“Integrating climate-smart curricula into our universities goes beyond educational reform. It's a strategic move.’’

These words from Robert Zougmoré, the West Africa team leader for Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), had a strong resonance at the Second Triennial Conference of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), which recently took place in Windhoek, Namibia.

RUFORUM hosts an annual general meeting, but every three years sets a bigger and more ambitious program for its partners and stakeholders. Around 1,000 attendees from across Africa and beyond participated in this latest triennial conference, which was co-hosted by the Government of Namibia. The theme was: ‘Operationalizing Higher Agricultural Education and Research Ecosystems for Innovation, Industrialization, and Economic Development in Africa: A Call for Action’. 

AICCRA’s contribution—through various side events, plenary debates, and dialogues—focused on the integration of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and climate information services (CIS) into higher education in Africa, strengthening efforts to sustainably scale access and use of innovation.

Robert Zougmoré highlighted the realities facing rural communities in Africa, with women and young people facing particularly acute challenges. Many young people are leaving rural areas in search of better opportunities in urban areas due to the structural weaknesses of rural economies.

Robert stressed that AICCRA advocates for stronger rural economies that can transform agricultural sectors from being a subsistence activity to a driver of development. This transformation, Robert insisted, requires innovative, climate-smart solutions that are collaboratively developed with communities, and tailored to local contexts.  

How climate-smart agriculture has been mainstreamed into African universities

Robert showed how AICCRA’s distinctive approach to partnerships with higher education institutions in Africa are delivering such solutions. 

The project is forging closer links between African institutions mandated to address climate and agricultural challenges and CGIAR – the world’s largest publicly funded research partnership for food security. 

1,500 university lecturers and staff—a third of them women—from 37 African countries have been trained on new CSA and CIS modules through partnerships with universities that are members of the RUFORUM network, as well as West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL). 

A new master’s degree specialization in CSA and CIS has been introduced at Felix Houphouet Boigny University in Côte d’Ivoire, among others. Such universities modules cover diverse topics such as: 

• Climate-smart nutrient and water management
• Crop, livestock and aquaculture integration
• Indigenous and local tree-based agroforestry systems
• Soil-carbon sequestration
• Policy to support implementation of CSA and CIS
• Abiotic and biotic pest and diseases management
• Disaster risk management
• Clean energy to manage water resources for agriculture

Various approaches to teaching these modules were introduced, including short-term courses, fully developed university programs, and adding components to existing curricula. This flexible strategy ensures availability for university staff, students, and other practitioners across the African continent.

Dr. Nyambilila Amuri from the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania highlighted how CIS and CSA modules have been effectively integrated into the university's training programs. She argued that achievement provides a roadmap for other institutions to follow suit.

Dr. Moumini Savadogo, Executive Director of the West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF), highlighted his firsthand experience of working with AICCRA partners who have mainstreamed CSA and CIS into higher education, arguing such an approach should be extended across to higher education institutions across the continent. Dr. Savadogo called for expanding this innovative model to other themes—beyond agriculture—to strengthen Africa's resilience to climate change.

Participants from various countries expressed their desire to see these initiatives scaled across the continent. Prof. Ngongo Kilongo Fatuma from the Université Evangélique en Afrique in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) called for more partnerships like those forged by AICCRA to be established in more African countries. Prof. Fatuma said: 

‘’I was impressed by the number of beneficiaries impacted by AICCRA’s activities and research partnerships in six countries. I encourage the project team to expand their reach to other African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which require direct support.” 

AICCRA’s ambition is to support the uptake of these initiatives. As Robert Zougmoré put it: 

‘’By equipping our students – our future experts – with the right knowledge, AICCRA is committed to addressing the most pressing climate challenges and working towards a resilient agricultural future in Africa.”

The next steps involve ensuring that the CSA and CIS modules are widely adopted and effectively implemented across more universities—particularly in West Africa—with continued technical and financial support from AICCRA and its partners. 

A roadmap for CIS and CSA training programs is being developed, paving the way for bundled courses that more universities can offer in the future.

Additional information about AICCRA at the RUFORUM second triennial conference 

• Event: Development of e-learning materials for climate-smart agriculture and climate information systems modules
• Symposium: Sustainably growing the economy and feeding Africa
• Scientific session: Building capacity for climate adaptation across Africa through the AICCRA model: implications for adoption and scaling out in African universities
• Side event: Mainstreaming the development of climate-smart agriculture and climate information services relevant curricula in African universities 

Author

Belmira Moustapha, AICCRA West Africa Communications Officer