Reforming Curricula for Agribusiness Education and Training in Africa: The ANAFE Focus for the incoming years


Reforming Curricula for Agribusiness Education and Training in Africa: The ANAFE Focus for the incoming years

wca2014-LA-028 Aissetou Drame Yaye1,* Sebastian Chakeredza2 James Aucha3 Alfred Oduor Ochola4

There has been a continual observation by African businesses and institutions about the quality and work place readiness of the African agriculture graduates. This may explain in part the low productivity experienced by the sector. This concern about producing sufficient, adequately qualified and relevant graduates to address the challenges of African agriculture is one of the key reasons for the existence since 20 years, of the African Network for Agriculture, Agroforestry and Natural Resources Education (ANAFE). After having helped over 60 tertiary Agricultural education institutions in reviewing and improving their curricula in Agroforestry, ANAFE is engaged since 2010 in improving training and research in Agribusiness. This is done through the implementation of two main projects namely the Strengthening Africa’s Strategic Agricultural Capacity for Impact on Development (SASACID), a Sida supported programme working through 12 pilot institutions in Eastern, Southern and Western Africa; and the DANIDA funded “Linking Universities and Businesses in Agricultural Innovations” (UniBRAIN) which has supported the establishment and work of 6 Agribusiness incubators in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Mali and Zambia. The work done through those two programmes, including review of Agribusiness programmes offered in ANAFE member institutions, support to Internship in Agribusiness, tracer study of Agribusiness graduates, stresses the need for ANAFE to support the development of Agribusiness Curriculum at certificate, BSC, MSC and PhD levels. This was strongly supported by the 90 participants who attended the Agribusiness Education Fair organized on 10 – 12 October 2013 by ANAFE in partnership with ICRAF, CTA, FARA, PanAAC and the African Association of Business Schools. Recognizing the contribution of ANAFE in this area of curriculum review, and development, during the FARA Science Week held in Accra, Ghana in July 2013, ANAFE was mandated to provide lead in agriculture curriculum reforms in Africa. ANAFE is now working in harnessing and optimizing available resources for implementation of activities towards strengthening Agribusiness Education and training within its 136 member institutions scattered in 35 African countries. This paper will explain in details what ANAFE has achieved through those two programmes and what are the plans and partnership support needed for strengthening Agribusiness education and training to produce graduates who will be job creators and no longer job seekers.

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Vigyan Bhavan & Kempinski Ambience

10 - 14 February 2014 Delhi, India

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