Nematology Education in Sub-Sahara Africa Erasmus Project

Project Title

Nematology Education in Sub-Sahara Africa

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Capacity Building in higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics:

Project Summary

Food security in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) is under threat, and unless agricultural productivity in the region doubles within the next 2 decades, it will face major consequences in terms of famine and associated problems. Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) are microscopic roundworms whose unmanaged presence has a massively deleterious effect on crop productivity. They infect many plants of great economic importance, including maize, potato, soybean and banana, resulting in annual yield losses of billions of USD worldwide. Notably in SSA, a poor understanding and awareness of nematology within higher education has resulted in a lack of trained nematode scientists and professionals, both in non-profit and private sectors. As a consequence, the importance of PPN management remains overlooked, effectively sabotaging potential for improved agricultural productivity. The inclusion of nematology at the initial stages of higher education in Africa is crucial to maximise the number of students exposed to the discipline, resulting in better-prepared, fully-informed BSc and MSc graduates entering the job market. In SSA, increasing the numbers of well-trained nematology students will be vital in addressing the many nematology-related problems in the area, as well as in providing sustainable solutions to food security and environmental health in the region.The main aim of the NEMEDUSSA project is to support this academic transformation via promotion of nematology in selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and by transforming these selected HEIs into regional centres of excellence for nematology education. To achieve this overall objective, the aims of NEMEDUSSA are to:• enhance nematology capacity at HEIs by professionalisation of staff and by upgrading facilities;• develop BSc and MSc modules in nematology to be incorporated into existing HEI programmes; • establish a Pan-African Nematology Network; • disseminate awareness aand information to a range of stakeholders.

Project Website

https://nemedussa.ugent.be/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 908950 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT GENT & Country: BE

Project Partners

• AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY
• STELLENBOSCH UNIVERSITY
• NOORDWES-UNIVERSITEIT
• INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURE
• THE INTERNATIONAL CENTRE OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY LBG
• UNIVERSITE COTE D’AZUR
• KENYATTA UNIVERSITY