African Centre of Excellence in Neglected and Underutilised Biodiversity (ACENUB)

African Centre of Excellence in Neglected and Underutilised Biodiversity (ACENUB) at Mzuzu University in Malawi. ACENUB was established in 2022 to strengthen the agri-food system in Africa through research, training, and development related to Neglected and Underutilised Species (NUS).

Interview with Dr Mavuto Tembo UMUZ HOLD, Senior Lecturer at Mzuzu University in Malawi, with a focus on land management and related fields. He is also associated with the African Centre of Excellence in Neglected and Underutilised Biodiversity (ACENUB) at Mzuzu University. Additionally, he has served as a Project Manager for the TEN-Climate Change and Hunger Project at Mzuzu University.

https://youtube.com/shorts/snRjjtirHMI?si=0fLGMvTf8hupeQ6Z

The focus of ACENUB

• Research and training: The center provides high-level postgraduate training to address regional food and nutrition challenges. Its research focuses on unlocking the potential of NUS to increase agricultural productivity.
• Biodiversity for food security: ACENUB believes that targeted research on biodiversity is foundational to development. This can help prevent over-reliance on a few staple crops, a major contributor to food and nutrition insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Skills development: The center aims to strengthen connections between universities, agricultural institutions, and the agro-based industry to improve skills related to the agri-food system across Africa.
• Funding and partnerships: ACENUB is part of a World Bank-funded project in collaboration with the Government of Malawi and works with various regional and international partners. 

What are neglected and underutilised species (NUS)?

Neglected and Underutilised Species (NUS) are domesticated or wild plant species used by local communities but not extensively researched, improved, or commercialized. 

These species are important because they are often: 

• Climate-resilient: Many NUS are well-adapted to thrive in harsh environments and tolerate drought, heat, and other stresses.
• Nutrient-dense: They can offer significant nutritional value, including protein, micronutrients, and fiber, helping to combat malnutrition.
• Supports biodiversity: Utilizing NUS helps increase the diversity of crops and build more resilient farming systems.
• Supports smallholder farmers: NUS can be grown on marginal land and help diversify income for small-scale farmers. 

Webinars December 2025

 1 - 5 December 2025. RUFORUM AGM 2025 – Annual General Meeting

8-9 December 2025. Dubai, United Arab Emirates. World Agri‑Tech Innovation Summit Dubai 2025

10 - 11 December 2025. 23rd CGIAR System Council Meeting

12 December 2025. International Conference GAPSYM18 - Resources in Africa

12 December 2025, Belgium. Investing in the Future of Agrifood Systems: New directions for development finance

15 - 16 January 2026 | CityCube Berlin. 2026 GFFA - Water. Harvests. Our Future.

• 16/01 Panel Discussion #6 - Strengthening Africa's blue bioeconomy – putting policy into practice
• 16/01 Panel Discussion #7 -To the Point: Sustainable Water Use and Innovative Agricultural Technologies in the Agriculture of Eastern Europe and Central Asia

15-20 March 2026. International symposium on Beverage crops South Africa

6-7 April 2026, Dubai, UAE. 5th International Conference on Plant Science & Agricultural Research (ICPAR 2026) 

25 - 26 August 2026. Plant-Based Fermented Foods for Healthier and More Sustainable Diets - HealthFerm Final Conference

8-10 September 2026, Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE. Agra Middle East 2026 (AgraME 2026) 

22–25 September 2026. Nairobi (Kenya), under the theme: “Smart Agriculture: Innovation, Digital Transformation, and Trade for a Climate-Challenged Africa.”

Strengthening communication skills of young researchers in Francophone West Africa

24-28 November 2025. Access Agriculture, leading GFAiR's Collective Action on Inclusive Digital Agriculture and in partnership with RUFORUM, conducted a residential workshop designed for selected early-career researchers who are affiliated to institutions of higher learning or national research institutes in sub-Saharan Africa.

• The workshop for Francophone countries was held, 24-28 November 2025, in Benin,
• The workshop for Anglophone countries will be held, 8-12 December 2025, in Uganda.

This regional workshop was organised at the Songhaï Centre in Porto Novo, Benin. This, and an upcoming workshop for Anglophone African researchers, are funded by the International Foundation for Science (IFS, Sweden).

The event brought together 25 early-career researchers from universities and national research institutions in Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, and Togo. Their shared goal: to strengthen their ability to communicate scientific knowledge in clear, accessible ways to maximise reach. 

As Dr. Paul Van Mele, co-founder and international director of Access Agriculture, noted, “Agroecology is about creating shared values within society—about how we shape food systems that respect people, culture and the planet. Communication is key to making this happen.”

A central part of the workshop was the “Letter to Mother” technique, a simple yet powerful method that encourages researchers to explain their work as if they were writing to their own mother. For many participants, this exercise was an eye-opening experience. It pushed them to move away from technical jargon, express their ideas naturally, and focus on the people who stand to benefit from their research.

This approach laid the foundation for practical lessons on writing blog posts aimed at non-specialist audiences. Building on these writing skills, participants worked in small groups to turn one of their blog drafts into a short video script.

The training went far beyond theory: each researcher received a DJI Pocket camera and learned how to conduct farmer interviews, frame shots, and edit short videos. These hands-on sessions helped demystify audiovisual communication and showed how affordable tools can be used to share research insights more widely.

The programme also explored how researchers can reach broader audiences through strategic content dissemination using appropriate social media channels. Participants learned how to publish videos on EcoAgtube—an agroecology-focused alternative to mainstream platforms—while gaining practical experience in social media use and digital engagement. 

Participants also learned how to integrate EcoAgtube in education curricula as an educational resource and community engagement tool, bridging the gap between academic knowledge and farmer-led innovation.

One trainee described the workshop as “a turning point in my professional career,” emphasising how it provided the skills to promote research cost-effectively and move beyond traditional scientific publications. Many echoed similar sentiments, appreciating the user-friendly approach of the facilitators and the supportive learning environment.

Organised by Access Agriculture in collaboration with the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), the workshop underscored the growing importance of communication in agricultural research. 

Dr Florence Mayega Nakayiwa, RUFORUM’s Deputy Executive Secretary, highlighted the need to empower young researchers with tools that go beyond academic writing: “By using audiovisual formats and social media, we can make agriculture more attractive to students and engage with society at large.”

Beyond improving personal communication skills, the workshop also helped participants recognise how existing farmer-to-farmer training videos from Access Agriculture can foster stronger relationships with rural communities and encourage participatory research.

As one trainee expressed in a heartfelt message to the facilitators, the training left many participants “completely transformed and well-equipped” to share agroecological knowledge. 

Their enthusiasm reflects a broader movement: young African researchers are stepping forward to build bridges between science and society—and to help shape a more sustainable future for agriculture across the continent.

Book launch Baobab & Marula: new solutions to global warming and Food security

1 - 5 December 2025. RUFORUM 21ST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2025

1 December. Book launch.

Baobab & Marula: new solutions to global warming and Food security 

While global warming is accelerating, the green transition is being replaced by a new armament race in Europe and the US. At the same time, Amazonian rain forests and the boreal forest zone are turning from carbon sinks to new sources of carbon dioxide.

Luckily, two incredible African trees might still save us from a climate chaos.

Baobab (Adansonia digitata) and marula (Sclerocarya spp) can become large trees even in arid conditions where nothing else grows well. Baobab and marula cannot burn in forest fires, and they are extremely resistant to insect pests and plant diseases.

Both trees produce large amounts of nutritious and popular food and could be planted sparsely on vast areas of land without changing local land-use patterns.

The largest baobabs measured by the French and British during the colonial period were 18 or 20 meters in diameter. Baobabs and marulas could, within half a century, absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This would also benefit food security. The nutritious value of one baobab fruit is twice the amount of an avocado, and a middle-sized marula typically produces half a ton of fruit in a year. One half of the fruit is edible and the other half consists of stones whose energy value is close to that of coal.

The Baorula Network

The Baorula Network is an informal coalition of African and European universities, research centers, non-governmental organizations and environmental activists interested in promoting the large-scale planting of baobab and marula – and other neglected African tree species – as an important partial solution to the world’s pressing problems.

The members of the steering group are: 

• Prof. Arinola Adefila (Buckinghamshire New University, UK), 
• Prof. Ahmad Cheikhyoussef (University of Namibia), 
• Prof. Kenneth Egbadzor (Ho Technical University, Ghana), 
• Mr. Risto Isomäki (Into Publishing, Finland), 
• Prof. Joyce Lepetu (Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources) jlepetu@buan.ac.bw 
• Doc. Annika Saarto (University of Turku, Finland).