The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) of Nigeria, in partnership with the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV), Brazil, will be holding the First Agricultural Research and Innovation Fellowship for Africa (ARIFA) Symposium to consolidate the ARIFA Partnership Platform (APP). The event will take place in Viçosa between the 25th and 30th of April 2022, hosted by the Rector of UFV, Prof. Demetrius David da Silva.
The event will be declared open by the Ambassador of Nigeria in Brazil, His Excellency Professor Mohammad Ahmad Makarfi, who will be received by Arc. Sunday S.T. Echono (FNIA), the Executive Secretary of TETFund and Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, the Executive Director of FARA.
Also expected are the President of the Brazilian Association for International Education (FAUBAI), Prof. Márcio Venício Barbosa and Dr George Forpoh – Deputy Minister – Regional Development, Research & Extension – Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Liberia.
Targeted participants expected during the symposium include over forty ARIFA scholars currently studying in six Brazilian universities, leaders from participating institutions in Nigeria and Brazil, and representatives from Liberia, Ghana, and DR Congo.
The symposium’s theme is “Pedagogic Retooling Strategy for Africa’s Agricultural Research and Innovation System: Lessons from Brazil” and aims to strengthen alignment, partnership, and coordination, among current ARIFA partners: FARA, UFV, TETFund.
Coming at a time when the conference of the Brazilian Association for International Education (FAUBI) is taking place, the symposium will lead to the development of a more robust ARIFA Partnership Platform (APP) that will guide the alignment of Graduate Cohort Compacts (GCC) with the participation of a higher number of Brazilian universities. Outcomes from the meeting will lead to institutional strengthening of TETFund Centers of Excellence (TCoE), forming ARIFA Innovation Platforms, and a scaling strategy for an Africa-wide ARIFA model, in partnership with other African Education Trust Funds, including Ghana, South Africa, and Liberia.
About ARIFA
The Agricultural Research and Innovation Fellowship for Africa (ARIFA) aims to produce a new generation of fit-for-purpose workforce to re-engineer the African agri-food sector to provide the change factor for rapid agricultural transformation in the next ten years. The Nigerian model of the fellowship is funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) to build strategic competence to change the prevailing narrative of the waning capacity of tertiary institutions in the country. Under this partnership, TETFund supports the training of Nigerian academia to undertake tailor-made MSc programs in various fields of sciences related to agriculture at UFV.
About FARA
FARA is the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, a continental organization mandated by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA) to facilitate the widescale application of science and innovation toward achieving CAADP targets. FARA promotes innovative partnerships, capacity strengthening, knowledge management, and policy advocacy. FARA has its secretariat in Accra, Ghana, as the technical arm of the AUC and AUDA.
About TETFUND
TETFUND is a scheme established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in 2011 to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Its focus is to provide focused and transformative intervention in public tertiary institutions in Nigeria through funding and effective project management.
About UFV
Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV)-the Federal University of Viçosa is a frontline federal university in Brazil. Its main campus is located in the city of Viçosa, the state of Minas Gerais. Founded as the Higher College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in 1922 on what would become the Arthur Bernardes campus, it transformed into the Rural University of Minas Gerais and became fully federalised in 1969. Rated as one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil, UFV offers 47 different undergrad courses in many areas, including engineering, agronomy, medicine, veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, and other areas related to science. The graduate courses at UFV are highly rated by the Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES). According to the QS ranking, UFV is among the 100 best universities globally in the areas of Agriculture and Forestry.
For further information, please contact
Vladimir Di Iorio
Universidade Federal de Viçosa
Brazil
Abdulrazak Ibrahim
Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
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