A survey was conducted in the context of the Collective Action (CA) of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR) on Transforming Higher Education in Agriculture, in collaboration with international partners. It assisted the CA in harvesting and documenting the ongoing efforts to support the transformation of higher education for improved agrifood system transformation.
The survey took place in four regions, namely: Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. It particularly assessed universities’ vision for change, and the status of their change process in terms of integration of experiential learning, ethical leadership, participatory curricula development, and co-research/co-innovation, with multi-actor participation, particularly of farmers and their organizations. It also examined their student–community engagement, the roles of non-academic actors and transformational leadership, availability of resources, and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The survey will feed into other CA outputs that aim to inspire and guide different higher educational institutions around the world in equipping their students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to better facilitate sustainable agrifood transformation. This is through their improved professional, entrepreneurial, ethical and social capacities needed to engage in the collaborative management of innovation with farmers, rural communities and other stakeholders.
The partners of this CA include the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), Asia–Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development (EFARD), Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA), Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), and Promoting local innovation in ecologically oriented agriculture and natural resource management (PROLINNOVA).