11 October 2023
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Story André Damons
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Photo supplied
Prof Linus Franke, Head of the UFS Department of Soil and Crop and Climate Sciences, is project leader for a consortium of African university partners that aims to address the challenges of climate change and its effect on sustainable agriculture and food security in Africa.
The University of the Free State (UFS) is leading a consortium of African university partners that aims to address the challenges of climate change and its effect on sustainable agriculture and food security in Africa. This consortium is funded by the European Union (EU) and brings together African universities which have outstanding expertise in the field of measuring and managing greenhouse emissions in the agricultural sector.
The main aim of the Building Capacity for Climate-Resilient Food Systems in Africa (CaReFoAfrica) project is to build human capacity in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation in the agricultural sector of Africa by training MSc and PhD students. The project, which is funded for €1.78 million, is set to kick off in January next year.
The project is led by Prof Linus Franke, Head of the UFS Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences, and Prof Corli Witthuhn, research professor in the Department of Food Systems and Development. Cornelius Hagenmeier, Internationalisation expert at the UFS, Dr Stephan Steyn; lecturer in the Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences; Prof Johan van Niekerk; Head of the Department for Sustainable Food Systems and Development; and the Vice-Dean for Agriculture at the UFS; will also be responsible for the supervision of students in Sustainable Agriculture, are part of the project as well.
According to Prof Franke, the Intra-Africa Mobility Grant wants to create mobility by giving students and staff members from the UFS and partner universities the opportunity to travel to other universities in Africa to obtain degrees and gain experience. The mobility offered by the project includes opportunities for academic staff members aiming at the exchange of knowledge and skills and the alignment of curricula, as well as opportunities for traineeships in collaboration with research and private sector partners.
“A project like this is highly necessary as the problems of climate change affecting the sustainability of the agricultural sector and food security in Africa are urgent and complex, while the science and tools to deal with climate change are developing rapidly and go well beyond classical agricultural sciences and thus require a transdisciplinary focus,” says Prof Franke.
The UFS is leading this initiative and is one of the key universities in South Africa, explains Prof Franke, as it has been involved in intra-Africa mobility schemes and other EU projects before. It is the only university in South Africa offering degrees in agrometeorology and has the leading soil science group in the region.
As part of the proposed mobility, the UFS is offering an MSc with a specialisation in Climate Change, an MSc in Sustainable Agriculture, and a PhD in Soil Science. The MSc in Climate Change teaches students on the science behind climate change and how it affects food systems. The PhD in Soil Science in this project will focus on the role of soils as sinks of greenhouse gases.
“One of the key focus areas for us as a university is to expand our footprint in Africa and this project will assist in that. As stated in Vision 130, the UFS aspires to be a research-led, student-centred, and regionally engaged university that contributes to development and social justice through the production of globally competitive graduates and knowledge. We recognise the need for more intra-Africa collaboration through exchanges and joined teaching and research programmes. The project also shows the EU’s confidence in our ability to manage big projects like these,” says Prof Franke.
The proposed consortium consists of partners in East and Central Africa (the Université Evangélique en Afrique in eastern DRC; Makerere University in Uganda; the University of Eldoret; and Maseno University in Kenya); Southern Africa (South Africa, the UFS) and in West Africa (the Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin). The university partners represent some of the leading universities in Africa and all have academic offerings and excellence in the field of climate change and sustainable food systems.
His hope for this project, concludes Prof Franke, is that the work goes beyond its conclusion and that it will lead to more internationally funded projects. “We have so much to offer and can offer the same quality work as our colleagues in Europe and America. This project will help establish us a major role player on the continent.”
UFS Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Internationalisation,
Prof Vasu Reddy, says: “Scientific responses for a climate-resilient food system in Africa directly contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals to overcome challenges and shocks that weaken human capacity and well-being. But to build capacity in this area is even more important to enhance human resource capability for scientific expertise to counter developmental challenges. The UFS is extremely proud of our colleagues in securing this grant, aligned to research excellence, visibility and impact. It will make a positive dent to enhance and strengthen skills and competencies on the African continent in local and global ways.”