The West African Center for Sustainable Rural Transformation (WAC-SRT) is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary Center of Excellence run in collaboration between ZEF and partner universities in Ghana and Niger. It is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and German Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs. WAC-SRT addresses socio-economic, political, cultural, administrative and technological aspects of sustainable rural transformation in West Africa. Bringing partners from Niger and Ghana together, WAC-SRT fosters synergies to address problems that are shared by many West African countries. Building capacities, enhancing academic networking and providing solutions, the program bridges rural-urban and Anglophone-Francophone divides, contributing to West African sustainable rural transformation in an interdisciplinary and transnational manner.
The partners in WAC-SRT are:

Ghana:

• University for Development Studies (UDS), Nyankpala Campus
• University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), Faculty of Planning and Land Management, Wa

Niger:

• Université Abdou Moumouni (UAM), Faculty of Science and Technology in Niamey

Germany:

• ZEF, University of Bonn

Since its inception in 2017, WAC-SRT develops interdisciplinary research and teaching programs to support knowledge-generation and -dissemination aimed at contributing to sustainable rural transformations and political stability in West Africa. This includes the development and sharing of innovative managerial and technological solutions, locally adapted business models and administrative approaches. At the same time the future experts who will implement these solutions are being trained.

Renewable energy generation and agricultural water management, for example, are crucial to cope with the effects of climate change and global warming, to enhance rural and urban livelihoods and wellbeing across West Africa.

Advanced experiences in the realm of renewable energy generation and agricultural water management, for instance, developed by our partners in Niger, benefit Ghana, especially in the light of its looming energy crisis and the need to promote climate smart agriculture. At the same time, innovative approaches in agricultural commercialization and locally adapted decentralized development planning conceived in Ghana can strengthen sustainable rural transformation in Niger.

The University for Development Studies Center of WAC-SRT specially focuses on addressing socioeconomic and development aspects of sustainable rural transformation. Since 2018, UDS WAC-SRT has supported students pursuing master of philosophy degree (MPhil) in Agricultural Economics annually. In the 2021-2022 academic year, the Center extended the funding to the PhD programme in Agricultural Economics.

Focal Areas:

• Sustainable rural development in West Africa
• Academic and professional capacity building
• Climate risk analysis, resilience and adaptation
  • renewable energy
  • Water extremes and agricultural water management
  • Land use change
  • and adaptation
• Agricultural economy and rural finance
• Local economic development and management

Mission:

The WACSRT strives for excellence in developing and promoting locally adapted innovations and approaches for sustainable rural transformation in the West African Sub-region. We seek to develop the manpower and generate the knowledge for social and economic transformation in an interdisciplinary and transnational manner through research and human capacity development.

For more information about us, please visit our website at wacsrt.uds.edu.gh.