Since 1959, Cuba has undergone a series of political changes, and since 1989, Cuba has had to invent, evolve, and implement a new system of food production that provides lessons from which others can learn. Many of the changes since 1989 caused shocks to the food-security system. As a result many institutions and individuals had to absorb the realities of a food production and distribution system faced with major disruption. These shocks led to adjustments and adaptations necessary to ensure a secure food supply for the 11 million inhabitants of Cuba. This article focuses on adjustments and adaptations made in the extension domain within Cuba's unique agricultural knowledge and information system.

In Africa, the continued under-representation of women in education is particularly severe, especially in tertiary level programs relevant to agricultural development. The underlying premises of this paper are, firstly, that African agricultural development would be better served by an increase in the number of well-trained women leaders in agricultural research, extension, training and policy. Secondly, that there are currently very few women in positions of leadership in agriculture development agencies in countries visited in this study. And thirdly, that although there is a relatively low rate of participation of trained women agriculturalists in field positions, higher education in agriculture provides a passage through which women could gain greater access to leadership positions in agriculture. This paper examines the current status of women's participation in higher education in agriculture in selected East and Southern African countries, identifies existing obstacles to their greater participation, and presents several strategies attempted in Botswana, Tanzania, and Malawi, for surmounting these obstacles.

Global service-learning interconnects service-learning, study abroad, and international education programs to enhance global competence among students through their immersion in distinct cultures, while working with communities. This study was grounded in the employability skills framework that clusters skills into applied knowledge, effective relationship, and workplace skills. We employed a comparative census study involving service-learning alumni from Iowa State University (ISU) and Makerere University (MAK), who participated in a summer service-learning program in Uganda as undergraduates between 2006 through 2019. The study sought to determine the level of improvement in employability skills among program alumni. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 274 alumni through Qualtrics. The response rate was 94.2%. Overall, effective relationships led by open-mindedness and teamwork skills had the highest improvement for both groups, followed by workplace skills led by communication, and applied knowledge led by problem-solving skills. An independent sample t-test by the university revealed that MAK alumni reported higher levels of improvement in employability skills than ISU alumni. Specifically, MAK alumni reported significantly improved skills in teamwork and ISU alumni reported significantly improved skills related to emotional intelligence. Housing arrangements and year of participation in service-learning significantly accounted for the differences. Binational housing arrangements showed a greater influence in improving alumni skills, and service-learning programs should emphasize binational residences. Alumni could obtain additional benefits from engaging in activities to improve their research, critical reflection, and public speaking skills, which are among the key skills related to success in graduate school and employability during and after college.

This study identifies the parent material (PM) and examines cation exchange capacity (CEC) across the Busoga catena. In 2022 and 2023, we described 32 pedons and collected 147 samples. Laboratory analyses were particle size analysis, organic carbon (OC) content, pH, and CEC. Results indicate that the Busoga catena occurs across a Precambrian granitic residuum plateau that is dissected by Holocene and modern aged nearly level alluvial valleys filled with sediment from the Nile River back flooding and local stream sediment. Connecting the residual plateau uplands with the alluvial valleys are colluvial backslopes. Alfisols and Oxisols dominated the residual and colluvial PM. In contrast, Entisols, Mollisols, Ultisols, and Vertisols dominated the alluvial PM in the lowland landscape positions. Pedotransfer analysis revealed CEC to be a function of OC, clay, and pH. The best‐fit multiple linear relationship was CEC predicted = 1.77 pH + 0.08% clay + 4.76% OC, n = 44, Adj. ( R ² )   = 0.94**. In turn, clay and OC content could be explained using PM and landscape position.