News

  • The specific objectives of the GTA are to improve the quality of higher education and increase the pool of PhD-level trained academic staff in African universities.

  • Prof. Adipala Ekwamu joined several delegates in Vienna for the agrinatura Science Days early this year. 

  • RUFORUM was featured among three organizations whose stories are meant to inspire institutions that would like to innovate their communication strategies.

  • Call ID: RU/CGS/CARP-01 Supp./April 2014

    Introduction

    RUFORUM has supported three Community Action Research Projects in Kenya (University of Eldoret, formerly a constituent College of Moi University); Malawi (Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources formerly Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi); and, Uganda (Makerere University). These were designed as three-year projects and are drawing to completion. The projects involved each university setting up an action platform (or outreach centre) which provided opportunities for the primary producers and traders, the university and a number of related agencies to work closely together to carry out participatory research using post-graduate students. These projects were intended, among others, to provide an opportunity for each university to establish a mechanism for more effective outreach and participatory research that would address the needs of a particular community (or commodity) along the entire value chain, in association with other stakeholders. These projects served as pilots under the RUFORUM Community Action Research Program and the desire is to scale-out to the wide RUFORUM Network through packaging and disseminating outputs and process of initiating and sustaining action/innovation platforms as a vehicle for effective university-based outreach engagements with a multiplicity of stakeholders in integrated and innovative agricultural research for development.

  • Dama Consultants Limited is retained by The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) to recruit qualified and competent staff for its Secretariat based in Kampala, Uganda. RUFORUM was established in 2004 with vision to create a vibrant agricultural sector linked to African universities, which can produce high-performing graduates and high-quality research which is responsive to the demands of Africa’s farmers for innovations; and able to generate sustainable livelihoods and national economic development.



    RUFORUM’s mission is to strengthen the capacities of universities to foster innovations which are responsive to demands of small-holder farmers through the training of high quality researchers; the output of impact-oriented research; and the maintenance of collaborative working relations among researchers, farmers, national agricultural research institutions and governments.



    RUFORUM has established partnerships and operates with a consortium of 32 universities in eighteen countries in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa to achieve its mission. The countries include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Malawi, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, South Sudan, South Africa and Namibia.



    RUFORUM wishes to recruit competent persons to fill the posts which are performance based and renewable for three years. Such persons should be highly motivated, with strong drive and commitment to build African institutions. Applications are invited from qualified individuals of high integrity from the participating countries

  • Background

    The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a consortium of 114 universities in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (ECSA), works with relevant stakeholders of agricultural tertiary education in ECSA to build the innovative capacities of universities to engage with development processes through effective training, research and outreach. RUFORUM prides itself as a knowledge-based, international Non-Governmental Organization with a commitment to enrich and sustain the lives and livelihoods of smallholder and rural based poor farmers in the ECSA. To help achieve its vision and mission, RUFORUM’s internal operations are guided by six core values of Equity and Fairness, Diversity, Voice and participation, Knowledge and Creativity, Humility and Respect, and Honesty and Integrity. RUFORUM wishes to engage the services of an External auditor of international reputation for three years (financial year 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017) in accordance with the statutory requirements, International Reporting Standards Guidelines and International Standards on Auditing (ISA).

  • The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture is pleased to announce names of the successful candidates to receive scholarships for Master of Science Degree in Research Methods hosted at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya. The scholarships will provide tuition fees, living allowances, economy return tickets, research costs and other training related costs.

  • The Intra- ACP academic mobility scheme to Train Crop Scientists for Africa Agriculture is pleased to announce names of successful candidates to receive scholarships for Master and PhD degrees hosted by different partnering Universities in Africa. We had 72 M.Sc. Applicants and 40 PhD Applicants for the Target group 1 and Target group 2 countries. The Scholarships will provide subsistence allowances which will be provided upon arrival to cover installation costs and the remaining part will be provided on a regular basis. A settling in allowance will be provided to the students and will consist of an extra month subsistence allowance.