Africa | Smith Center for International Sustainable Agriculture

Beginning in 2017 through the Feed the Future Tworore Inkoko, Twunguke Project, UTIA has been working with partners in Rwanda to collaborate on research, create student internship opportunities, and to build connections for future African partnerships. The Smith Center further expanded their work in East Africa in 2022, when they, in partnership with the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM), they hosted nine Faculty Exchange Program (FEP) and five Scientific Exchange Program (SEP) veterinary medicine fellows from four countries for the duration of the Fall semester. These programs were funded through the Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and they focus on veterinary teacher pedagogy and animal health governance.

The Smith Center also hosted a group of Cochran fellows from East Africa in 2022. This cohort focused on learning about production, regulatory standards, trade and policy for the beer, wine and spirit industry. These fellows were hosted in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Since then, partnerships and research activities in Kenya and Rwanda have been expanding. From October 2022 to September 2023, our team worked to support the next phase of agriculture and food security programming under the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative by providing technical assistance to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) missions in target countries. In June 2023, a delegation of eighteen UT faculty and staff traveled to Rwanda and Kenya to meet with international partners. The purpose of this trip was to build partnerships with academic, private sector, government, and non-profit institutions in these countries. This was followed by hosting another USDA SEP group of six African scientists in Tennessee in summer 2024 on a research program on animal feed and fertilizer innovation.

Current Projects

In 2023, a UTIA delegation met with potential partners to discuss future collaboration in Rwanda. These partners included Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), Sunripe Farms, Bridge2Rwanda and the University of Rwanda. They also followed up with participants in the TI Project and with existing partners including Zamura Feeds, African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) and USAID Rwanda.

Click below to learn more about the foundation of the Smith Center’s work in Rwanda!

Our work in Rwanda

UTCVM and the Smith Center hosted nine FEP and five SEP veterinary medicine fellows from four countries for the duration of the Fall 2022 semester. One of the outputs from participating in these programs included UTCVM, in partnership with the Smith Center, hosting a workshop on animal health, governance and policy at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya in June of 2023.

Click below to learn more about the Smith Center’s work in Kenya!

UTVM Hosts Workshop in Kenya

Past Projects

This project uses a novel visual research methodology, photovoice, to address empowerment of Ugandan youth in peanut value chains. Photovoice empowers participants to identify, document, reflect upon, and communicate issues of concern using photography and follow-up discussions.

PROJECT DATES

March 2019 – September 2022

PARTNERS

Makerere University
Uganda National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Uganda

FUNDING

USAID Feed the Future Peanut Innovation Lab

IMPACTS

Empowered Ugandan youth to tell their stories in peanut value chains, using smartphones and social media, while bridging generational and cultural gaps by focusing on rural communities, inclusion, and outreach to a range of stakeholder groups
30 youth were selected in two districts (Nwoya and Tororo), trained in photovoice methods and equipped with smartphones

Feed the Future Tworore Inkoko, Twunguke (or Let’s Raise Chickens, and Make a Profit in Kinyarwanda) was a partnership between the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) and Zamura Feeds, Ltd. (Rwanda), with support from USAID/Rwanda and the African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Foundation, to provide expertise, training, and resources for smallholder broiler chicken production. Tworore Inkoko (TI) improved the livelihoods of farmers living in Musanze District, Rwanda. Through TI, over 500 men and women were provided the training and a support package to successfully produce broiler chickens. At the end of each grow-out cycle, farmers have a guaranteed market to sell their birds, as well as the option to consume some of their chickens, adding protein to the household diet. We used a cohort model of approximately 30 farmers/cohort, who were then trained in modern broiler production and entered into the program. By project end, Zamura Feeds continued to work with over 400 of the trained farmers to continue sustainable smallholder broiler production in northern Rwanda. By providing expertise, training, and resources in chicken production, this project improved both incomes and household nutrition for smallholder farmers in the Musanze District. This project concluded in Fall 2020.

PROJECT DATES

January 2017–September 2020

PARTNERS

Zamura Feeds Ltd.
African Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Foundation

FUNDING

Public-private Global Development Alliance (GDA) between USAID-Rwanda and Africa Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Foundation

IMPACTS

$0.85/day in average household profit generated by broiler sales
Food group consumption by enrolled households increased from 3 to 4 out of 10 food groups
Consumption of meat-based protein by enrolled households increased from 15% pre-activity to 92%
Donor-funded program ran 2017-2020; 400 households remain part of the program today

The Smith Center offers seed grants to teams from across UTIA for global engagement. The goal is for these seed grants to result in ongoing collaborative partnerships across teaching, research, and extension, which lead to external funding and further international opportunities for UTIA. Seed grants are capped at $8,000 per team and are competitively evaluated and selected. The call for Global Seed Grant proposals takes place annually during the spring semester. Once awarded, the grants are implemented over an18 month period, typically beginning in May of each year.

We conducted a 4-day workshop focused on improving teaching skills for faculty members of East African colleges of veterinary medicine. The workshop was held in summer 2019 at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Twelve faculty members completed the workshop, including faculty from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. This workshop was based on the content from the UT College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM) Master Teacher Program (MTP). Established in 2008, the MTP provides resources, programs, and leadership that support the highest quality of professionalism and instruction within the various educational missions of the UTCVM. The goal of the MTP is ongoing professional development toward mastery of teaching skills. A variety of MTP topics were covered with faculty members from East Africa. The faculty members presented material at their home institutions in the hope of furthering the improvement of delivery of veterinary medical education across numerous East African countries.

PROJECT DATES

Summer 2019–Fall 2022

PARTNERS

Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda
UT College of Veterinary Medicine
US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service

FUNDING

Seed Grant

IMPACTS

Improved teaching skills for faculty members of East African colleges of veterinary medicine
Created opportunities to develop and refine teaching and testing materials
Obtained further funding from the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service to host East African veterinary educators to UT for fellowships in Fall 2022

The Smith Center supported the next phase of agriculture and food security programming under the U.S. Government’s Feed the Future initiative by providing technical assistance to United States Agency for International Development (USAID) missions in target countries. As the “Country Planning Operational Hub,” the Smith Center provided technical assistance to USAID missions to develop Global Food Security Strategy (GFSS) plans for their country. These strategic plans will guide each mission’s investments in the agricultural sector over the next five years.

PROJECT DATES

October 2022 – September 2023

PARTNERS

The Operational Hub partnered with five USAID missions in 5 countries: Bangladesh, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia. The Hub recruited 6 external consultants to provide research support for these assignments.

FUNDING

United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS), United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

IMPACTS

The Operational Hub supported USAID missions in five countries to research, draft, and edit sections of each country’s GFSS country plan.
Research teams supported stakeholder consultations in Kampala, Bamako and Lusaka to gather information for country plans.