By Kebba AF Touray
The University of The Gambia (UTG) is poised to benefit from a major boost in research, innovation, and academic collaboration after joining the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), a pan-African network promoting science and technology in higher education.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Professor Patrick Okori, Executive Secretary of RUFORUM, said the organization was created to transform higher agricultural education and foster science, technology, and innovation to strengthen Africa’s agri-food systems.
“RUFORUM is a platform for networking, resource mobilization and advocacy to make universities more relevant to sustainable development goals,” said Prof. Okori. “It enables African institutions to pool resources, share expertise, and train high-quality graduates who can support development processes across the continent.”
Founded in 2004 by ten Vice Chancellors, RUFORUM now comprises 175 universities from 40 African countries. Its secretariat is hosted by the Ugandan government at Makerere University. The organization evolved from the Forum on Agricultural Resource Husbandry, a Rockefeller Foundation initiative.
UTG formally joined the consortium in 2022 and signed the RUFORUM Charter, giving it access to a wide network of academic leaders and research institutions. Prof. Okori said UTG’s participation will expose its leadership to a continental forum of Vice Chancellors, where it can learn from premier African universities and form strategic partnerships.
“This opens new pathways for UTG to leverage infrastructure, knowledge, and human resources from other universities in the network,” he explained.
One key opportunity for UTG lies in the Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) program, which allows staff to pursue PhDs at RUFORUM member universities without paying tuition fees. The program also supports collaboration with national research institutions like The Gambia’s National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) to increase the number of PhD holders in the country.
UTG students and faculty can also benefit from research capacity-building through short courses on scientific writing, data management, and proposal development. Additionally, they will be able to showcase their work at RUFORUM’s annual conferences through poster and oral presentations, exhibitions, and networking sessions.
According to Prof. Okori, UTG can now participate in joint grant proposal development with other member universities and respond to funding calls, enabling it to tap into human, infrastructural, and social capital from across the continent. Students and alumni can also apply for scholarships advertised on the RUFORUM platform.
“On average, we release about five scholarship calls each year, and we also promote funding opportunities from other institutions within the RUFORUM network,” he said.
The RUFORUM Executive Secretary also highlighted three research grant programs available to member institutions: the Community Action Research Projects (CARPs), Graduate Research Grants (GRGs), and Doctoral Research Grants (DRGs).
CARPs are designed to strengthen priority agricultural value chains in partnership with universities, farmers, private sector actors, and local governments. These projects support innovation and training of postgraduate and undergraduate students.
The GRGs are two-year awards that fund action-oriented agricultural research led by university lecturers and support MSc student training. The DRGs are tailored for PhD students to support their research and doctoral training.
Prof. Okori emphasized that RUFORUM’s programs have led to the creation of successful enterprises, development of new curricula, and enhanced agricultural productivity through technologies developed in collaboration with farmers.
With its recent membership, UTG now has a strategic platform to strengthen its academic capacity, advance research, and contribute to national development goals in agriculture and beyond.
