UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Their core work

The University for Development Studies (UDS), based in Tamale in northern Ghana, conducts applied agricultural research focused on smallholder farming systems across West and North Africa. Their core contribution to EU-funded research is ground-level field knowledge of African farming contexts — they provide the on-the-ground research access, local farmer networks, and empirical data that European partners cannot replicate from abroad. Their work spans sustainable intensification practices, agroecology, agroforestry, and water and land management under the specific ecological and socio-economic conditions of sub-Saharan and North African contexts. They are not a theoretical research institution — their value is translating development science into practical outcomes for farming communities in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, and the broader Sahel region.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first H2020 project (SALSA, 2016–2020), UDS engaged broadly with small farm viability and food security — no specialized technical keywords were associated with their contribution, suggesting a generalist development-studies role providing African context and field data. Their second project (SustInAfrica, 2020–2026) marks a clear technical sharpening: the keywords pivot to specific agronomic methods — agroecology, agroforestry, sustainable intensification, water and land management — alongside a more explicitly mapped geographic scope covering Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt, and Tunisia. The trajectory is from broad food-security framing toward applied agronomy and farming-system design for dryland and semi-arid African environments.

UDS is moving toward becoming a specialist African partner for agroecological transition research, with growing focus on resilient farming systems under climate stress in the Sahel and North Africa — a direction well-aligned with post-2020 EU development and food system priorities.

How they like to work

UDS has participated exclusively as a consortium partner — never as coordinator — across both projects, which is consistent with their role as a field-knowledge contributor rather than a project manager. Their presence in consortia with 34 unique partners across 20 countries suggests they join large, multi-country research programs rather than small bilateral collaborations. For a potential partner, this means UDS brings African ground access and local legitimacy, but will expect a European or experienced African institution to carry the administrative and coordination load.

UDS has built connections with 34 distinct consortium partners across 20 countries through just two projects, indicating they have entered well-connected international research networks early. Their network spans both European research institutions and African regional partners, particularly across West Africa and the Mediterranean-African corridor.

What sets them apart

UDS is one of very few Ghanaian universities with active H2020 participation, and its location in Tamale — the capital of Ghana's Northern Region and a major smallholder agricultural zone — gives it direct access to farming communities and landscapes that are central to West African food security research. Unlike European partners who study African agriculture from a distance, UDS provides embedded, contextually legitimate field presence in Ghana and connections to research activity in the Sahel. For any consortium building a project on African food systems, climate adaptation, or sustainable agriculture that requires credible African institutional partnership, UDS fills a role that no European university can substitute.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SustInAfrica
  The largest and most technically specific project UDS has joined, running until 2026 and addressing resilient farming systems across five African countries — this is their most current and substantive research engagement.
• SALSA
  UDS's entry into EU-funded research, focused on small farms and food businesses, establishing their profile as an African field-knowledge partner within a broad European food security consortium.