A new step has been taken by UEM towards innovation and sustainable development with the opening of the Center of Excellence in Agrifood Systems and Nutrition in Maputo. The goal of the new center is to boost research and innovation activities in the agrifood sector, helping to address the challenges facing agriculture in Mozambique and Africa in general.
The Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education, Daniel Nivagara, emphasized that the center should also tackle issues related to higher education, such as training, research, outreach, and governance.
The creation of the center is the result of consultations between governments and several African academic institutions, which identified gaps in the region, including in agrifood systems, nutrition, agricultural policy analysis, and risk management associated with climate change.
The government made the Mozambique Scientific Repository available to increase the visibility of the research carried out by the Center. Lain Shuker, Regional Director of the World Bank for Southern and Eastern Africa, highlighted the importance of enhancing the skills needed for transformations in the agricultural sector, considering local specificities.
The Rector of UEM, Manuel Guilherme Júnior, emphasized that the center's activities include transforming agrifood systems in Mozambique and Africa, training qualified human resources at postgraduate levels (master's and PhD), and generating high-quality research.
It also aims to strengthen applied research in agrifood systems by developing technologies, innovations, and sustainable policy recommendations for the agricultural sector.
Launched in 2022, the Center of Excellence, under the leadership of Professor Rogério Chiulele, has already achieved several milestones, including awarding 131 master's scholarships and 50 doctoral scholarships.
In the past two years, 137 mobilities of professors, researchers, and postgraduate students have taken place both within and outside the country. Additionally, 40 scientific papers have been published, most of them internationally co-authored, in peer-reviewed journals indexed in the Scopus database. Furthermore, around 10,000 African students have participated in short courses on advanced research methodologies, data analysis, and scientific writing.
(By Mozavibe)
