The agreement was signed on 4 August 2025 during FANRPAN’s High-Level Policy Dialogue, attended by more than 150 delegates from more than 20 African countries. Prof Hlamalani Ngwenya, who leads the newly established UFS Research Chair in Communication for Innovation, signed as a witness on behalf of the university, while Dr Tshilidzi Madzivhandila, FANRPAN CEO and Head of Mission, signed for the network. Dr Bonani Nyhodo of the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) – FANRPAN’s official Country Node Host in South Africa – witnessed the signing.
Founded in 1994 in response to a directive from Ministers of Agriculture in Eastern and Southern Africa, FANRPAN is an autonomous, multi-stakeholder policy network that coordinates research, strengthens capacity, and fosters inclusive dialogue on food, agriculture, and natural resources.
Partnership with purpose
“This collaboration is an exciting step towards bridging research, policy, and practice,” said Prof Ngwenya. “It provides an opportunity to apply our research in real-world contexts and contribute to transformational change in Africa’s agrifood systems.”
Dr Madzivhandila stressed that the agreement is focused on tangible outcomes: “At FANRPAN, we do not sign MoUs just for the sake of it. Each agreement must be backed by a concrete programme of action.”
The partnership focuses on nine strategic areas, including practitioner-led research pathways, evidence-based policy impact models, tools to track policy influence and scaling, translation of research into actionable knowledge, and joint capacity-building programmes. It will also strengthen strategic communication, build communities of practice, engage continental and global policy platforms, co-author publications, and innovate around monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) systems.
A central feature of the collaboration is advancing what Prof Ngwenya refers to as ‘Wearing Scientific Goggles’ – a model that emphasises practitioner-led enquiry and turns research into context-sensitive, scalable innovations.
Through this partnership, the UFS and FANRPAN aim to contribute to solving some of the continent’s most pressing food and agriculture challenges by ensuring that knowledge is effectively delivered and applied where it is most needed.