RUFORUM and SADC join forces to bolster agriculture, science

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is seeking a partnership with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the areas of agriculture, science and research.

This follows a meeting between Professor Patrick Okori, the executive secretary of RUFORUM, and Dr Judith Kateera, the acting executive secretary of the SADC. They recently got together at SADC's headquarters in Botswana.

Okori said RUFORUM, together with its member universities and partners, is already working with an SADC subsidiary, the Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA) to build research capacity.

Okori told University World News RUFORUM was also supporting CCARDESA to establish Agroecology Regional Multi-Actor Research Networks that will undertake research for development to promote sustainable production systems. The initiative is led by the University of Cape Town in South Africa.

Okori said another programme, the Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully contribute to Africa’s Growth and Development (TAGDev), seeks to increase agricultural productivity, jobs and wealth creation across member universities to enhance food and nutrition security. This initiative is supported by the Mastercard Foundation.

Okori pointed out that both institutions already worked in the same geographic region, with RUFORUM having 66 member universities in 14 countries of the 16 SADC member states. RUFORUM, created in 2004 by 10 university vice-chancellors, has a continental network of 175 universities across 40 countries in the five regions of Eastern, Southern, Central, West, and North Africa.

“Most importantly, two of the 10 RUFORUM founding members: Eduardo Mondlane University in Mozambique and the Africa University in Zimbabwe, fall in the SADC. Thus, RUFORUM and SADC are natural partners, which must work hand in hand and support each other to achieve their respective goals to the benefit of both SADC and RUFORUM member countries,” he said.

Vision 2030

He said RUFORUM's vision 2030 champions transformative universities which are aligned with continental and global development policy frameworks, such as the SDGs.

“By doing so, RUFORUM wishes to contribute to the achievement of SDG 1, no poverty; SDG 2, zero hunger; SDG 3, good health and well-being; SDG 4, quality education; and SDG 5 gender equality, among others. This will be achieved by supporting member universities to mainstream innovative teaching and learning approaches; generating proactive and skilled graduates for Africa’s agrifood system transformation; supporting member universities to develop relevant innovations, products and services and supporting member universities to institutionalise enabling policies, principles and practices,” he added.

He also said RUFORUM, through its predecessor, the Forum for Agriculture Resource Husbandry funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, helped stabilise colleges, faculties and schools of agriculture in participating countries, including Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, by providing resources, mission and peer support, during and after the economic structural adjustment programmes. It also contributed to staff retention in the participating universities and built their capacity for research, student supervision, scholarly and policy works.

Future collaboration

Okori said areas for future collaboration with the SADC following his meeting with Kateera included building capacity for SADC universities and the National Agricultural Research System (NARS) to leverage strong science innovation and technology capacity. NARS refers to country frameworks to coordinate and implement agricultural research.

“When it’s due, such an MoU [memorandum of understanding] with SADC could cover the underlisted areas of cooperation: building of research and training capacity to meet the region’s diverse agri-food transformation needs and policy; supporting SADC efforts to enhance collaboration in science, education and policy; supporting SADC in building capacity for youth and work transitions, given its newly established Youth Desk; joint resource mobilisation for the regional higher agricultural education and allied ecosystems; advocacy and promotion of SADC higher agricultural education and allied ecosystems for increased investment along with other SADC agencies,” said the RUFORUM executive secretary.

He said strategic areas include climate change science and resilience building; artificial intelligence and agriculture; monitoring, evaluation studies to support policy reviews and information; agrifood systems transformation; data science and analytics; and science to market transitions for innovations from research.

Alignment between SADC and RUFORUM

SADC said Kateera had noted the strong alignment between RUFORUM’s mandate and SADC’s strategic frameworks, including the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP 2020-30) and its Regional Agricultural Policy.

“She emphasised the importance of enhancing agricultural research, science, and technology to mobilise resources that support farmers and research programmes. These initiatives, she said, are critical for fostering a green economy in agriculture, improving food security, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices,” the statement, issued after the recent meeting, added.

It said Kateera further highlighted the critical role universities play in empowering youth and academia through research, entrepreneurial development and agricultural skills advancement.

According to the SADC statement, Kateera called upon all parties to place a greater focus on scientific research, innovation and collaboration through the hosting of high-level strategic meetings to exchange knowledge and training, with an emphasis on building human capacity and enhancing youth empowerment initiatives.

Okori also highlighted some of RUFORUM’s achievements, including the successful training of doctoral candidates in agriculture across Africa, advanced research in livestock nutrition and climate-resilient practices, and the promotion of gender inclusion, which has notably increased women’s leadership and participation in agriculture and science.

RUFORUM will hold its Annual General Meeting from 1 to 5 December 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana, which will bring together stakeholders from agriculture, health and research sectors to foster knowledge exchange, and strengthen support systems led by African nations, particularly in empowering youth and promoting innovation.