Dear
AgriFoSe2030 friends,
I’m
delighted to share this first AgriFoSe2030 newsletter with you in my new role
as Programme Director. It’s an honour to lead this important initiative
together with Professor Sofia Boqvist, who continues as Deputy Programme
Director. My involvement with AgriFoSe2030 began in 2017, and from 2020 to
2024, I had the privilege of leading Challenge 1.
Now, as we
move ahead with the programme, I look forward to working closely with our
dedicated colleagues across sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia, as
well as with our partners in Sweden—at Lund University, Linköping University,
and Stockholm Environment Institute. Together, we remain committed to advancing
AgriFoSe2030’s mission of translating science into policy and practice for
sustainable agricultural development.
At the end
of 2024, Sida confirmed a phase two cost extension for the programme,
securing continued support from 2025 through 2026. In this next part of phase
two, AgriFoSe2030 will deepen its focus on regionally anchored efforts through
newly established university hubs. These hubs—hosted by the University of
Nairobi in Kenya, Kyambogo University in Uganda, and Chinhoyi University of
Technology in Zimbabwe—will be at the forefront of institutionalizing the
AgriFoSe2030 model. With strong backing from university leadership, these hubs
aim to champion science translation and drive meaningful research impact across
their regions. Additionally, the programme will strengthen partnerships across
South and Southeast Asia, fostering long-term capacity building and knowledge
exchange. Our guiding frameworks—Theory of Change and Monitoring, Evaluation
and Learning—remain central, now with an enhanced emphasis on embedding science
translation skills within institutions for sustained impact.
We are also
excited to launch new AgriFoSe2030 change projects and continue monitoring
their progress in strengthening smallholder production. As these initiatives
take shape on the ground, we look forward to sharing inspiring stories of
innovation, impact, and learning from the field.
I would
like to encourage you to visit our website: www.slu.se/agrifose if you have missed any of our
earlier newsletter and the updates on AgriFoSe2030 programme.
For now, I
wish you lots of reading pleasure!
Dr.
Elisabeth Rajala
Progamme
Director
| | | | | "We are proud that the fruits of this programme have enabled our voices to be heard""The AgriFose 2030 programme implementation at Chinhoyi University of Technology has enabled us to strengthen two pillars under our national Education 5.0 model. The previous two phases facilitated us to make innovations in new food products using our heritage based indigenous food resources. Secondly, it allowed us to interact with rural and communities in the edible insects value chain. We are proud that the fruits of this programme have enabled our voices to be heard as “edible insects for food and feed” has now been enlisted in 2025 as a priority research area for the government of Zimbabwe. AgroFoSe2030 remains our biggest ally in the development of community impactful development programmes at CUT." -
Professor David Jambga Simbi, vice-chancellor at Chinhoyi University of Technology | AgriFoSe2030 will during the upcoming years focus on and develop some of the projects from phase II toghether with partner universities in Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, as well as partners in Southeast Asia. You can read more about the programme on the AgriFoSe2030 website. | | |
Using a Theory of Change Approach for Inclusive and Resilient Urban Food Systems in Uganda. Published online by Springer Nature Link, 22 Feb 2025
Mugagga, F., Mukwaya, P. I., Kasaija, P., Nagawa Kiggundu, P., Nakanjako, R., Kiiza, A., Muyama, E., Wepukhulu, J., Kemigisha, M., Mackay, H. and Jirstrom, M.
| | |
Does production diversity support dietary diversity? Evidence from pastoral and agropastoral households in West Pokot County, Kenya. Published online by Frontiers, 6 Feb, 2025
Ipara, B.O., Otieno, D.J., Oluoch-Kosura, W., Andago, A.A., Jirström, M., Mackay, H., Fernqvist, F. and Rajala, E.
| | | AgriFoSe2030 project is part of an empirical study"Despite shifts in science policy and funding modalities, international research collaborations continue to be shaped by inequalities that structure global science. These include a skewed division of tasks and unequal scientific authority in North-South partnerships. Existing scholarship highlights scholars’ experiences of such inequalities, but offers little explanation of how they are reproduced and affect joint knowledge production. We address this gap with an empirical study of six African-European research projects on forests. Drawing on Bourdieu’s sociology of science, we employ a praxeological methodology that includes participant observation in collaborative meetings, analysis of project-related documents and reflexive interviews with scholars involved." Note! The AgriFoSe2030 project is called "the Baobab-project" in the study. Reproducing Inequality: Collaboration Habitus and its Epistemic Implications in African-European Research Projects on Forests | | |
Welcome to Agri4D 2025!
On 23-25 September, the Agri4D 2025 conference will gather people dedicated to agriculture for development from across the world. Don't miss to register to the conference! This year’s Agri4D will focus on nurturing regenerative food systems that are resilient to climate change and have low climate impact, while contributing to social, environmental and economic sustainability. The conference encourages dynamic multi-stakeholder dialogues that can stimulate transformations contributing to eradicate hunger in the world. All stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, civil society, private sector and policy makers, who are working on food systems in low income contexts, are invited to join the conference to discuss innovative solutions for tomorrow. You can engage in several ways, for example through oral and poster presentations, workshops or roundtable discussions. | | | | | Annual report 2024"In 2024, AgriFoSe2030 worked intensively to complete all 17 change projects and plan for a continuation
of the programme. The focus was on collecting results, compiling experiences and building on the solid
foundation on which the programme rests. The change projects have covered several important areas that
contribute to SDG 2, leading to new insights, policy recommendations, improved market connections and
strengthened capacity among both researchers and local actors. In many places, simple, locally adapted
solutions have proven to be effective, confirming the importance of working based on local needs and
conditions." - Sofia Boqvist, programme director, 2020-2024. | Cooking competition in the sorghum/cowpea project! | "The AgriFoSe2030 methodology
gives us the right tools"“We often get challenged by politicians to show the value of scientific research and the AgriFoSe2030 methodology gives us the right tools to improve research contributions to economic development. Applying AgriFoSe2030’s methodologies for empowering women with clean energy and dairy value addition skills not only transforms livelihoods but also drives sustainable growth and market access in rural communities.” - Professor Eli Katunguka Rwakishaya, vice-chancellor, Kyambogo University.
| Hub-leaders for sustainable food systems
AgriFoSe2030 consists of three hubs in sub-Saharan Africa and one network in Southeast Asia. To learn more about the hubs and their specific change projects, we asked the hub-leaders a few questions about their work. Below you can follow the links to read more. | Edible insects for improved food security
"Edible insects are widely consumed in southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia, with commonalities among the harvesting from the wild, preparation for consumption and consumption patterns. Thus, this project will focus on developing food products that integrate edible insects as key ingredients while recognising the important value played by other food products such as traditional grains and vegetables." - Robert Musundire | Refining milk products to empower women and youth
"By the end of the project, it is expected that the targeted women-led farms in Kiruhura District will have fully operational biogas systems using cattle dung to power dairy processing, reducing reliance on traditional energy sources. Women participants will have gained practical skills in milk-based confectionery production through targeted training and support, leading to increased production of value-added dairy products. As a result, their household incomes will improve due to the sale of high-quality dairy goods, supported by their male counterparts and newly established or strengthened market linkages." - Judith I. Nagasha | Sustainable and resilient food systems
for improved food security
"The major expectations for this new phase include a significant strengthening of research capacity within our institutions, an enhanced influence of research on food systems and agricultural policy, and the establishment of robust and sustainable knowledge networks across the participating hubs and universities." - Cecilia M. Onyango | Sofia Boqvist, inaugurated professor at SLU |
We congratulate AgriFoSe2030's very own Sofia Boqvist, professor of veterinary public health since 1 May 2024. Her inauguration lecture had the title "Safe food and public health - a global responsibility".
"I feel truly happy and honoured to have been appointed professor in such an important field as veterinary public health. It connects animal and human health in many ways, for example, through food safety, antibiotic resistance, and diseases that can spread between animals and humans (zoonotic diseases). I’ve been researching these topics for several decades, and it is incredibly stimulating and challenging at the same time. There are many interesting public health issues to address, for example connected to urbanisation, food waste, food security, and nutrition." | | | "AgriFoSe2030 connects strongly with
UoN's mandate and philosophy""AgriFoSe2030 connects strongly with University of Nairobi’s (UoN) mandate and philosophy. It allows UoN to align its strategic plan with global frameworks especially SDG 2 and to give high consideration to how our research results can be translated for use by policy makers who are in charge of Kenya’s Bottom up Economic Transformation Agenda (2023-2027). - Professor John Demesi Mande, representative of the vice-chancellor at AgriFoSe2030’s end of projects workshop, Nairobi-2023.
| |
