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The week’s activities ended on a high note with standout academic and entrepreneurial achievements being officially recognised. RUFORUM’s 15 emerging innovators were each presented with the Young African Entrepreneurs Award and the best student posters were handpicked by a special panel. Seven academics were recognised for their extraordinary contributions to RUFORUM’s goals, including: Prof Frans […] 0

The important role of inter-institutional alliances was highlighted on Friday, as delegates discussed the steps to improving the quality of higher education at African universities. Keynote speaker, African Academy of Sciences Executive Director Prof Berhanu Abegaz, set the tone for much of the discussions with the statement: “The need for increasing quality is not a […] 0

Several discussions on Thursday last week were dominated by conversations around the best ways of connecting with farmers. Keynote speaker Prof Patrick Okori (ICRISAT) told delegates despite the increased reach of communication technology, over 500 million people are not benefiting that much from agriculture due to limited access to relevant information and market knowledge, adding: […] 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) convened the 5th African Higher Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference 2016 in Cape town South Africa from 17th– 21st October, 2016.  RUFORUM is an institution that oversee graduate training and networks of specialization across Africa and primarily within the Common Market for Eastern and […] 0

The factors needed for increased innovation at university level were discussed on Wednesday as the 5th African Higher Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference 2016 entered its second day. Acknowledging the importance of attracting private sector support, the day kicked off with a session titled Linking Universities with Private Sector for agri-business innovations. Although the […] 0

By Pauline Atim, Social Media Reporter In light of her impending retirement from the African Union Chairmanship, Her Excellency Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was treated to a dinner by RUFORUM, during the Africa Higher Education Week in Cape Town, South Africa. The dinner was held as a token of appreciation for the support, guidance and advice her […] 0

RUFORUM celebrated the success of young African entrepreneurs who have come up with innovative solutions to address food insecurity and poverty-related challenges on Wednesday morning. A panel of 15 young people from across the continent showcased their businesses, which addressed a diverse range of issues, including ICT support for smallholder farmers, agri-processing and even capitalising […] 0

Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim has emphasised investing in Africa’s people will be a crucial step towards the continent reaching its development goals. Gurib-Fakim was addressing delegates on the second day of the 5th Biennial RUFORUM Conference in Cape Town on Wednesday. Gurib-Fakimk herself a scientist, told the audience: “I am convinced that the social and […] 0

Deputy Executive Secretary Dr. Moses Osiru presented members with the Secretariat’s report highlighting the past year’s achievements. Notably, this included RUFORUM’s support of more than 120 Masters Students and close to 100 field attachments, reaching over 5000 smallholder farmers. Osiru also highlighted operational improvements that include strengthening internal ICT systems and the development of a […] 0

More than 750 academics and agriculture stakeholders from across Africa have gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, as the 5th African Higher Agricultural Education Week and RUFORUM Biennial Conference officially got underway on Tuesday. With the theme: Linking Universities with Private Sector, Governments and other Stakeholders in support of Agriculture Development in Africa, participants can […] 0

By Settumba Mukasa and Moses Erongu, College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Makerere University Cassava is the most important root crop in Uganda, grown in most parts of the country because of its ability to survive in a wide range of soil and weather conditions. It also serves as a family food reserve crop because […] 0

The development of six vaccines, developing a world-class research facility and training more than one hundred graduate students and post-doctoral fellows earns Dr. Lorne Babiuk this prestigious international award. Dr. Lorne Babiuk, a world-renowned virologist, highly acclaimed for his international leadership in vaccine development and research in veterinary infectious disease control, particularly zoonotic diseases, named […] 0

Summer School 2017 – programme and fees The Summer School is drawing near and we’ve had a few requests around our programme for 2017. While we are putting the finishing touches on our programme, I would like to share some of the highlights of the coming Summer School with you. The 8th annual Summer School […] 0

By Christine Nakkazi, College of Agricultural and Environmental sciences, Makerere University christinenakkazi@yahoo.com Over 80% of rural households in Northern Uganda keep chicken, mostly local breeds kept under the free-range production system. However, these indigenous chicken exhibit low turnover and low growth rate due to poor management and inadequate feeding which challenges their ability to play […] 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is pleased to announce the 15 winners of the 2016 Young African Entrepreneurs Competition. The competition attracted a total of 756 applicants from 38 African countries. The following are the stages and processes that were followed to identify the 15 winners. All 756 applications were […] 0

By Stanslus Okurut and Settumba Mukasa, College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, Makerere University Under their group the Popular Knowledge Women’s Initiative (P’KWI), women farmers in Soroti District, Eastern Uganda, are reaping big from processing fresh cassava roots into High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF). Lack of access to adequate and sustainable markets has been a […] 0

Application deadline (for scholarships): 19 October 2016 Learning, action research and outreach – Making higher education boost food security, 13 – 31 March 2017, Wageningen, The Netherlands As a professional in tertiary agricultural education you are expected to prepare competent graduates for the job market. In addition, you are requested to do action research that […] 0

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is grateful to all Young African Entrepreneurs who participated in the Young Entrepreneurs Competition 2016. A total of 756 applications from 38 African countries were received. RUFORUM is glad announce the outcome of round one evaluation process as follows: A total of 663 applications which […] 0

By James Mphande, Communications Manager That Malawi has predominantly been an importing and consuming nation is well documented and it is sad. The goodness is that Government has finally decided to do something to make the country a predominantly producing and exporting nation. And looking at the majority of countries at the centre of production, […] 0

The 11th annual CASE Africa Conference is the premiere event and Africa’s largest annual gathering of professionals who work in alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing on behalf of educational institutions. Organised in partnership with the University of Nairobi and Strathmore University, attendees will make new connections while learning best practices from within Africa and […] 0