The Walter Sisulu University, Eastern Cape, South Africa, has said it will collaborate with three Nigerian universities.
The universities include the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State; the University of Ibadan, Oyo State and the University of Lagos, Akoka.
WSU said that the institutional collaboration to be established with FUNAAB would be in the areas of agricultural business, medicinal plants, waste products and food security while it would relate with the other two institutions in other areas which would be of benefits to the development of the country.
The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of WSU, Prof. Rob Midgley, who was in FUNAAB, in company with Prof. Adebola Oyedeji and Dr. Vincent Nakin, sought to know how to turn farming in the rural areas into an economy, how to turn a subsistence farmer into a small scale farmer, as well as how a small scale group of farmers could be turned into a commercial entity.
“How do I generate business around agriculture? WSU provides a gateway from poverty to some kind of economic improvement for families,” he added.
Midgley stated further that the WSU team was in FUNAAB partly to see what kind of opportunities the university could tap from as well as to assess the way which things regarding agriculture were being done.
He stressed that both universities share some similarities, noting that they were not different from each other as their problems and opportunities were alike.
He further stated that both institutions could work on the same project and look for funding opportunities together.
Responding, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB, Prof. Ololade Enikuomehin, said that the parley had set a template for both teams to work with, enjoining the deans and directors to articulate all the views mentioned and come up with a brief that would be examined by the university management.
He noted that FUNAAB was ready to collaborate with WSU and stated that in relation to building the image of the university to a world-class status through entrepreneurship and industrial linkages, the university was expected to collaborate with other universities in project work, create a linkage with industries and have the opportunity to enhance the lives of the people.
