A partnership deal recently struck between the Higher Institute for Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship at Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (ISAE/UCAD) and the Movement for Development in Senegal (MSD), one of the country’s largest farmer platform organizations, is aimed at fostering the growth of the next generation of African agricultural entrepreneurs.
In April, ISAE/UCAD and MSD signed a two-year agreement that calls for them to collaborate, within the framework of their respective missions, on the development and implementation of joint projects in the fields of education, training, research and development and community service.
ISAE/UCAD and MSD are both partners of the Feed the Future Program for Increasing Investment in Agriculture in Senegal, implemented by Africa Lead. It was Africa Lead that saw an opportunity to “create synergy” and brought the parties together. Discussions were initiated in March and an agreement was signed on April 12, 2019.
A main tenet of Africa Lead’s strategy for supporting capacity building for transforming African agriculture is the importance of fostering in youth the vision of farming and agribusiness as viable livelihood options and in nurturing and cultivating the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs as they enter the agricultural sector workforce. One way it is seeking to achieve this objective is through the institutionalization of its Champions for Change (C4C) Food Security, Leadership and Change Management Program into the curriculums at tertiary institutions in Africa.
In 2017 ISAE/UCAD became the first African university to incorporate the C4C program modules into its core curriculum. In 2018, with the support of Africa Lead, it established a mandatory 10-week internship program that matches students with local agribusinesses, offering students the opportunity to put theory into practice.
Also in 2018, MSD, with the support of Africa Lead, organized a series of C4C leadership and management workshops, conducted in local languages, to help improve its organizational structure and strengthen the capacities of its membership. In the future MSD wants to set up modern farms and plans to train young people to manage these farms. They asked for support for the development of some well-targeted training programs for young people
This ISAE/UCAD partnership will provide an opportunity for young people in both organizations to engage and learn from each other. The first two training sessions will take place in June 2019 covering the following themes: aquaculture, livestock, market gardening, seed certification and agro-food processing. Africa Lead will continue to support ISAE/UCAD and MSD move forward with their partnership activities.
A main tenet of Africa Lead’s strategy for supporting capacity building for transforming African agriculture is the importance of fostering in youth the vision of farming and agribusiness as viable livelihood options and in nurturing and cultivating the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs as they enter the agricultural sector workforce. One way it is seeking to achieve this objective is through the institutionalization of its Champions for Change (C4C) Food Security, Leadership and Change Management Program into the curriculums at tertiary institutions in Africa.
In 2017 ISAE/UCAD became the first African university to incorporate the C4C program modules into its core curriculum. In 2018, with the support of Africa Lead, it established a mandatory 10-week internship program that matches students with local agribusinesses, offering students the opportunity to put theory into practice.
Also in 2018, MSD, with the support of Africa Lead, organized a series of C4C leadership and management workshops, conducted in local languages, to help improve its organizational structure and strengthen the capacities of its membership. In the future MSD wants to set up modern farms and plans to train young people to manage these farms. They asked for support for the development of some well-targeted training programs for young people