganda African Crop Science Conference Proceeding, Vol 7 pp. 537-540. ISSN 1023-070X.
Ndawula J., Agea, J.G & Okello, T (2005). Potential of woodland resources: the case of indigenous fruit trees in Kiryandongo- Masindi district. African Crop Science Conference Proceeding, Vol 7. pp. 533-536. ISSN 1023-070X.
Agea J.G & Akullo G (2005). Potential of domesticating indigenous fruit trees for improved income and household food security in Lira District, Uganda. Network of Ugandan Researchers and Research Users (NURRU) Working Paper 8.
Obaa B; Onega, M. C & Agea J.G (2005). Participatory farmers’ evaluation of maize varieties: a case study from Nebbi District, Uganda. African Crop Science Conference Proceeding, Vol 7 Part 3. ISSN 1023-070X, Kampala Uganda.
Okia C.A., Obua, J., Agea J.G & Agaro, E (2005). Natural regeneration, population structure and traditional management of Vitellaria paradoxa subspecies nilotica in the shea parklands of northern and eastern Uganda. African Crop Science Conference Proceeding, Vol 7 pp. 1187-1192 ISSN 1023-070X, Kampala Uganda.
Obua J; Eilu G; Agea J.G & Sekindi S (2005). Plant species diversity in a changing agricultural landscape: the case of Kaweri Coffee Plantation, Central Uganda. Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 11: 20-25.
Kambugu R.K., Banana A.Y., Zziwa A., Agea J.G & Kaboggoza J.R.S (2005). Relative efficiency of sawmill types operating in Uganda’s softwood plantations. Uganda Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 11: 14-19.
Agea J. G, Namirembe S, Bukenya M, Zziwa A & Waiswa (eds.) (2007). Agroforestry In-Service Training Manual: Design of Appropriate Agroforestry Interventions in Uganda. Fountain Publishers, Kampala Uganda, ISBN 978-9970-02-677-7.
Agea, J.G and Obaa B (2007). Agribusiness. pp 87-103 In Agea et al., 2007 ed. Agroforestry In-Service Training Manual: Design of Appropriate Agroforestry Interventions in Uganda. Fountain Publishers, Kampala Uganda, ISBN 978-9970-02-677-7.