Ruforum and the Mastercard Foundation Extend Partnership to Transform African Agricultural Universities Program to Drive Africa’s Growth and Development

Windhoek, Namibia — Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) and the Mastercard Foundation are thrilled to announce the scale-up of their successful program, Transforming Africa’s Agricultural Universities to Meaningfully Contribute to Africa’s Development (TAGDev).

A Historic Partnership

Launched in 2016 at Egerton University in Kenya and Gulu University in Uganda, TAGDev 1.0 has made significant strides in agricultural education. Notably, because of the impact at Gulu and Egerton Universities, the program’s model was adopted by 26 additional universities across 21 countries in Africa. Additionally, 25 academic programs and over 400 courses were revised to include entrepreneurship. Building on the profound success of TAGDev 1.0, the scale up of TAGDev 2.0 not only continues the mission of fostering academic excellence and social responsibility but also deepens its focus on inclusivity and targeted support for underrepresented groups.

TAGDev 1.0 positively impacted over 350,000 farmers and community members, with one Alumni, Aaron Nanok, being awarded the UN in Kenya Person of The Year Award 2022 for his commitment to Sustainable Agriculture. 73 percent of TAGDev 1.0 graduates are employed in the formal sector while 27 percent of them own businesses that are directly employing 1,600 people.

TAGDev 2.0 is designed to revolutionize agricultural education and empower young people across Africa through strengthening agricultural universities and TVET institutions. It was developed in collaboration with 12 leading universities and the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA) with the aim to equip the continent’s most vulnerable young people with the skills and opportunities needed to transform their futures and communities.

“TAGDev 2.0 represents a bold commitment to transforming the lives of Africa’s most vulnerable young people through the power of education. By methodically targeting and supporting these individuals, we are not only opening doors to their success but also creating a ripple effect that strengthens agricultural and TVET institutions and communities across the continent. This program is a catalyst for sustainable agricultural development,” said Tina Muparadzi, Executive Director, Education and Transitions, at the Mastercard Foundation.

Professor Patrick Okori, Executive Secretary, RUFORUM, stated, “TAGDev 2.0 represents RUFORUM’s commitment to advancing a greater value proposition of universities and TVETs to Africa’s agricultural and higher education ecosystem by demonstrating the development contribution of universities. It will take the universities from their points of comfort to taking bold actions as development facilitators with young people being at the centre and drivers of this change process.”

TAGDev 2.0 aims to scale these achievements, updating 1,600 courses across 80 academic programs and impacting 1.2 million people, including 820,000 young women, 300,000 refugees and displaced persons, and 120,000 persons with disabilities. This intentional focus on the most vulnerable ensures that the benefits of agricultural education and innovation reach those who need it most.

Building a Better Future

With a strong legacy of promoting inclusivity and gender equality, TAGDev 2.0 focuses on three strategic outcomes to make a substantial impact on Africa’s agricultural sector and beyond:

• More Job Opportunities: Helping graduates in agricultural studies find better job prospects.
• Better Knowledge Sharing: Improving how training, research, and entrepreneurship work together and share ideas.
• Greater Access to Livelihoods: Creating more work and income opportunities for young women and men in the agricultural field.
• Enhanced Climate-Adapted Farming: Making farming methods more resilient to climate change and adding value to agricultural products.

Alumni Stories: A Look at the Impact

The transformative power of the TAGDev program is best illustrated through the stories of its Alumni.

“TAGDev program has been a game changer,” said Lillian Onyango, a graduate in Agri-enterprise Development from Egerton University. “I’ve been able to develop that entrepreneurial mindset. It has awakened that entrepreneurship in me that would otherwise not have come out properly if I didn’t get into the program.”

TAGDev Alumni Sarah Achieng earned her MSc in Agri-enterprise Development from Gulu University. She reflects on one of the key lessons she got from the program. “My experience with the TAGDev project has taught me that life is all about being successful. But seeing to it that my success is a successive thing…” she says.

Akejo Gordon Victor has a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education and Extension from Egerton University and shares how TAGDev helped him achieve his dreams. “One great thing the scholarship did was to support my entrepreneurship dream”. Because without the stipend and the grant, I would not have made it this far.”

Looking to the Future

The Mastercard Foundation and its esteemed partners in this initiative, including Gulu University, Egerton University, University of Cape Coast (Ghana), Universite Nationale d’Agriculture (Benin), University of Bamenda (Cameroon), University of Free State (South Africa), Universite Mohammed VI, Polytechnique (Morocco), Uganda Martyrs University (Uganda), University of Eldoret (Kenya), University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria), Malawi University of Science and Technology (Malawi) and Africa University (Zimbabwe), promise to leave a lasting legacy on African agriculture by promoting inclusivity, fostering innovation, and empowering young people. The program is set to ensure sustainable and equitable growth in Africa’s agricultural sector.

About RUFORUM:

The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), established by ten Vice Chancellors in 2004, is a consortium of universities in Africa. December 2022 membership stands at 170 universities in 40 countries. RUFORUM is registered as an International NGO (FORR78950) in Uganda and coordinated by a Secretariat hosted at Makerere University in Kampala. The organisation evolved from its predecessor, the Forum on Agricultural Resource Husbandry (FORUM) program of the Rockefeller Foundation.

About the Mastercard Foundation:

The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the Foundation is an independent organization separate from the company, with offices in Toronto, Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa. Its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by the Foundation’s Board of Directors and leadership.