Edulink II

Author: Cecilia Costa

SuGIK’s first set of activities aimed at strengthening administrative and technical capacities of the African partner universities (University of Cabo Verde - UniCV-, and University of Mozambique - UCM) and facilitate an efficient implementation of a distance-learning Master’s programme in GIS&T.

The African partner institutions conducted a regional and local needs assessment on professional capacities in areas of geographic information. The needs assessment served as basis to design the curricula and the specific competencies that the GIS&T postgraduate course should promote. Subsequently, the first and second editions of the Master Courses were promoted with success.

Author: Cecilia Costa

Recent reviews of scientific capacity building in the population sciences in the developing world indicate a skills dearth which is particularly acute in Africa. This compromises the ability of African scientists—ironically, those most-knowledgeable of that context—to contribute to the global discourses on health and development. It is precisely also this human capacity that is required for the monitoring and evaluation of progress toward development targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Author: Cecilia Costa

Organic agriculture offers a sustainable solution to many environmental and food security problems in West Africa and at the same time can improve livelihoods. The overall objective of this project is to increase the level of awareness of the potential benefits of organic agriculture in West Africa and to increase expertise in all aspects of organic agricultural production in the West African sub-region.

Author: Cecilia Costa

Poverty in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is largely a rural phenomenon and strongly linked to subsistence farming. Any efforts aimed at eradicating poverty therefore must address issues related to agriculture and rural development in general as exemplified by the centrality of agriculture in poverty reduction strategies of most countries in SSA.

Poverty is multi-dimensional and complex, requiring holistic interventions involving interactions of several agencies and sectors. Whereas technology is essential to agricultural development and poverty eradication, it is not by itself adequate to bring about the desired development change. The innovation systems approach presents opportunities for holistic interventions that engage multiple actors in a coordinated way. However, the human resource capacity to facilitate and foster such engagements in varied contexts is limited.