About RUFORUM

RUFORUM is a network of 147 African Universities with the mission to strengthen the capacities of universities to foster innovations responsive to demands of smallholder 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.

In 2004, a Ugandan plant scientist with an extraordinary vision started a quiet, green revolution in agricultural higher education in Africa. His inclusive charisma and driving ambition gathered a momentum that few expected. ‘Building The Africa We Want’ documents the individual lives transformed as a consequence. It shows innovative science employed, communities empowered, partnerships forged, capacity built, institutions rebuilt and policy strengthened across the African continent

RUFORUM envisions a vibrant agricultural sector linked to African universities which produce high-performing graduates and high-quality research 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 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, the private sector and governments.

RUFORUM has seven goals to achieve

1. Train a critical mass of Masters and PhD graduates, who are responsive to stakeholder needs and national/regional development goals;
2. Develop collaborative research and training facilities that achieve economies of scope and scale;
3. Increase the participation and voice of women in agricultural research, production and marketing;
4. Improve the adaptive capacities of universities to produce high quality and innovative training, research and outreach activities that can contribute to self-employment, policy and development practice;
5. Increase the use of technology to support effective, decentralized learning and the sharing of knowledge;
6. Mainstream new approaches within university teaching and research that emphasizes quality, innovation, and impact across the agricultural sector’s full value chain; and,
7. Create a dynamic regional platform for policy advocacy, coordination, and resource mobilization for improved training, research and outreach by universities that are inclusive and promote environmental integrity.