UM6P, CGIAR Join Forces for Sustainable Agriculture, Environment in Africa

Ben Guerir – Two significant projects, the African Scholarship Program and the One CGIAR Capacity Development Hub at UM6P, were presented today by Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly financed agricultural research organization.

These programs seek to influence how African agricultural and environmental sciences are developed in the future.

According to the dean of UM6P’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Bruno Gerard, the “African Scholarship Program” will provide PhD and post-doctoral fellowships so that young Africans can carry out in-depth research on topics including food security, climate change adaptation, improved natural resource management, and the expansion of sustainable agriculture.

The initiative will offer doctoral and post-doctoral research in various African countries by utilizing the comparative advantages and research networks of UM6P and CGIAR research institutions.

Hicham El Habti (middle), Aly Abousabaa (right), and Simeon Ehui (left)

Additionally, it will emphasize young researchers’ employability in both the public and private sector and support them in their early careers.

“The under-investment seen in African agricultural research is a pressing challenge, but our strategic collaboration with CGIAR aims to address it,” said UM6P President Hicham El Habti.

“Over the next four years, we will host African PhD students, providing crucial research opportunities for young graduates,” the university president added. He further stressed that the goal is to expand this model to other universities in order to achieve significant and strategic impact.

On the other hand, the CGIAR-UM6P Capacity Development Hub aims to create a framework for African agricultural research and development, according to CGIAR’s Regional Director for Central and West Asia and North Africa Aly Abousabaa.

Its goals are to advance research, promote education, support collaborative research projects and joint funding, stimulate industrial participation, and tackle important issues pertaining to food security, environmentally-friendly farming, and socioeconomic development in Africa.

Group photo after the signing ceremony

“One of the pillars of the CGIAR’s global agricultural development is to train today’s talented students to become tomorrow’s experts, armed with innovative techniques and new ideas to advance and stimulate our cutting-edge research,” said Simeon Ehui, who serves as CGIAR’s regional director for Continental Africa, as well as director general of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

A signing ceremony then took place to formalize the implementation of the fellowship program and the capacity development center.

This occasion hopes to be a significant turning point in the growth of research, the creation of capacity, and the advocacy of sustainable development on the African continent.