Challenges and Opportunities of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe

The Regional Universities FORUM for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) recognises the important and largely unfulfilled position that universities occupy in contributing to the wellbeing of small-scale farmers throughout the sub-region. This report was commissioned to establish the competencies, needs and opportunities of ten universities in eastern and southern Africa that were the then members of RUFORUM. The objective was to transform the RUFORUM strategic plan into a plan of action. The study noted that the university research mission had changed, and universities needed explicitly to become integrated into the national and regional R&D communities. RUFORUM could be a powerful tool for the universities to use as they respond to this new environment through: (1) deepening ownership by placing management of RUFORUM with member universities, (2) broadening its agenda to assist the rural poor beyond food security intervention, and, (3) increasing participation by more departments in more universities