UCAD AGROPOLE : Passer de l’enseignement à la production de richesse
Cheikh Anta Diop University officially inaugurated the steering committee (Copil) of UCAD AGROPOLE yesterday, Wednesday, November 12, 2025. UCAD AGROPOLE is a vision of the Rector, whose ambition is to make UCAD a university that generates wealth through its expertise in several fields. The Copil brings together the various areas of expertise within UCAD that can contribute to the success of this project, so dear to Professor Alioune Badara Kandji. Professor Samba Ndao Sylla was appointed coordinator by rectoral decree.
Through UCAD AGROPOLE, UCAD aims for a dual objective: to impact the community and create wealth in order to generate additional resources. In fact, as the Rector, who presided over the ceremony, explained, UCAD relies primarily on public funding, which is insufficient to meet its needs. It is therefore necessary to find alternative financing and, at the same time, to evolve in terms of its positioning. "We must move beyond being a temple of knowledge and embrace an entrepreneurial dimension, becoming a university that generates wealth," the Rector explained.
UCAD already owns 30 hectares in Niakhene, one hectare in Guédiawaye (IPS), a site in Khombole, and will soon own 50 hectares in Colobane, a town near Touba. This project will include agriculture, particularly market gardening and fruit growing, as well as the production of medicinal plants and seeds. On this last point, Senegal has committed to a policy of food self-sufficiency, and UCAD can contribute its expertise to achieving this goal.
Poultry farming, aquaculture, beekeeping… Many jobs will be developed around these specialties. Beyond production, UCAD is interested in the entire value chain. Consequently, processing, marketing, and even certification are also planned.
All of this will be supported by training, research, and the dissemination of research results. The farms will also serve as an incubation space for entrepreneurship and innovation among students.
With its civic engagement programs launched in 2007 and later UCAD-Rural, the university now has proven experience in this area. Today, it simply needs to combine efforts and expertise to scale up. "An institution like UCAD possesses such a wide range of expertise. We are relying on our internal expertise to create value," concludes the Rector.
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