In August, Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is holding its second Triennial Conference, under the theme “Operationalizing Higher Agricultural Education and Research Ecosystems for Innovation, Industrialization and Economic Development in Africa: A Call for Action.” 

The RUFORUM 2nd Triennial Conference will be held in the Republic of Namibia from August 12 – 16, 2024. The five-day conference will bring together policymakers including Ministers and Technical Experts, Higher Education Leaders in Africa, development partners, private sector leaders, researchers, innovators, students, and farmer organizations, among others. Approximately 1,000 delegates are expected from across the world. Pre-conference training events will take place also in Windhoek Namibia, from August 5 – 9, 2024.

The Triennial is a response to the urgent needs for the African governments, development partners, private sector and citizenry to take action, to invest in higher education to underpin the continent’s urgent development needs in an inclusive and sustainable way. This event will also have on its sidelines, the 20th RUFORUM Annual General Meeting, being convened with the following objectives:

• Enable education and agricultural ecosystem actors to showcase and present their key findings, lesson share and inform each other on key actions required to make science work in Africa’s development. This objective will be implemented through a scientific programme that will bring together diverse stakeholders involved in Africa’s agricultural higher and tertiary education, research, innovations development, policy and industry.
• Engage lead actors in policy and practice, to identify action areas for further investments in agriculture and higher education. Policy dialogues will be held involving governments, higher education leaders, development partners, research and innovation as well a private sector agencies.
• Promote international linkages and partnerships for excellence in Higher Education. This objective will support the strengthening of strategic partnerships, collaboration and mutual learning to spur investments, innovation and transformation of the higher education sector systems in Africa.
• Provide a platform for discussions, and lesson learning among diverse actors on the subject of creating employment for Africa’s young population. Discussions on topical issues such as the future of work, business development and incubation, and linkages among others will be held.
• Deliberate on the macro and micro needs to adapt smart operations in terms of changing connectivity, education, business practices, sustainable agricultural and value chain transitions and advancement. 

AICCRA's participation in the Triennial

This year, AICCRA's West Africa Lead Robert Zougmoré will be present in Namibia to take an active part in key debates on higher agricultural education and sustainable food security in Africa, as well as insights on how to leverage capacity building for climate adaptation across Africa through the AICCRA model.

Events include:

Development of e-learning materials for climate-smart agriculture and climate information systems modules 

Date: 5th-9th August 2024
Venue: Hage Geingob Campus, Room TBC, Windhoek, Namibia

These sessions will focus on creating effective e-learning materials for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) by bringing together experts to collaborate on advancing e-learning initiatives. The event will feature key presentations by experts, hands-on content transformation and packaging using ESE tools, and the development of assessment tools for course modules. These materials will be uploaded to the RUFORUM portal, increasing accessibility to knowledge and resources, improving decision-making, promoting behavior change, and empowering agricultural communities. 

Organized by RUFORUM with support from the AICCRA team, the Government of Namibia, and RUFORUM member universities in Namibia, this event will propel the enhancement of training and support for instructors and develop high-quality e-learning resources.

Symposium I - Educating Africa: Implementing transformative higher agricultural education to meet Africa’s human capital needs

Date: 12th August 2024  
Time: 08:30 - 10:00 Central African Time (CAT)  
Venue: Plenary Hall, Mercure Hotel, Windhoek, Namibia  

The Symposium, organized by RUFORUM and supported by the Government of Namibia, will focus on higher agricultural education to bridge gaps in workforce training, leverage digital tools like AI, and build resilience against climate change. Participants include researchers, academics, policymakers, and industry representatives, aiming to exchange knowledge, foster partnerships, and discuss scalable solutions for inclusive and quality education across all levels. 

This will set the tone for the scientific sessions taking place on 14th August. Among them is the presentation of AICCRA West Africa Lead, Robert Zougmoré, on 'Building capacity for climate adaptation across Africa through the AICCRA model: implications for adoption and scaling out in African universities.'

Symposium II: Sustainably growing the economy and feeding Africa

Date: 13th August 2024 
Time: 08:00 – 10:00 Central African Time (CAT)  
Venue: Mercure Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Windhoek, Namibia

This event aims to explore scientific and entrepreneurial solutions for improving the production, distribution, and consumption of sufficient and nutritious food in Africa, emphasizing sustainable, productive, and competitive agriculture and resilient agrifood systems. The symposium will include a policy address by H.E. Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko and a keynote address by Dr. Ephraim Nkonya, followed by expert discussions and audience engagement featuring Robert Zougmoré, AICCRA West Africa Lead. 

Organized by RUFORUM with support from the Government of Namibia and RUFORUM member universities in Namibia, the event seeks to generate knowledge, technologies, and innovations for nurturing and scaling a sustainable agrifood sector, enhancing resilience, and addressing policy and societal impacts. 

Mainstreaming the development of climate-smart agriculture and climate information services relevant curricula in African universities

Date: 15th August 2024 
Time: 8:30-12:30 Central African Time (CAT)  
Venue: Mercure Hage Geingob Campus, Room TBC, Windhoek, Namibia

The objective of this event is to raise awareness of the training curricula developed by the AICCRA project and to integrate these curricula into university training programs. The focus will be on designing and developing modules in priority CIS/CSA areas, with the aim of adopting these modules as short-term courses, university courses, or course units within existing programs. The expected outcomes include the mainstreaming of these course modules into university curricula and the development of a roadmap for consolidated and sequential CIS-CSA training. 

The event is organized by RUFORUM and WASCAL with support from AICCRA. 

Contact

For media enquiries or questions about AICCRA's participation in the Triennial Conference, please contact Belmira Moustapha, AICCRA West Africa Comms Lead at b.moustapha@cgiar.org