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FUTURE AFRICA
RESEARCH LEADERSHIP FELLOWSHIP
The Future Africa Research Leadership Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) is an early career research fellowship program focused on developing transdisciplinary research and leadership skills.


A research stay to advance sustainable solutions for tomato waste
Dr Pearl Lefadola’s research stay at the Department of Food and Consumer Sciences at the University of Pretoria represents an important milestone in her journey to develop sustainable solutions to food loss and waste. The research stay provides an opportunity for Dr Lefadola to immerse herself in a dynamic academic and research environment, where she can strengthen her technical expertise, access advanced research facilities, and collaborate with experienced researchers. Duri
3 days ago


Using smart water technologies to support community water governance: a systematic review of global literature and implications for South Africa
Tafadzwa C. Maramuraa, Farai B. Mushongab, T. Gumboa & Ishola Abdulrasaq Ajadic a Department of Public Management and Administration, University of the Free State Business School, Bloemfontein, South Africa, b Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa, c Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Johannesburg South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, Johannesburg, South Afr
4 days ago


A Stronger African Voice in Global Climate Adaptation Science
Dr Miriam Ameworwor was recently appointed as a mentor within the Emerging Adaptation Professionals (EAP) Knowledge Catalyst Fellowship. For the next four months, he will focus on helping students from African Universities strengthen their academic writing skills and expand their knowledge, ensuring their manuscripts are improved and ready for publication in high-impact journals. The program targets PhD and master’s students who are completing their studies and working toward
4 days ago


Visible-light driven photocatalytic degradation of tartrazine using Co@ZIF-8 monoliths
Piwai Tshumaa, Arnold Phiria, Mercy Chaparadzaa, Thapelo Seimelab, Mmantsae Dialeb, Nicola Vimbainashe Poshayia, Linia Gedi Marazania and Gift Mehlanaa a Midlands State University, Department of Chemical Sciences, Zimbabwe. b Department of Physics, University of Pretoria, South Africa Introduction: Metal–organic frameworks have emerged as promising materials for environmental remediation due to their high surface area, tunable porosity, and structural versatility. However, mo
4 days ago


A systematic review of gendered access to climate information through community radio in Africa
Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum1,2, Fred Nimoh2, Nele Erika Yaa Adade2, Lewis Adom Onumah2, Appiah Asante Sarpong2, Lukeman Kwame Maamah2 and Fred Ankuyi2 1 Future Africa, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2 Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, KNUST-Kumasi, Kumasi, Ghana Introduction: Community radio has been widely promoted as an accessible and inclusive medium for disseminating climate information. However, no systematic review has compr
4 days ago


Capacity Building Workshop on climate adaptation for tomato value chain actors in Nortwest Nigeria
Dr Ololade-Latifat Abdulrahman recently trained more than 100 tomato value-chain actors to improve production, reduce post-harvest losses, and strengthen resilience to climate change. The Nigerian news media reported widely on this initiative:
4 days ago


Transcending traditional thesis supervision
Dr Fenet Belay (Ethiopia) was recently appointed as a Mentor within the Emerging Adaptation Professionals (EAP) Knowledge Catalyst Fellowship, an initiative implemented by the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) through the ACTS Pathways Academy. For the next four months, she is focusing on helping postgraduate students from African universities strengthen their academic writing skills and refine their research, ensuring their manuscripts are improved and ready for p
Jul 1


Indigenous agricultural communication systems as pathways for knowledge transfer and adoption of sustainable farming practices in rural Ghana
Enoch Kwame Tham-Agyekum 1,2*, Gabriel Kanuti Ndimbo 1,3, Pearl Lefadola Boineelo 1,4 and Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura 1,5 1 Future Africa, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa, 2 Department of Agricultural Economics, Agribusiness and Extension, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, 3 Department of History, Political Science, and Development Studies, Mkwawa University College of Education, Iringa, Tanzania, 4 Department of Family and Con
Jun 25


Future Africa experience for early-career researcher from Nigeria
Dr Judith Falola-Olasunkanmi (FAR-LeaF II research fellow) is currently in Pretoria, South Africa, as an ARUA-Carnegie Early Career Research Fellow, hosted by the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Pretoria. The fellowship provides an opportunity to strengthen her research, collaborate with leading scholars, and advance sustainable food systems research in Africa. Has your time here been a positive experience? Yes, my time in Pretoria w
Jun 25


Ethiopia | Climate Variability and Seasonal Rainfall Dynamics in Kwara State, Nigeria: Implications for Climate-Smart Agriculture
Debark University International Conference 2026 22-23 June 2026 Judith Adejoke Falola-Olasunkanmi¹², Robert Mangani2, Ade Afe Isaac1, Olusegun Adebayo Ojumoola³, and Olota Adeleye Anthony⁴ 1 Department of Crop Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kwara State University, Malete, Nigeria; 2 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa; 3 Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria; 4 Meteorological
Jun 23


Joint Reflection on the ISTIC–UNESCO Foundations of Science Diplomacy Training
As fellows of the Future Africa Research Leadership Fellowship (FAR-LeaF) Programme, we had the privilege of being among the 25 participants selected from more than 170 applicants for the ISTIC–UNESCO Foundations of Science Diplomacy Training, held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 21–23 June 2026. The training, organised by the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre (ISTIC) under UNESCO, in collaboration with the Future Earth Africa Hub and its Leadership Cen
Jun 23


A stronger African voice in global Climate adaptation science
Dr Enoch Tham-Agyekum was recently appointed as a mentor within the Emerging Adaptation Professionals (EAP) Knowledge Catalyst Fellowship. For the next four months, he will focus on helping students from African Universities strengthen their academic writing skills and expand their knowledge, ensuring their manuscripts are improved and ready for publication in high-impact journals. The program targets PhD and master's students who are completing their studies and working towa
Jun 12


School gardens as practical learning platforms
Schools serve as dynamic platforms for promoting the consumption of nutritious food, with activities such as nutrition campaigns and cooking demonstrations reinforcing lessons drawn from the Competency-Based Curriculum. These initiatives are designed to positively influence children's nutrition behaviours while indirectly shaping broader family dietary habits, recognising the pivotal role learners play as agents of change within their households. Following a survey conducted
Jun 9


The fisherwomen research project
Fishing is an important component of rural livelihood in communities along major rivers, lakes, and the coast. The role of women in the value chain has been culturally prescribed, limiting them to processing and marketing, making their livelihoods reliant on the availability of fish. Women's access to fish for processing and marketing is reported to depend on their ability to invest in fishermen's businesses, have a fisherman husband, or access credit to buy fish. These fact
Jun 4


Systems thinking for sustainable food futures: Reflections from the systems analysis course
Dr Judith Falola-Olusankanmi participated in an intensive Systems Analysis Course facilitated by Professor Mary Scholes from the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand. The workshop was convened by the ARUA Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Food Systems at the University of Pretoria and hosted at the Future Africa Campus. The four-day programme brought together emerging scholars and researchers from diverse disciplines to e
May 25


Mentoring a stronger African voice in climate adaptation science
Dr Jabulani Nyengere was recently appointed as a mentor within the Emerging Adaptation Professionals (EAP) Knowledge Catalyst Fellowship. For the next four months, he will focus on helping students from African Universities strengthen their academic writing skills and expand their knowledge, ensuring their manuscripts are improved and ready for publication in high-impact journals. As part of this, he recently did a virtual presentation on "Advanced Spatial Modelling for Acade
May 19


Indigenous climate signals in Murang’a, Kenya
In Murang'a County, Kenya, farmers increasingly depended on indigenous weather forecasting practices to predict weather patterns to inform their agricultural practices and decisions. For several years, Murang'a farmers did not need weather apps or seasonal forecasts to decide when to plant. Nature spoke, and they listened. They watched animal behaviours, the emergence and disappearance of insects and birds' flight patterns as their weather forecasting tools. Moreover, they ob
May 19


Coffee landscapes of Ethiopia
There is a pressing need for integrated, context-specific evidence that incorporates localised climate projections, drought-resistant coffee varieties under climatic stress, and gender-differentiated vulnerabilities and adaptive strategies. Keffa Zone, widely recognised as the centre of origin for Arabica coffee, remains critically important to Ethiopia’s coffee sector and the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers who rely on it. However, the region is increasingly vulnerabl
May 15


FAR-LeaF fellows pay it forward
The Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) launched the Knowledge Catalyst Grant for Emerging Adaptation Professionals (EAP) in the Global South in 2025 to enhance their contribution to global climate knowledge processes, including the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), especially Working Group II. It aims to assist early-career researchers, practitioners, and knowledge brokers in transforming existing or near-complete work into peer-reviewed or high-impact publications. The A
May 15


Why plant health matters more than ever for Africa
Protecting Plants, Securing Futures: International Day of Plant Health 2026 Every meal begins with a plant From the maize fields of Southern Africa to the cassava farms of West Africa, plants sustain economies, nourish communities, create livelihoods, and support ecosystems. Yet across Africa, the very foundation of food security is increasingly under threat. Climate change, invasive pests, crop diseases, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and unsustainable agricultural pra
May 12

The programme seeks to build a network of emerging African scientists with the skills needed to apply transformative research methods and approaches in addressing complex sustainability challenges in Africa, including inter- and transdisciplinarity, systems thinking, and futures literacy.
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