From Soil to Solutions: UNIVEN and FAO Forge Strategic Path for Resilient Futures

The University of Venda (UNIVEN) recently hosted the launch of a pioneering initiative, the UNIVEN–Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) partnership for research engagement, under the theme “Advancing Resilience, Food and Nutrition Security, and Climate-Smart Innovation through Strategic Collaboration.” The two-day event represented a major milestone in aligning local expertise with global development priorities.

The initiative brought together UNIVEN scholars, researchers, heads of agricultural programmes, students, and practitioners under one roof, aiming to reshape agriculture and food systems through structured collaboration. It served as a formal starting point for a new research engagement platform between UNIVEN and the FAO Southern Africa Subregional Office.

Professor Francis, the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Postgraduate Studies, officially opened the workshop. With a commanding yet reflective tone, he invited the room to consider a provocative question: Why is certain knowledge called “indigenous” while other forms are not labelled the same? He urged attendees to recognise the inherent value of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), challenging the apparent tendency to relegate them to the margins of academic and development discourse. Continuing with his address, Prof Francis contended that the true wealth in the room lay not in financial capital but in the diverse expertise and experiences of those present.

He outlined UNIVEN’s four foundational strategic thrusts, namely Student-Centredness, Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship; People, Health, and the Environment; and Internationalisation and Partnerships. In the process, he emphasised the need to strike a balance between local relevance and global competitiveness. Referencing UNIVEN’s location within the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, a region rich in ecological diversity yet highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, he called for community-driven, sustainable solutions to climate and disaster risks, notably flooding. A key concern he raised was the apparent disappearance of agriculture from the university’s focal priorities and the wider community. What was once a flagship discipline seems to be now disappearing to the periphery, eroding its practical impact and student engagement. He made a strong case for re-investment in agricultural infrastructure, the revival of hands-on training, and the integration of cutting-edge tools such as precision and digital agriculture. Prof Francis also cautioned against the unchecked conversion of agricultural land into residential plots, a trend he feared would deepen the region’s food insecurity. In his view, if agriculture is to thrive again, it must be elevated to a pedestal of pride, hope, relevance, and innovation.

To support the above shift, Prof Francis outlined a range of UNIVEN’s enabling mechanisms – digital transformation, transformative education, transformative law and social justice, effective communication and social marketing, and capacity development – and called for a mindset shift from a pervasive dependency syndrome to resilience, excellence, and global engagement. Embracing partnerships with global giants, such as the FAO, should be a high priority on the institutional agenda.

Following the rousing opening remarks, Dr Lewis Hove, who led the FAO delegation, highlighted the value of partnerships, innovation, and data. “Together with UNIVEN and the government, we will scale climate-smart practices, connect early warning to early action, and invest in data and skills so communities can anticipate risks and thrive, leaving no one behind,” he said. Guided by the FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022–31, the collaboration aims to accelerate the shift to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems, delivering the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life.

The event featured a series of insightful presentations from the FAO technical team, which pro-vided a comprehensive overview of the FAO’s Southern Africa Pro-grammes, comprising four core thematic areas: emergency response and resilience, food security analysis, livelihoods assessment, and early warning systems. These thematic areas were presented as pillars for structured engagement and collaboration between FAO and UNIVEN, focusing on ensuring relevance to both local challenges and regional priorities.

The second session of Day One was dedicated to access to data and research col-laboration. Discussions highlighted open data systems, institutional data-sharing frameworks, and joint research efforts with an emphasis on improving the data accessibility, quality, and use for evidence-in-formed decision-making in agriculture, cli-mate change, and food security. A key highlight was the introduction of the FAO Data in Emergencies (DIEM) platform (https://data-in-emergencies. fao.org), which pro-vides open-access, high-frequency data collected from over 30 countries. This includes household-level surveys relevant to agricultural livelihoods, food insecurity, and exposure to multiple shocks. Participants explored how DIEM can be leveraged by UNIVEN staff and postgraduate students for policy-relevant research, especially in areas such as climate resilience, anticipatory action, food systems transformation, and community vulnerability profiling.
The platform was acknowledged as a critical tool for fostering data-driven collaboration between academia and practitioners, with the potential to catalyse a new generation of locally grounded, globally connected re-search outputs.

Session Three centred on mapping synergies and opportunities, followed by a reflective synthe-sis of the day’s discussions. During this session, participants collectively reviewed institutional priorities, identified areas of convergence, and explored practical entry points for collaboration. The key objective was to align strategic goals across both institutions while laying the ground-work for joint action on transforming food sys-tems, enhancing climate resilience, and promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Day Two commenced with a recap of Day One, setting the tone for a forward-looking conversa-tion focused on implementation. The primary objective of the day’s deliberations was to develop frameworks for collaboration, governance, and sustainable engagement. Participants worked towards defining governance structures, outlining roles and responsibilities, and proposing long-term strategies for maintaining the mo-mentum of this emerging partnership. Also included in the discussions were pathways for institutionalising collaboration, strengthening capacity devel-opment, and embed-ding sustainability into all aspects of the initiative. The planning session on next steps reaffirmed the shift from dialogue to action, highlighting the need for dedicated fo-cal points, structured communication channels, and regular follow-up mechanisms to translate commitments into measurable results on the ground.
As the event drew to a close, on day two, it was evident that this was not just a ceremonial gathering but rather the beginning of a transformative journey. Both Prof Francis and Dr Lewis Hove underscored the potential of this partnership to become a model of local-global collaboration, one that bridges academic knowledge with policy, practice, and the lived realities of communities. This means the FAO-UNIVEN platform is a commitment to co-create solutions that are locally rooted and globally informed, with the shared aim of advancing food and nutrition security, as well as climate resilience and sustainable development, while recognising the relevance of indigenous knowledge systems in addressing African challenges. Essentially, in the heart of Limpopo Province, a new seed has been planted. If well taken care of in the emerging collaboration, the seed is likely to grow to become a model of how African institutions and global agencies can jointly cultivate a future of resilience, innovation, and shared prosperity. The optimism that the diverse participants displayed through their reflections confirms that the workshop yielded its intended purpose.

“I was so excited when the FAO representatives said we can collaborate on grants because last year we had a training workshop on international grant writing. What we learned during the workshop last year can now be implemented as we collaborate and write proposals to get the grants.”
“We need to establish our own niche, maybe localising or local context of the Water, Energy and Food (WEF) nexus that we can start thinking about a niche on how we can safeguard and ensure the current and future food security.”
“We have been punching below our weight as a faculty. We are a bit marginal-ised in the cur-rent setup. I think we need to take up the challenge as thought leaders, building teams with the younger ones, especially around all the W-E-F nexus.”

“I have been thinking a lot, asking myself how we can involve technology in everything that we were presenting and discussing because I am doing Honours in Business Information Systems. Discussions focused on agriculture, health care, and many crucial aspects of people’s livelihoods. Regarding disasters, how can I involve technology in such?”
Closing the workshop, Prof Francis thanked everyone for their time and commitment over the two days, expressing optimism about future opportunities for collaboration. He assured the par-ticipants he would take the resolutions of the workshop to the ap-propriate governance struc-tures of the university to create awareness and secure support for implementation. Prof Francis emphasised the importance of collaboration among university departments and maintaining strong relationships within the Vhem-be District and Limpopo Province. Heads of Departments were requested to consider the inclusion of this initiative as a standing item in their meetings and reports to sus-tain focus.

Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding and Communication
University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811