Story by Nyasha Makota
THE 21st Regional Universities Forum for Agricultural Development (RUFORUM) Annual General Meeting concludes today in Gaborone, Botswana, with Zimbabwean institutions returning home confident after strengthening international collaborations and securing new opportunities in agri-innovation.
The four-day summit gathered higher education leaders, researchers and development partners to explore how universities can accelerate food security and agricultural transformation across the continent. Zimbabwe’s delegation, which participated in executive-level engagements including the Vice Chancellors’ forum and various exhibitions, was widely visible throughout the event.
Artificial intelligence and agri-tech featured prominently in discussions, with several regional universities expressing interest in future cooperation.
“AI was very central here at RUFORUM, being an integral part of agri-tech. As a university, we are looking for more collaborations with universities from the region. This has been an eye-opener. Other universities such as UNISA have shown great interest in partnering with us in one of our latest flagship programmes, the Master of Science in Food Security and Sustainable Agri-foods Systems,” Africa University representative, Martha Chikowore said.
Zimbabwean institutions say the partnerships created at RUFORUM will help scale local research, enhance innovation ecosystems and contribute to broader continental food security goals.
As delegates return home, the focus shifts to implementing agreements, strengthening research outputs and ensuring the country’s higher education sector continues to play a strategic role in agricultural industrialisation.
