Perspectives on the integration of agri-entrepreneurship in tertiary agricultural education in Africa: insights from the AgriENGAGE project
The underperformance of agricultural education systems in Africa is evident through various indicators such as increased unemployment among recent agricultural graduates, inefficiencies in agricultural product value chains, and a decline in enrollment in agricultural schools. The AgriENGAGE project, which included eight African universities, was supported through the Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education program funded by the European Commission to address these challenges. The project aimed to contribute toward revitalizing agricultural education systems to stimulate agricultural transformation and enhance the sector’s competitiveness while meeting the labor market’s demands. This article draws on lessons learned at eight universities to provide a perspective on agri-entrepreneurship education integration in African universities. We provide descriptions, experiences, and insights on agri-entrepreneurship education integration in partner universities in Kenya, Benin, Morocco, and Uganda. Based on these experiences, we provide perspectives on reducing youth unemployment and improving the effectiveness of agricultural education in contributing to the development of sustainable food systems.
Authors
- Elisha Otieno Gogo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5656-2980)
- Mwanarusi Saidi
- Joseph Ssekandi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0632-5506)
- Flora Josiane Chadaré (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4715-9575)
- Noamane Taarji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9297-7665)
- Manal Mhada (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0690-2633)
- Emmanuel Okalany
- Ngonidzashe Chirinda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4213-6294)
- Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5985-8800)
- Tarik Chfadi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7725-3004)
- Kolawolé Valère Salako (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7817-3687)
- Carsten Nico Hjortsø (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2365-8740)
- Anthony Egeru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6487-8398)
- Maria Sassi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6114-6826)
- Gergana Petrova Romanova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0524-7059)
- Basil Mugonola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0301-9682)
- Zidane Lamdaghri
- Bisan Abdulkader
- Kenza Aitelkadi
- Patience Mlongo Mshenga
Institutions
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Gulu University (UG)
- Egerton University (KE)
- Uganda Martyrs University (UG)
- University of Pavia (IT)
- Pwani University (KE)
- Université Ibn-Tofail (MA)
- University of Science and Technology of Benin (BJ)
- Culture Resource (EG)
- Université d'Abomey-Calavi (BJ)
- Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (UG)
- Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique (MA)
- Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (MA)
- Makerere University (UG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
- Published
- 2024-09-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1348167
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.46
Funders
- European Commission
- Erasmus+