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International Partners and Organizations

International Crop Science Society

The mission of International Crop Science Society (ICSS) is to facilitate research, education and information exchange on the sustainable production of sufficient quality and quantity of crop products to meet the food and industrial feedstock needs of humankind. With the help of $25,000 of in-kind support from the Crop Science Society of America in 2000, ICSS’ operational procedures, website, and communication mechanisms were implemented. Multi-country support from around the world testifies to the need and significance of an International Crop Science Society and its series of Congresses. The goal of ICSS is to provide an effective and efficient communication mechanism and coordinating role among societies and crop scientists.

International Union of Soil Sciences
The International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) is the global union of soil scientists. The international society was founded as the International Society of Soil Science (ISSS) on May 19th, 1924. The objectives of the IUSS are to foster all branches of the soil sciences and their applications, and to give support to soil scientists in the pursuit of their activities. Their website provides information for IUSS members and those interested in soil science. The scientific activities of IUSS are undertaken through four Divisions and each Division has four to six Commissions. Click here for the IUSS PowerPoint (7 Mb), which includes a brief explanation of the Union structure and function. The IUSS has been a scientific union member of International Council for Science (ICSU) since 1993. The IUSS has consultative status to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development due to its membership to ICSU. The National Academy of Sciences U.S. National Committee for Soil Science represents the interests of the U.S. soil science community in the IUSS.

 

Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture
The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) is an association of twelve Agricultural Universities in Eastern and Southern Africa organized to develop and strengthen human resource capacity for inter-disciplinary problem-solving. RUFORUM recognizes the importance of the University as a source of outreach and technology transfer to small-scale farmers throughout the Eastern and Southern Africa Sub-regions.
In order to be a source of this information, the University needs to conduct relevant, development-oriented research that links high-quality graduates directly to participatory rural development and outreach programs. Such research allows graduates the experience the need to be effective in rural Africa. RUFORUM’s 5 Strategic Goals are to develop:

  • Masters and PhD programs that are responsive to stakeholder needs and national/regional development goals
  • Shared research and training facilities and capacities for enhanced economies of scope and scale
  • Innovative training, research and outreach activities supported by adaptive management structures in universities contributing to policy and development practice
  • Operational capacity and approaches for innovative quality and impact-oriented research for development mainstreamed in universities
  • A dynamic regional platform for policy advocacy, lobbying, coordination and resource mobilization for improved training, research and outreach by universities
  • To see more about RUFORUM and the opportunities that it has for study, please view http://www.ruforum.org/.
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