Project aims at developing science capacity in agro-ecology

Two continental higher education and research institutions, working to promote agricultural development and education in Africa, have launched a research project that will receive an injection of millions of euros to support Regional Centres of Excellence, or RCoEs, in green transition across the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)and the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), alongside partners, have launched the Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN). Its overall aim is to increase the science, technology and innovation capacities of the regional centres in the field of agro-ecology.

Other partners include the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), and the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA).

Three broad objectives

It will have three main broad objectives, including strengthening scientific and technological capacities of the Regional Multi-actor Research Network, to produce, collect, access, process, share data and carry out research activities using a “gender-sensitive approach”.

In addition, it hopes to increase the network’s contribution in agro-ecology through “transformative quality research and scientific knowledge-generation”, and dissemination.

This is besides enhanced gender-sensitive support to agro-ecology practitioners, scientists and policymakers, said the coordinator, Dr Kwaku Antwi, during its launch on 19 March.

It will also lead to the establishment of a platform for knowledge exchange and information-sharing, he noted.

Practice-based programme

The European Union funded the 36-month project, which will also see an RMRN formed that includes universities, and will engage in capacity-building through the short-term training of staff, MSc and PhD students, besides student exchange and internships.

However, the universities have not yet been identified as they will be selected through a competitive process, with those successful becoming part of the consortium and host the Centres of Excellence, said Dr Florence Nakayiwa, the deputy executive secretary of RUFORUM.

“This is a practice-based programme that is aimed at building capacity through short-term training for staff and students, including PhDs and masters. It will involve student exchanges and internships. It accommodates both African and European institutions with specific support from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission,” she told University World News.

Strengthening consortia

The initiative will also attract funding from the European Union. It is a two-track funding system. On the first track, the participating
organisations (CORAF, ASSARECA and CCARDESA) that will host the RMRN,
will each receive €4.75 million (US$5.14 million). Then, on the second
track, both FARA and RUFORUM will each access a total of €2 million.

While some centres will be hosted by the universities, others will be hosted by research institutions after the selection process, she added.

“The number of universities to be picked to participate in the project cannot be stated at this moment because it is a competitive process. Neither can we tell now how many universities will be part of the Centres of Excellence which will bring together different partners,” she explained.

At the end of the project, the technical capacities and skill of researchers and scientists involved would have been built, enabling them to carry out scientific studies in agro-ecology. Participating institutions would also have had their science infrastructure enhanced.

Overall, this initiative will help strengthen existing collaborations and synergies among the African agricultural research, education and innovations institutions.

The EU is funding the initiative as part of its Regional Multi-Annual Indicative Programme for Africa, whose aim is to support strengthening consortia of Africa-based institutions to lead interventions on the continent.

While it has many interpretations, agro-ecology basically implies the study of the relation of agricultural crops and environment for sustainable farming that works with nature.