Egerton University led by its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac O. Kibwage, will participate in the 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), scheduled to take place from 1st to 5th December 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana. Egerton University is among the institutions across Africa implementing the TAGDev 2.0 Program. The AGM is one of the most influential high-level meetings in Africa’s higher education and agricultural innovation calendar, bringing together over 500 participants, including university leaders, policymakers, development partners, private sector actors, researchers, young innovators, and students from across Africa and around the world.
RUFORUM is a continental network comprising 175 member universities in 40 African countries. Founded in 2004 by 10 pioneering universities in Eastern and Southern Africa, the network’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of universities to produce high-quality graduates, conduct demand-driven research, and generate innovations that transform Africa’s agri-food systems and improve livelihoods. RUFORUM plays a crucial role in connecting universities, governments, and development partners to advance science-led solutions that support inclusive and sustainable development on the continent.
TAGDev 2.0 is a 10-year collaborative initiative (2023–2033) between RUFORUM, Mastercard Foundation, 12 African universities, and GCHERA. Egerton University implements the program through the TAGDev2.0 program Agrifood Systems and Entrepreneurship Consortium (ASEC) Project, which partners with 3 universities and 3 TVETs to skill young people and strengthen smallholder farmers’ adaptive capacities. The project aims to create jobs for youth, promote climate-smart agriculture, and enhance food and nutritional security. Key targets include 25,000 youth in employment, 75 startups, 950,000 trees planted, 68,500 farmers reached with adaptive innovations, 15 climate-smart TIMPs developed, and 6 farmers’ cooperatives strengthened across Kenya.
- Strategic partnerships for growth: Building bridges for the future
- Science for development: Generating contemporary and relevant solutions at
scale - Capacity sharing to train the next generation of leaders in agri-food systems
transformation - RUFORUM Governance Meetings