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The Purpose of The Spiritual Quest and Sura Fatiha

By Maulana Imran Hosein
delivered at Maulana Ansari dhikr group gathering,
Abd-al-Aleem House, Cape Town, South Africa.

Lecture transcribed by Irshad Soofie (http://www.sufi.co.za) :

We begin with Allah’s Blessed name; we praise Him and we glorify Him as He
aught to be glorified and we pray for peace and blessings on all His noble
messengers and in particular the last of them all, the blessed Prophet Muhammad.
Nabi Muhammad warned; he warned of an age that is to come, which would be a
terrible age, more terrible than any age that mankind would ever had experienced
since Adam came on earth. Very few would survive that age. A terrible, evil,
mastermind will attempt to take control of the world. And that terrible, evil,
mastermind of whom Allah had hinted when He said:

 }1{ُقْل َأُعوُذ ِبَربِّ اْلَفَلِق
 }2{ِمن َشرِّ َما َخَلَق

That terrible, evil mastermind will attempt to impose his evil, oppressive
dictatorship over the whole world and mislead mankind’ and deceive mankind.
That evil mastermind will have a PhD in deception. That in that age things will
not be what they appear to be. That appearance and reality would be completely
opposite to each other. That he would take the road to heaven and make it look
like the road to hell; and he would take the road to jahannam and make it look
like the road to heaven. Those who see with only external knowledge; that’s all;
the PhD from the University of Cape Town will be unable to penetrate his
deception. Will form judgment on the basis of external knowledge; of external
observation and would be deceived; would believe that they are on the road to
heaven; when in fact they are on the road to hell and they don’t know it. The
purpose of the spiritual quest’ the ultimate purpose, in this world, of the halaqatul
zikr, is to be able to see what otherwise cannot be seen. The ultimate purpose in
this life of the spiritual quest is therefore spiritual knowledge. Spiritual knowledge
comes when external knowledge and internal knowledge are harmoniously
integrated with each other. Allah   speaks in the Holy Qur’aan about a people who
have no internal knowledge; who do not pursue the spiritual quest or who pursue
the spiritual quest but are not conscious of what is the goal of the spiritual quest.

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Who believe perhaps that the spiritual quest is ultimately for the purpose of being
able to perform karamah; actions which look like what the Prophets performed as
miracles; and who do not understand that the spiritual quest is ultimately, for the
purpose of acquiring internal knowledge. And He says of such people who are
spiritually blind. He says [in the Holy Qur’aan in the 7th Sura, al-Araaf [The
Heights], Verse 179:]

 َلُهْم ُقُلوٌب الَّ َيْفَقُهوَن ِبَها
They have hearts but they do not understand

 َوَلُهْم َأْعُيٌن الَّ ُيْبِصُروَن ِبَها
They have eyes but they do not see

 َوَلُهْم آَذاٌن الَّ َيْسَمُعوَن ِبَها
They have ears but they do not hear

ِمُأْوَلـِئَك َآاَألْنَعا
[They are like cattle]

These people, who would be the multitudes in that last age, they have a status
equivalent to cattle. Even with a PhD from the University of Cape Town! Yes!
They have a status equivalent to cattle.

 َبْل ُهْم َأَضلُّ
[nay, but they are worse!]

Rather they are more misguided than cattle. And so, this is the ultimate purpose
and ultimate goal, in this life of this gathering that we have here tonight, this
beautiful gathering.  And; my purpose tonight is simply to remind; to redirect
towards that ultimate goal – internal knowledge. Nabi Muhammad   said and my
teacher of blessed memory Maulana Dr. Muhammad Fazlur Rahman Ansari   was
so fond of quoting this hadith. What did the Prophet   say? He said:

Ittaku firasatal mu’min fa innahu yanzuru bi nurillah
Fear the internal knowledge; the internal, intuitive, spiritual insight; of the

mu’min because when he sees’ he sees with the nur of Allah  .
Tonight, in this brief and blessed moment that Allah   has given to this humble
servant to be with you let us briefly examine the subject of the nur of Allah   and
how it enters into the heart. First of all it is not going to enter into the heart if we
have haraam in the pocket.  If we have money in a fixed deposit and we are taking
the interest. If we are ripping of our clients. If we are employing someone to work

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in the kitchen and we are paying her slave wages. The purification of the heart
comes first. The purification of the heart would come when our conduct is
righteous; and so tazkiyyah comes before al-Ihsaan. Having said that; some
companions of the Holy Prophet   were on a journey and it was evening time; and
they were tired; and they were hungry. They came upon a tribe who were not
Muslims. They worshipped the idols; but still Arab hospitality is famous and they
were expecting some hospitality but they got none because the tribe didn’t like the
new religion, Islam. All right! So they settled down and spent the night. During
that night a snake bit the chief of that tribe and they had no means of curing it.
He would die by morning time. So they humbled themselves and they came to the
companions of the Prophet   and said: ‘Do you have anything to help us, this is
our chief and he is going to die’. So we said, ‘Well! Since you treated us so badly;
if we are to help you out you are going to have to pay for it’. They said: ‘How
much!’ So we said, ‘A hundred sheep’. They said; ‘Deal’. One of the companions
went and he recited Suratul Fatiha; and he blew on the chief and the chief was
cured. So they collected the 100 sheep and they came back to Madinah. They
went to the Prophet   and they said: ‘O Messenger of Allah  ! This is what
happened; can we keep the sheep’. He said: ‘Yes! Keep the sheep because people
are paying for services, much less than what you have done’.  He also said that in
Suratul Fatiha, listen to it, there is a cure for every illness.

So Suratul Fatiha is not only Fatihatul  Kitaab- it is not only that which opens the
book, it opens much more than the book. In fact it opens the door to nur from
Allah  . How does it open the door to nur from Allah  ? Well if Suratul Fatiha has
a cure  for every illness; there is that which logically follows from it. That is; He
Allah   is the Shafi. From Him comes shifa- only He can cure. Not the hospitals,
not the doctor, only He Allah   can cure.  So it follows that if  Suratul Fatiha
reaches Allah  ; then Suratul Fatiha can open the door for the dua to be accepted.
Then any and every illness can be cured. These are not my words; these are the
words of he whom was sent to teach the Qur’aan,  . Well then how can Suratul
Fatiha open; remember it is al- Fatiha; ‘that which opens’; how can it open the
way, the road to Allah   ? So that it may reach Allah  . In Suratul Baqara, Allah
says: [The 2nd Sura, al-Baqara, verse 29]

 ُهَو الَِّذي َخَلَق َلُكم مَّا ِفي اَألْرِض َجِميعًا

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He it is who has created for you[subjected to your use] whatever is on the Earth
[everything].

 ُثمَّ اْسَتَوى ِإَلى السََّماء
Then He directed His attention to the sam’a

َواٍتَفَسوَّاُهنَّ َسْبَع َسَما
And He fashioned this sam’a, as seven samawaat

Having performed this task’ of fashioning the seven samawaat, so that between
this world and the arsh of Allah   there are seven samawaat. He   then concludes
with these words:

 َوُهَو ِبُكلِّ َشْيٍء
He doesn’t say kabeer; He says:

 َعِليٌم
‘I have done this so that in this creation of Mine there is an avenue to ilm

َعِليٌمَوُهَو ِبُكلِّ َشْيٍء
from ilm. So between here and the arsh are seven samawaat. He has also described
the seven samawaat as being seven samawaat which are pregnant with nur, because
did He not say: [The 24th Sura, al-Nur (The Light), Verse 35]

 اللَُّه ُنوُر السََّماَواِت َواْلَأْرِض
[Allah   encompasses the totality of the Nur in the Heaven and the Earth]

So the seven samawaat are pregnant with nur. But then He makes mention in the
Qur’aan [15th Sura, al-Hijr, verse 87] about:

 َسْبًعا مَِّن اْلَمَثاِني
The Seven Oft-repeated (verses)

Which are constantly, constantly, constantly recited!  Nabi Muhammad   told us
that these seven verses were the seven verses of Suratul Fatiha. I often wondered
why it is that Nabi Muhammad   was so particular, that whenever he recited
Suratul Fatiha, he always recited each ayah separately.

[Allah   says in the Holy Qur’aan in the 39th Sura, az-zumar verse 9:]

 َهْل َيْسَتِوي الَِّذيَن َيْعَلُموَن َوالَِّذيَن َلا َيْعَلُموَن

‘Imran! Can you ever be equal to the one who has knowledge when you do not?’

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The one who knows why Nabi Muhammad   recited each ayah of Suratul Fatiha
has to have more knowledge. I didn’t have it. So sometimes you will hear me
reciting :

 }2{اْلَحْمُد لّلِه َربِّ اْلَعاَلِميَن

  }3{الرَّْحمـِن الرَِّحيِم

  }4{َماِلِك َيْوِم الدِّيِن

Three ayah in one. Nabi Muhammad   would not do that. So why did he recite
each ayah separately in Suratul Fatiha and he would never combine two ayahs?
Never! The answer is very straightforward. These are seven verses and those are
seven samawaat. This is al-Fatiha; not only fatihatul kitaab but fatihatus samawaat.
Each ayah of Suratul Fatiha opens a sam’aa  and at the end of Suratul Fatiha as we
say ameen, if we don’t have any haraam money in the pocket and if we are paying
the African servant in the kitchen a wage, which is a just wage; and if we are not
deceived by murabaha transactions, that these are halaal when in fact they are riba
through the back door, that all Islamic banks are doing, then our Fatiha will reach
the arsh. When al-Fatiha comes at the beginning of the salaah; at the beginning of
the raka’a and we recite it ayah by ayah with the consciousness – this is called the
psychology of religion- that our recitation is ascending the samawaat; then we
wont be thinking about how much traffic there was on the road while we were
coming here; we wont be thinking about the business transaction that I might
have had today or might have tomorrow; whilst performing salaat. We won’t be
thinking about  ‘You know she shouldn’t have put so much pepper in the food’. If
we are concentrating on each ayah of Suratul Fatiha transporting our recitation of
the sura through the samawaat then by the time we reach aameen we would have
been psychologically transported to the arsh. Then in that sublime situation; the
rest of the recitation of that rakaat will take place. And each rakaat of salaah
performed that way. You can understand now why did Nabi Muhammad said:

As salatu Mi’raajul Mu’mineen
That in salaat there is the Mi’raaj of the believer

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But, then he   also said:
As salatu nur

That salaat is nur
Meaning that salaat could be the door through which nur can enter into the heart.
So, nur comes down from the arsh through the َسْبَع َسَماَواٍت into the heart of the
believer. As that nur enters into the heart- the angel asks, ‘tell me what is al-
Ihsaan’. You remember. You don’t remember. You’re not shaking your head. All
right! Let me remind you because you know the subject. It was the last stage of the
life of the Prophet  , he had performed the Hajj, returned to Madinah, he has
about 81 days to left in his blessed life and in that period the companions were
sitting in the Masjid with the Prophet   when a stranger entered. He was dressed
in white, his hair was black but he was a stranger-nobody knew him- he was not a
resident of Madinah.  So if you’re not a resident of Madinah it means that you
have come from outside. In those days you didn’t have air-conditioned automatic
Toyota Camry’s and Hondas. You have to come through the desert. You have to
come on a camel. So if you were a stranger; you had to come from outside and
therefore you would have dust on your clothes, eyebrows, beard and hair. He
didn’t have a speck of dust on him. So he didn’t come from outside of Madinah
and he was not a resident of Madinah. So where did he come from? Did he come
down from the sky?  This is a moment pregnant with drama. There is something
puzzling. There is something baffling. There is something mysterious. There’s
something mystifying. There’s something enigmatic about this moment. This is
an unforgettable moment. Allah  ’s wisdom is at work. The stranger walked
through the gathering and came straight to the Prophet   and sat down in front of
him with his knees touching the knees of the Prophet   and nobody moved. So
this is a monstrously dangerous breach of security. Because this is the head of state
and the Prophet of Allah   and we have just conquered Makkah; and the pagans of
Arabia are biting their teeth in anger. So this could be an assassin, probably sent
from Washington, and if he pulls out a dagger none of us is close enough to
prevent him. So this is a monstrously dangerous breach of security and it is
inexplicable because the companions of the Prophet e were extreme in their
zealousness to protect him. So the puzzling, baffling, mysterious, mystifying,
enigmatic nature of the moment-the drama- is increasing. Then the stranger
begins to ask questions – but he’s not asking questions about what is the speed

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limit on that highway- he’s asking questions about Islam, the religion.  He asks
questions and he knows the answers. What is this? We know that you will only
ask the Messenger of Allah   questions when you do not know the answer. When
you already know the answer and you are questioning him, and when he gives the
answer you say his answer is correct. What are you? A principal of a school and
he’s a student? So the drama is intensifying. What is Islam? What is Imaan?  What
is al-Ihsaan?  When will the last hour come? What are the signs of the last hour?
Every time the answer is given- ‘your answer is correct’.  At the end of the five
questions he got up; as unceremoniously as he entered he left. ‘We were left with
our mouths open’- Speechless!  Who was that? Then the Prophet   turned to
Umar  . ‘O Umar! Do you know who he was?’ ‘Allah   and His Messenger   knows
best – we don’t know who is he?’ That was Jibraeel  , in a moment in history,
unique. It never happened before. It will never happen again. This is the one
moment in all history, when Jibraeel   came in the form of a human being. Not
just before one girl to say to her, ‘You will have a baby boy’. And she says, ‘how
can I have a baby boy when no man has touched me?’ Not that kind of a meeting.
This is before everybody.

‘That was Jibraeel   – he came to instruct you in your deen’. This event took place
after Allah   had sent down revelation to announce [5th Sura, al-Maaida: Verse 3

ِإلْسَالَم ِديًنااْلَيْوَم َأْآَمْلُت َلُكْم ِديَنُكْم َوَأْتَمْمُت َعَلْيُكْم ِنْعَمِتي َوَرِضيُت َلُكُم ا
This day I have perfected your 'deen' for you, completed My favor upon you, and

have chosen Islam as your religion.
‘This day’- the job is done finished. ‘I have perfected for you your deen; I have
completed my favor unto you’. After that! Now- this? So there must be something
tremendously important here- that Allah   should save this until after he has
perfected the deen. What is it?

My teacher Maulana Fazlur Rahman Ansari   taught one of the most important
lessons of all he taught. He said, ‘Never take any hadith in isolation- and study it
in isolation- always take the entire body of knowledge, connected with that and
study the body of knowledge; and locate the thread which binds it together in a
whole’. That thread which binds it together as a whole he calls, ‘The System of
Meaning’. When you have located the system of meaning now go to the solitary

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hadith to study it. So these five questions- we now look at them as a whole. When
we look at them as a whole, we then discover that they’re divided into two parts.
The first part is- ‘What is Islam? What is Imaan?  What is al-Ihsaan?’- Three stages
of religion. The second part- ‘When will the last hour come? What are the signs of
the last hour? In other words this hadith and event is telling us that when that age
comes; when that evil mastermind, begins to take control of the world and when
appearance and reality would be completely opposite to each other. When things
will not be what they appear to be. When Nabi Muhammad raised his hands and
he prayed:

Allahumma arinal ashia’qa ma’i
O Allah   ! Kindly show us things as they are

Meaning that we might not be deceived by what they appear to be. When that age
comes- when women will be dressed and would yet be naked! When that age
comes- when women will be dressed like men; with a jacket and a trousers, and
maybe even a tie! When that age comes- when people will eventually be having
sexual intercourse in public like donkeys! When that age comes- when there will
be the universal consumption of alcohol! When that age comes- when riba will be
so prevalent, all over the world – then you will not be able to find a single person
– not one- in all of mankind, would not be consuming riba! If a man says, ‘I am
not consuming riba- verily the dust of riba will be upon him’.  ‘Verily the vapour
of riba will reach him’. When that age comes- when time will appear to move
faster and faster; a whole year will pass and would seem like a month; a whole
month will pass and would appear like a week; a whole week will pass and will
appear to be just like a day; a whole day would pass like an hour; a whole hour
would pass like a the amount of time it takes to ??? When that age comes- then the
only ones who will survive that age! The only ones who would be able to penetrate
the deception of that age – and not be deceived! The only ones who will be able to
penetrate the reality of things in that age! The only ones who read with nur from
Allah would be the ones who have traveled the road from Islam to Imaan to
Ihsaan. So when he was asked, ‘What is al-Ihsaan? He replied and he said:

an ta’budallaha ka annaka tara
That you worship Allah   as though you are seeing Him

When Nabi Musa   went up the mountain, Mount Sinai; he spoke to Allah   and
he said:  [al-Araaf, the 7th Sura, Verse 143]:

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 َأِرِني َأنُظْر ِإَلْيَك
Show me Yourself! I want to see You!

What did Allah   say?

 َلن َتَراِني
No! Musa  ! You cannot see me! [Not with these eyes! you cannot see Me!

How can I worship Allah   as though I am seeing him when it is impossible to see
him? That’s a good question. The companions of the Holy Prophet   they asked,
‘O Messenger! Will we be able to see Allah   on the last day?’ Remember whose
asking the question. Not Mr. Bush and company! It is the companions of the
Prophet   who are asking the question. ’ He said, ‘Do you have any difficulty in
seeing the sun when it is mid-day?’ They said, ‘No!’ He asked, ‘Do you have any
difficulty in seeing the moon when it is full moon?’  They said, ‘No!’ He said,
‘that’s how you are going to see your Lord on the Last Day.’  The Qur’aan   says,
‘You can’t see Me’ and how can the hadith say ‘you will see Him’. Looks like a
contradiction here; doesn’t it! How do we resolve this apparent contradiction? If
we cannot see him with these eyes; do we have any other eyes besides these eyes?
There is no more important question than this in this age. This is the most
important question. There are many important questions in this age- but this is
the most important of all. Do we have any other eyes besides these eyes?  Now you
are beginning to understand; what is the ultimate purpose of this assembly. Do we
have any other eyes besides these eyes? Do we have any other ears besides these
ears? This is-it’s a big word I am going to use- epistemology. This is the study of
knowledge. What is knowledge? How is knowledge possible? From whence does
knowledge come? The evil mastermind, who attempts to take control of the world
in the last age, declares that knowledge comes only from external sources- external
knowledge. The Qur’aan says, ‘No!’ The Qur’aan gives another epistemology.
Allah   says [22nd Sura, al-Hajj in Verse 46]:

 َأَفَلْم َيِسيُروا ِفي اْلَأْرِض
Will they not travel through the earth?

 َفَتُكوَن َلُهْم ُقُلوٌب َيْعِقُلوَن ِبَها
So that perhaps, perchance, (by traveling through the earth) their dead hearts

might come alive

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When the dead heart comes alive they will be able to understand with the heart,
what they could not understand before.

 َأْو آَذاٌن َيْسَمُعوَن ِبَها
When the dead heart comes alive, they will be able to hear what otherwise they

could not hear

 َفِإنََّها
For certainly, surely

 َلا َتْعَمى اْلَأْبَصاُر
It’s not these eyes which are blind

 َوَلِكن َتْعَمى اْلُقُلوُب الَِّتي ِفي الصُُّدوِر
What is blind is the heart inside the chest

 So when nur comes down it will come down only when the heart has faith. When
we speak with the lips that, ‘we worship You Lord’ but in fact in the heart we
worship our bank account- then that’s not faith. Like the man in Suratul Kahf –
the rich man- he worships Allah   from his lips, but in his heart he worships his
two gardens- his wealth. That’s not faith. When faith enters into the heart; when
we sincerely worship Allah   - and He will know if you sincerely worship Him.
When the war on Islam begins we will know who are those that run for cover and
say: ‘No! If I go on this road I will not get my U.S. visa. The U.S. visa is more
important to me than serving Allah  . If I walk on this path I will not get a green
card. If I walk on this path my business will be jeopardized. If I walk on this path
they will call me a terrorist. So, ‘No! Not me.’ We say to Allah  , ‘No! We cannot
walk on the path of serving you’.

When there is true faith in the heart then you will have a backbone made of iron
and steel and not recycled paper. You will be a man with long pants and not short
pants. This spiritual assembly is meant to produce men of iron and steel – not
men of recycled paper. If this spiritual assembly is being held week after week and
we are still made of recycled paper, then the spiritual assembly is simply a
mechanical act; not a dynamic act producing men of iron and steel. When there is
faith in the heart and Allah   tests you. When you pass the test then nur enters
into the heart.  When nur enters into the heart we are now able to see and not be

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deceived by appearances. Suratul Fatiha is what opened for us the journey- Suratul
Fatiha at the beginning of every rakaat of salaah.

What happens when we get nur in the heart? What happens when we can now see
what otherwise we could not see and we no longer will be deceived? Let me give
one example and we will end. Insha-Allah  !

Everybody know what is a credit transaction? A credit transaction is one in which
you given time to pay.  Nabi Muhammad   used to buy goods and he didn’t have
the money to pay cash and he was given time to pay by a Jewish shopkeeper; and
so a credit transaction is halaal. But nowhere would you find that the shopkeeper
was allowed to raise his price, when the transaction is a credit transaction. Cash
price and credit price must be the same. Because if you raise credit price higher
than cash price then money would be increasing because of time- that’s simple
isn’t it. I have to wait for my money –so because of time my money should
increase. That’s riba! You don’t agree with that! If I have to wait for my money
and you must now pay me more because I am waiting- then time equals money.
That’s riba! The essence of the definition of riba in Arabia was if I had to wait for
my money I was entitled to an increase in money. That was riba in Makkah and
Madinah and this is riba . So credit price and cash price must be the same. The
Prophet   warned. He said, ‘you will follow them step by step those who came
before you  to such an extent that if they were to go down into a lizards hole you
will also go down into the lizards hole’.  That’s where we are today. Around the
world ‘so-called’ Islamic Banks – Islamic Financial Institutions- around the world
are now lending money on interest and disguising it as a sale and describing it as
something called murabaha. No its not murabaha, its riba. The Commercial
banks lend you money from the front door; the Islamic banks lend you money on
interest through the back door. Yes! They call it murabaha. If you only see with
external knowledge you’ll be deceived. If you are in the halaqa – which is the
beginning of the spiritual path- and nur comes to you and you are able to see with
the nur of Allah   then you will not be deceived. Then you will be able to
recognize that this is not murabaha this is riba. A house is on sale for 500 000
rands and you don’t have the cash to buy the house- but the cash price of the
house is 500 000 rands. That’s the market price. Tom, Dick and Harry;

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everybody knows it- except perhaps the bank manager. So I go to the ‘so-called’
Islamic Bank and he says, ‘No problem! We’ll buy the house for the 500 000’.
That’s a lie because he never buys the house- the bank will never have legal
ownership of the house. Never! That’s a lie! The bank says, ‘we’ll buy the house
for the 500 000 and we’ll sell it to you for a million. We will give you 20/30 years
to pay for it’. So the credit price is a million; because it’s a credit transaction.
What’s the cash price? Its 500 000! Why would I pay 1 million for a house whose
cash price is 500 000 rand? There is only one honest answer to that. I am prepared
to pay 1 million because you are giving me time. So the difference between the
credit price and the cash price is because of time. That’s riba!  The amazing thing
is all the Muftis-let us not call any names-giving fatwa this is halaal.  Nabi
Muhammad   warned about it. An age of spiritual blindness! An explosion of
www.externalknowledge.com!  Internal blindness! So Muftis, Maulanas and even
Sufis around the world- even Sufi Shaykhs- with a spiritual blindness- are
declaring this to be halaal when it is riba. I have given you only one example –
there are many more examples. So let us end as we began. That the purpose-
Maulana Ansari should have been delivering this lecture, not me- the very
purpose, the essence of the spiritual quest is internal knowledge. The capacity to
see with the nur of Allah  ! The capacity to see what otherwise cannot be seen! The
capacity to understand what otherwise cannot be understood. The capacity to
penetrate beyond external appearance to reach to the internal reality of things!

Allahumma arinal ashia’qa ma’i
O Allah   ! Kindly show me things as they are

That I may not be deceived by what they appear to be! I pray that Allah   might
give us a chance to meet again but if we never meet again- this is the message that
I leave with you. This is the purpose, the goal of the spiritual quest. I pray that
Allah   may bless you all to be able to achieve nur. To be blessed with nur from
Allah   and so be able to see with the internal eye.


429 Too Many Requests

nginx


FACT SHEET

CENTRE FOR DRYLAND
AGRICULTURE (CDA),
NIGERIA

OBJECTIVES
• Promote trans-disciplinary research-for-develop-
ment capable of positively impacting on community
livelihood in African drylands

• Expand the horizon, boost the skills and capacity of
postgraduate students in dryland studies

• Promote sta� welfare and advance their capacity for
e�ective teaching and ability to attract funding and
publish in high impact journals

• Improve the capacity of the Centre to organize and
execute projects with professionalism and e�ciency

• Create visibility and awareness of the activities of
the Centre

• Expand the frontiers of existing academic linkages to
industry and foster strong town and gown relations

• Expand and diversify the sources of funding for the
activities of the Centre

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• The Centre has national accreditation for all its
programs and international accreditation from
HCERES for two of its MSc programs

• The provided conducive learning and research envi-
ronments by building and equipping state-of-the-art
laboratories, farms, greenhouses and smart class-
rooms

• Since 2015 the Centre has attracted and enrolled
MSc and PhD students from 12 countries spanning
through West, Central and East Africa.

• Since 2015 over 2,200 professionals have received
short trainings from the Centre

• The Centre is an Africa Host Institution (AHU) of the
Partnership for Innovation in Applied Science Engi-
neering and Technology (PASET)

The Centre for Dryland Agriculture (CDA) at Bayero
University, Kano (BUK) focuses on producing skilled man-
power that will contribute towards addressing the develop-
ment challenges in the drylands of Africa through genera-
tion of knowledge and applied research focused on reduc-
ing poverty, improving agricultural productivity, enhancing
food and nutrition security, improving natural resources
and ecosystem services, mitigating the impacts of climate
change, and reducing conflicts and human migration. The
vision of the CDA is “resilient and prosperous African
drylands” and its mission is “to improve livelihood, resil-
ience and sustainable use of natural resources in African
drylands through training and demand-driven research”.
Achieving these requires a critical mass of high quality and
relevant skilled-labor that will produce the knowledge and
technology-based outputs needed to spur economic
growth and development in the region. Towards this end,
the CDA has put in place innovative teaching programs
focused on “learning-to-learn”, problem-solving and
applied practical experience that make its graduates highly
employable. Its programs include MSc, PhD and Profes-
sional Short Courses in relevant areas of dryland agricul-
ture and natural resource management. The Centre has a
formidable network of partnership with several interna-
tional, regional, and national academic institutions and
industry stakeholders with common interests.

THEMATIC AREAS

CENTER DESCRIPTION

Natural Resource Management and Climate Change,
Dryland Crops and Cropping Systems, Livestock
Production and Range Management, Livelihood and
Natural Resource Economics

FACT SHEET

CENTER CAPACITIES
• Well-equipped laboratories for research and services in
molecular biology, tissue culture technologies, soil and
plant analysis.
• State-of-the-art training and research farm to enable
training of employees in the sector.
• Good learning environment with well-equipped smart
classrooms
• Competent faculty and staf

• International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-
Arid Tropics (ICRISAT
• Natural Resource Institute, University of
Greenwich, UK
• International Institute for Tropical Agriculture
• International potato Center
• University of Nairobi, Kenya
• Dan Dicko Dankoulodo University, Maradi
• Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil,
Nigeria
• Sassakawa Africa Association

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

LIST OF PARTNER

Sanusi.gaya@buk.edu.ng
     Plant Breeding

PROFESSOR SANUSI
GAYA MOHAMMED

PROFESSOR MUHAMMAD
AUWAL HUSSAINI
mahussaini.agr@buk.edu.ng
     Systems Agronomy

PROFESSOR AMINA
MUSTAPHA
Amustapha.ext@buk.edu.ng
     Agricultural Value Chains
Analysis

aitanko.geog@buk.edu.ng
     Development
Geographies

PROFESSOR ADAMU
IDRIS TANKO

DR ALIYU
BARAU
asbarau.urp@buk.edu.ng
     Spatial Planning and
Climate Change

DR MURTALA M.
BADAMASI
mmbadamasi.geog@buk.edu.ng
     Remote sensing and
Environmental Modeling

abbasron@yahoo.com
     Agricultural
Economics

PROFESSOR ABBA
AMINU

PROFESSOR MAHARAZU
ALHAJI YUSUF
mayusuf.geog@buk.edu.ng
     Soil Geography

PROFESSOR IBRAHIM
R. MOHAMMED
irmuhammad2002@yahoo.com
     Animal Science

Research Area

      Water Management

DR MUSTAPHA
M BELLO

FACT SHEET

Host University and Country: Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria Center Website: https://www.cda-buk.edu.ng
Center Director: Professor Jibrin Mohammed Jibrin Email Address: jibrin@buk.edu.ng

FACT SHEET

CENTRE FOR FOOD TECHNOLOGY
AND RESEARCH(CEFTER),
NIGERIA

The Centre of Excellence for Food
Technology and Research (CEFT-
ER) was established in 2015 to
address the challenge of post-har-
vest losses in West and Central
Africa sub regions through quality
higher education, research and
outreach. This is in line with the
mission of Benue State Universi-
ty’s Strategic Plan 2016-2025. The
educational, research and
outreach goals of CEFTER are:

• To develop a critical mass of
well-trained future African agricul-
tural scientists in the control of
post-harvest losses

• To empower African researchers
to identify technologies through
applied research for reducing
pot-harvest losses

• To engage farmers, communities
and industries in training and
dissemination of technologies in
post-harvest food losses across
the sub-regions

• To build the capacity of support
sta� in laboratory techniques,
attract donor funds and ensure
project sustainability

Academic Programs
Offered

• Post-harvest Management and
Physiology of Crops
• Food Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Organic/ Natural Products
Chemistry
• Food Science and Technology
• Food Processing Technology
• Rural Sociology and Agricultural
Extension
• Radiation and Medical Physics
• Biostatistics (MSC Only)
• Post-Harvest Engineering and
Technology (MSC

CENTER DESCRIPTION

Thematic Area(s)

• To expand existing courses and
establishing of new related cours-
es both at postgraduate and
continued training level.

• To construct and equip a food
processing and innovation com-
plex where students and industries
in the region will gain experience
on processing

• To improve teaching and learning
facilities to be able to attract
national, regional and international
faculty and students through high
quality education coupled with
cutting edge science.

• Won ACE impact grant of 5
million dollars

• International accreditation of
three (3) programs, and 9 others
have National accreditation

• Development of more than 100
food products from local staples
with value addition and increased
shelf life.

• Established food processing
factory; contracted by the Federal
Government under the School
feeding program to feed 1.2 million
pupils monthly.

• Partnership with the NRI, Univer-
sity of Greenwich UK to implement
England’s expanding excellence
project on food and nutrition secu-
rity. Collaborating on joint grant of
£7.8 Million

Reduction in pathogenic microor-
ganisms, extension of shelf life of
food, prevention of food borne
diseases, improved nutritional
value of food

OBJECTIVES

EXPECTED OUTCOME

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Control of post-harvest losses

Host University: Benue State University, Makurdi. Nigeria Center Website: www.cefterbsu.edu.ng
Center Director: Dr. Barnabas Achakpa Ikyo Email Address: aikyo@bsum.edu.com

• New CEFTER postgraduate school building housing
14 air-conditioned lecture rooms. All with modern
teaching facilities and Smart boards
• A 100-bed space fully furnished hostels in a serene
environment with internet facilities
• Upgraded laboratories both in the Centre and part-
ner institutions for research
• Ultramodern library with virtual facilities. We are
subscribed to Ngren
• Fabrication laboratories in our vocation and tech-
nology department

• University of Agriculture Makurdi (UAM)
• Nigerian stored Products Research Institute, Ilorin
Nigeria (NSPRI)
• Benue State Agricultural and Rural Development
Authority (BNARDA) Makurdi Nigeria.
• Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture, Yandev
(AOCAY) Nigeria
• National Root Crops Research Institute, (NRCRI)
Umudike Nigeria
• The World Food Preservation Centre, Shepherds-
town, West Virginia
• The University of Greenwich
• University of Copenhagen

CENTER CAPACITIES LIST OF PARTNER

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

subwa@bsum.edu.ng
     Food Chemistry

PROF SIMON
TERVER UBWA

PROF GODWIN OCHE.
OBOCHI
gobochi@yahoo.com
     Toxicology

PROF. EMMANUEL HEMEN
AGBA
hemenagba@yahoo.com
     Radiation and Medical
Physics

igoli@gmail.com
     Natural Product
Chemistry

PROF JOHN OGBAJI
IGOLI

PROF CHARLES
CHUKWUMA ARIAHU
ccariahu@yahoo.com
     Food Engineering

PROF. VANGE
TERKIMBIR
tervange@gmail.com
     Biostatistics

banhwange@bsum.edu.ng
     Analytical Chemistry

DR. BENJAMIN ASEN
ANHWANGE

DR. PETER AGORYE
ADIE
padie@bsum,edu.ng
     Analitical Chemistry

DR. BENEDICT LABE
blabe@bsum.edu.ng

     Mechanical Production
Technology

Research Area

oogo@bsum.edu.ng
     Nutritional
Biochemistry

DR. OGO AGBOR
OGO

CENTER DESCRIPTION

WEST AFRICA CENTRE FOR
CROP IMPROVEMENT (WACCI),
GHANA

The West Africa Centre for Crop Improve-
ment (WACCI) was established as a part-
nership between the University of Ghana
(UG) and Cornell University, USA, in June
2007 to train Plant Breeders at the PhD
level at UG, Legon. This partnership was
driven by the earnest desire to train
African plant breeders on the staple crops
of Africa. Recognizing the dire need for
seed scientists and technologists in
National Agriculture Research Systems,
WACCI introduced an innovative MPhil
program in Seed Science and Technology
in 2015 under the World Bank Africa
Centers of Excellence (ACE I) project.
Under a new project, the ACE for Develop-
ment Impact, WACCI is partnering with
the Departments of Crop Science, Agri-
cultural Economics and Agribusiness and
Agricultural Extension of the School of
Agriculture, UG to run postgraduate
programs in Agronomy, Pathology, Genet-
ics and Plant Breeding, Entomology,
Post-harvest Technology, Horticulture,
Agribusiness and Entrepreneurship and
Agricultural Extension. These collabora-
tions meet the Centre’s aspirations to
become an African Centre of Excellence
for Agricultural Innovation and Entrepre-
neurship. The Centre is committed to
quality assurance and guided by the core
values of excellence, integrity, commit-
ment to people, culture of mentoring,
accountability and shared governance.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

• Trained crop improvement scien-
tists and Agri-entrepreneurs that
will stimulate growth in the
agricultural sector and contribute
significantly towards food and
nutrition security and socio-eco-
nomic development

• Value chains of soybean, maize,
tomato and casava impacted
through the development of new
products for increased nutrition
and start-up companies for
emerging markets

• Enhanced research and develop-
ment impact in SA towards food
and nutrition security

• Increased production of
 improved higher yielding varieties
of staples

• Increased household incomes
through the adoption of improved
varieties of nutrient dense crops

• Informed media persons and
policy makers to impact develop-
ment

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Enrolled 137 PhD Plant Breeding
students and 55 MPhil Seed
Science and Technology students
from 19 African countries

• Graduated 81 PhD and 14 MPhil
students, making WCCI the
preeminent institution at the PhD
plant breeding level globally

• Over 160 research articles
published in peer-reviewed
journals and over 60 improved
varieties of staple crops released
in 5 countries

• Established the Kofi Annan
Enterprise Hub for Agricultural
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
for training of the youth in
agro-entrepreneurship

• 3 yielding (9 - 11 t/ha) hybrid
maize varieties released by the
WACCI; Varieties are being scaled
up for commercialization

THEMATIC AREA(S)
Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship

OBJECTIVES AND MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Centre’s objectives and major accomplishments till
date have been outlined below:

CENTER CAPACITIES
• A model farm with a 5-acre irrigable area using drip-ir-
rigation all-year round for phenotyping under field
conditions and applied research
• Lecture rooms fitted with projectors and screens for
instruction as well as with white boards for teaching
• A well-equipped seed science laboratory for seed
quality and seed health testing
• A tissue culture laboratory with state-of the art facili-
ties for cell and tissue culture and plant transformation
• A 27-seater modern bioinformatics lab networked to a
high-performance computer for gene mining and data
analysis
• 150-capacity Conference room, 25-seater Board Room
with video conference facility and an Enterprise hub to
serve as an Innovation Centre

• Seed Co., Zimbabwe
• International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, Ibdan,
Nigeria
• International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Ar-
id Tropics, Mali & India
• Africa Rice, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
• Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
• University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, USA
• Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture
(SSA), Basel, Switzerland
• Corteva Agriscience, USA

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

LIST OF PARTNER

kofori@wacci.ug.edu.gh
     Plant Breeding

PROF. KWADWO
OFORI

PROF. IRENE EGYIR
ireneegyir@yahoo.com

     Agricultural Trade,
Marketing & Agribusinesses

PROF. TONGOONA
PANGIRAYI
ptongoona@wacci.ug.edu.gh
     Plant Breeding

Prof. Samuel Kwame O�ei
     Plant Virology

PROF. SAMUEL
KWAME OFFEI

DR. SELOAME TATU
NYAKU
stnyaku@ug.edu.gh
    Plant Pathology and
Nematology

DR. GLORIA ESSILFIE
gessilfie@ug.edu.gh

     Post-Harvest Technology
and Food Safety

naalamle@gmail.com
     Cell and Tissue Culture
/Horticulture

DR. NAALAMLE
AMISSAH

DR. AGYEMANG
DANQUAH
adanquah@wacci.ug.edu.gh
     Plant Molecular Genetics

DR. BEATRICE IFIE
bifie@wacci.ug.edu.gh

     Plant Breeding

Research Area

jeleblu@wacci.ug.edu.gh

     Plant Molecular
Genetics & Plant Breeding

DR. JOHN ELEBLU

FACT SHEET

Host University and Country: Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria Center Website: https://www.cda-buk.edu.ng
Center Director: Professor Jibrin Mohammed Jibrin Email Address: jibrin@buk.edu.ng

REGIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
ON PASTORAL PRODUCTIONS: MILK,
MEAT, HIDES AND SKINS (CERPP),
NIGER

FACT SHEET

This project of the Regional Centre of Excellence on Pastoral
Productions: Milk, Meat, Hides and Skins (CERPP), is hosted by
the Faculty of Agronomy of the Abdou Moumouni University of
Niamey (Niger). It o�ers diploma courses at Master and
Doctorate levels as well as continuing education and retraining
for apprentices and industrial technicians provided by partner
training structures targeting non-university levels. The courses
provided in this centre produce multi-skilled graduates capable
of proposing solutions to actors and decision-makers.

 The main problems related to pastoral production are environ-
mental (food resources), genetic (intrinsic performance of our
breeds), economic (production costs, outlets) and technological
(processing). Thus, research on increasing production at the
producer level will be approached from three angles (food,
genetic characterization and reproduction, animal and public
health) in which several research projects will be conducted.
Regarding valorisation, work will focus on endogenous knowl-
edge and modern technologies relating to practices and techni-
cal itineraries of collection, conservation, transformation, condi-
tioning and packaging. Finally, the Centre will work on an
in-depth analysis of the socio-economic environment in which
these products evolve.

THEMATIC AREAS

Training and research in pastoral productions, valorization of
pastoral products (meat, milk, hides and skins).

OBJECTIVES

The general objective of the centre is to
strengthen the quality and relevance of higher
education and research in the field of pastoral
productions and their valorisation in the Sahel
countries. Specifically, it aims to

• Provide the Sahelian states with human
resources and techniques and technologies
capable of improving livestock productivity and
revitalizing the meat, milk, hides and skins
industrial sector

• Strengthen research and technology transfer
for the development of livestock and pastoral
production industries

• Make the Faculty of Agronomy of UAM a
regional and international pole of attraction.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

• Provision of qualified human resources in
su�cient quantity

• Development and extension of appropriate
techniques and technologies for increasing
pastoral production and improving the process-
ing and conservation of pastoral products by
industry and handicrafts

• Improving the knowledge of producers,
processors and industrialists in terms of tech-
noeconomic management and improving the
marketing of pastoral products and their added
value in national economies.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• All preparation documents submitted.
• Appointment of members of the
coordination team
• Training in Project Management Certificate
(CAPM) for two members of the project team.

CENTER DESCRIPTION

FACT SHEET

Name of University: Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey  Website: http://www.cerppniger.org
Centre Director: Prof. MARICHATOU Hamani  Email Address: marichahamni@gmail.com

• Administration O�ce Room
•  Functional master classroom
• Three functional laboratories (reproduction/
genetics laboratory, animal feed laboratory, hygiene
research laboratory, food and nutritional sciences)
• Fodder production site (2.5 ha)
• Experimental Animal Park

• University of Abomey Calavi (Benin)
• Ecole Inter-Etats de Sciences et médecine vétéri-
naire (EISMV) of Dakar (Senegal)
• International Centre for Research and Development
on Livestock in Sub-humid Zones (CIRDES)
[Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso].
• Institut National de l'Environnement et de la
Recherche Agronomique (INERA) [Burkina Faso]. o
Songhai Centre (Benin)
• Sup Agro France (Montpellier-Rennes)
• CISAO (Italy)

CENTER CAPACITIES LIST OF PARTNER

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

abdoulayegouro@yahoo.fr
     Animal Feed

ABDOULAYE
SOUMANA GOURO

MAXIME BANOIN
banoinm@gmail.com

     Pastoralism

TANKARI DAN BADJO
ABDOURAHAMANE
tankari@yahoo.fr
     Environmental pollution

ballabdou1965@gmail.com
     Food industry

BALLA
ABDOURAHAMANE

ADAMOU
AMOUKOU IBRAHIM
ibramouk@yahoo.fr
     Plant genetics

SOUMANA
BOUBACAR
san_boub@yahoo.fr
     Agro-economics

mougarbeye@yahoo.fr
     Physiology of
production

MOUMOUNI
 ISSA

AMBOUTA
KARIMOU
ambouta.karimou@yahoo.fr
     Soil Science

ALHASSOUNMI
HADIZATOU
pendo333@gmail.com
     Socio-economics

Research Area

ztoudouadam@yahoo.fr

     Phytopathology

ADAM TOUDOU

not translated

FACT SHEET

REGIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
IN POULTRY SCIENCES(CERSA),
TOGO

CENTER DESCRIPTION

The Regional Centre of Excellence in Poultry Sciences (CERSA) is
a higher education and research institution of the University of
Lomé, created by Order n°111/MESR/CAB/SG of 29/12/2016. As
a leading poultry training and research centre of excellence in the
country and in the subregion, CERSA/UL's mission is to invest in
research and development, training, support and advice to poultry
farmers, valorization of poultry by-products and strengthening
collaboration between partners.

THEMATIC AREA(S)

• Poultry Product Processing Processes
• Biosecurity and Bio-Security in the Poultry Sector
• Poultry biotechnology and genetics
• Marketing and socio-economics of the poultry industry

OBJECTIVES

• Develop and improve the quality of poultry
products and strengthen the development of
the sector in Togo and the sub-region;

• To develop the training and research
programme for masters and doctoral students
in avian sciences;

• To develop a modular and/or short-term voca-
tional training programme for professionals in
poultry farming but also for young poultry
entrepreneurs.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Rehabilitation of the Educational and
Research Complex including, among other
things, 2 multi-purpose laboratories and 6
well-equipped specific laboratories, classrooms
and conference rooms

• Nearly 900 poultry technicians and profes-
sionals trained in Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali,
Senegal and Togo.

• 142 students enrolled in Master's programs
and 50 students enrolled in Doctoral programs.

• Innovations such as the Chicken Biscuit, egg
powder for infant flour, bone powder to be
incorporated in poultry feed.

• Obtaining unconditional international accred-
itation for 5 years for the Master's program

Name of University: Université de Lomé, Togo  Site Web du Centre: www.cersa-togo.org
Centre Director: Prof. Kokou TONA  Email Address: jaktona@gmail.com

• 1 conference room with 200 seats,
• 2 classrooms of 40 places each,
• 6 specific laboratories and 2
well-equipped multi-purpose laboratories
• A library, about 20 o�ces and a meeting room.
• An experimental unit (henhouses, hatcheries,
platform for the agronomic valorisation of poultry
by-products, etc.).

• Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium
• University of Abeokuta in Nigeria
• Shandong Agricultural University in China
• Institut National de Recherche Agronomique
(INRA) - Poultry Research Unit of Tours (France)
• ORFFA
• NUSCIENCE
• HENDRIX-GENETICS
• DAAD - German Cooperation.

FACT SHEET

CENTER CAPACITIES LIST OF PARTNER

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

gbeassor@tg.refer.org
     Animal Physiolog

PROF. MESSANVI
GBEASSOR

PROF. GERMAIN
SAYO ELOLO OSSEYI
elosseyi@yahoo.fr
     Food Technology and
Process Engineering

PROF. AMIVI
TETE-BENISSAN
Colette.gassou@gmail.com
     Molecular Biology

ameyapoh.blaise@gmail.com
     Microbiology -
Biochemistry

PROF. YAOVI
AMEYAPOH

PROF. CHRISTOPHE
CHRYSOSTOME
cchrysostome@gmail.com
     Genetics and
animal breeding

PROF. DECUYPERE
EDDY
eddy.decuypere@live.kvleuven.be
     Animal physiogy

simplicekarou@hotmail.com
     Biochemistry

PROF. KAROU
SIMPLICE

PROF. OKANLAWON
ONAGBESAN
onagbesanok@yahoo.com
     Animal Physiology

DR KOFFI YOVO
ko�tozo@gmail.com

     Rural Socio-Economy

Research Area

kagboka@gmail.com

     Entomologist

DR KOMI AGBOKA

FACT SHEET

AFRICAN CENTER OF EXCELLENCE ON
CLIMATE CHANGE, BIODIVERSITY AND
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
(WASCAL/CEA-CCBAD), COTE D’IVOIRE

CENTER DESCRIPTION

The African Center of Excellence on
Climate Change, Biodiversity and
Sustainable Agriculture
(CEA-CCBAD) is based on the
WASCAL Doctoral School of Cote
d'Ivoire (West African Center of
Scientific Service on Climate Change
and Adapted Land Use) attached to
the UFR Biosciences of the Universi-
ty Félix Houphouët-Boigny. It is
within the framework of its regional
outreach strategy that the WASCAL
Doctoral School of Côte d'Ivoire has
been selected as an African Center
of Excellence with a financial
support of 5.3 million Euros from the
World Bank over 5 years
(2016-2020) to develop Excellence
in Training and Scientific Research in
the fields of Climate Change, Biodi-
versity and Sustainable Agriculture.
The CEA-CBAD focuses on training
graduates on issues related to
ecosystems, biodiversity, food
production, water, and productive
and sustainable forestry in the
context of climate change a�ecting
the region. This includes graduate
training and knowledge production
related to : (i) (the protection of
water resources, the fight against
soil erosion, the protection and
better use of biodiversity, the adop-
tion of resistance crop projects, the
protection of forest production
through, for example, pollinators.
The center trains graduates on inter-

disciplinary subjects so that they are
able to work with all the players in
the sector.

THEMATIC AREA(S)

(i) Climate Change in relation to
Climate Systems, (ii) Climate
Change and Biodiversity and Ecosys-
tem Services, (iii) Climate Change
and Sustainable Agriculture

Objectives

• Training in Masters and Doctorates
with three themes: (i) Climate
change related to climate systems,
(ii) Climate change and biodiversity
and ecosystem services, (iii)
Climate change and sustainable
agriculture.

• E�ective scientific research to
develop technologies and services
to society in the areas of climate
change, biodiversity and sustainable
agriculture in Africa.

• Valorization of technologies (agri-
business and entrepreneurship) in
order to create stable employment
opportunities

Expected Outcome

• Doctoral and Master's programs,
30% of which are foreign students
and 30% are women.

• Program quality improvement and
international accreditation
• Development of research with
publications in listed international
journals
•  Development of collaboration with
institutional and private partners to
generate more revenues
• Improvement of the working envi-
ronment through the construction of
buildings and the acquisition of
modern equipment for teaching and
research
• Reinforcement of the innovation
platform to facilitate access to
knowledge to users in order to
impact the results obtained.
• Reinforce bilingualism in the train-
ing o�er of the center and its part-
ners.
• Development of climate services
and adaptation and mitigation
scenarios

Major Accomplishments

• Training of 231 students of 17
nationalities (119 Master and 112
PhD)
• Training of 484 auditors, including
130 regional auditors in short train-
ing courses.
• Accreditation of the 4 training
o�ers
• For the "Wascal" doctorate:
accreditation for 5

FACT SHEET

Name of University: Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny d’Abidjan  Website: www.wascal-ci.org
Centre Director: Prof KONE Daouda  Email Address: daoudakone2013@gmail.com

i. Construction of three buildings A, B and C
• Building A (5 laboratories, 1 amphitheater of 120
seats, 2 meeting rooms, 2 classrooms, 1 refectory, 1
room for the library, 2 workshops, 1 room for sam-
ples, 1 room for lab fridges, 1 study room, 1 multime-
dia room, 9 o�ces, 1 waiting rooms, a parking lot,
toilets and the fence)
• Building B (4 laboratories, 6 o�ces and wash-
rooms).
• Building C (2 laboratories, 2 classrooms, 4 o�ces
and toilets).
ii.  Rehabilitation of buildings and rehabilitation of the
48 rooms + laboratories
iii.  Establishment of an online library
iv. 5 laboratories installed :
•  Language Laboratory
• Cartography room

• Université de Ouagadougou 2
• La Fondation Louis OMER-DERCUGIS
• International Centre for Theoretical Physics
• Laboratoire d'écologie Appliquée, Faculté
des Siences Agronomiques de l'Université
d'Abomey-Calavie (LEA/FSA/UAC)
• Centre Ouest-Africain de service scientifique sur l
changement climatique et l'utilisation adaptée des
terres (WASCAL)
•  KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TCHNOLO-
GY (KIST)
• Mali (IER-Université et Sucriers)
•  ICIP

CENTER CAPACITIES LIST OF PARTNER

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

kessetch2012@gmail.com
     Academic Programs
Coordinator

Pr KOUAMELAN
ESSETCHI

DR FATOGOMA
SORHO
fsorho@gmail.com
     Research Coordinator

Pr BIDI ALAIN

alphbidie@gmail.com
     Industrial Liaison Manager

cherifmamadou@hotmail.com
     Head of Master and
PhD training

DR CHERIF
MAMADOU

DR. ABO
KOUABENAN
a.kouabenan@gmail.com
     Agrobiodiversity-
Ecosystem Services

PR YEBOUE
VÉRONIQUE
yobouev@hotmail.com
     Climate Services and
Modelling

camara_ib@yahoo.fr
     Diagnostic Methods
and Biopesticide

DR. CAMARA
BRAHIMA

DR JONHSON
FÉLICIA
felijohnson@yahoo.fr
     Partnership Manager

ALABI TAOFIC
atafci@gmail.com

     Coordinator of Services
and Innovations

Research Area

ngoransw@yahoo.fr
     In charge of short
term training courses

DR N'GORAN M.
EPSE OUALI

FACT SHEET

AFRICAN CENTRE OF
EXCELLENCE IN AGRICULTURE
FOR FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL
SECURITY(AGRISAN)
SENEGAL

The African Centre of Excellence
in Agriculture for Food and
Nutritional Security (AGRISAN),
is a public consortium of scien-
tific cooperation bringing
together the main national
actors in research and training in
the field of agrobiosciences,
namely four (04) universities
(UCAD, UGB, UT, USSEIN) and
CRES, an independent research
institution, with regional and
international partners. CEA
AGRISAN is placed under the
supervision of UCAD. The
Centre's positioning on the issue
of agriculture, food and nutri-
tional security is relevant, not

only with regard to international
bodies (SDOs) but above all
because it corresponds to the
concrete concerns of several
populations at the regional level.
In a context of climate change
and its impact on the resilience
of anthropo-systems, food and
nutrition security issues are
increasingly important. CEA
AGRISAN's objective is to help
agriculture play a major role in
economic growth, food security
and poverty reduction in Sene-
gal and the West African sub-re-
gion through innovative training
and research in all segments of
agricultural value chains.

Objectives

• To train competent human
resources capable of meeting
the challenges of e�cient
agriculture for food and nutri-
tional security while supporting
the sustainable development of
Senegal and the countries of the
region

• To strengthen the research and
expertise capacities of the units
to conduct applied and opera-
tional research in order to
propose innovative methods

•  Strengthen the performance
of national and regional
academic partners in terms of
training, research and expertise

•  Contribute to the creation of a
critical mass of women with
high-level skills

• Strengthen the institutional
capacities of national and
regional non-academic partners

• Promote sustainable coopera-
tion between the partners
involved in the project.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

The expected results are manifold: compe-
tent human resources are trained, joint
applied research programmes are imple-
mented, research results are exploited,
high-performance technical platforms are
set up, institutional intervention capacities
are strengthened, exchanges of teachers
and students are carried out, multiple and
lasting collaborations between the di�er-
ent partners are established, common
training courses in the field of agriculture
and food and nutritional security are
defined.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Recruitment of 11 PhDs, including 4
regional and 4 women.

•  Recruitment of 79 Masters, including 13
regional Masters and 28 women.

• Recruitment of more than 1,000
first-year Bachelor of Science students

• Publication of 37 scientific articles in
indexed international journals

THEMATIC AREAS
Agrobiosciences, Biotechnologies, Plant And Animal Production,
Food Processing, Nutrition, Biodiversity And Conservation,
Socio-economics

CENTER DESCRIPTION

Name of University: Université Felix Houphouët-Boigny d’Abidjan  Website: www.wascal-ci.org
Centre Director: Prof KONE Daouda Email Address: daoudakone2013@gmail.com

• International Research Centre for Development
(CIRAD-France)
• Research Institute for Development (IRD-France)
• Abomey-Calavi University (Benin)
• University Ouaga I Pr Joseph Ki-Zerbo (Burkina
Faso)
• Boubacar Ba University (Niger)
• University Houphouet Boigny (Ivory Coast)
• Montpellier SupAgro (MSA, France)
• VirginiaTech (USA)

CENTER CAPACITIES

LIST OF PARTNER

PRIMARY FACULTY MEMBERS
SENIOR FACULTY

Mady.cisse@ucad.edu.sn
     Food technology

MADY CISSE PAPA MADIALACKÉ
DIEDHIOU
anifane@yahoo.fr
     Phytopathology

IBRAHIMA
DIEDHIOU
idiedhiou@univ-thies.sn
     Agroecology

nicole.dossou@ucad.edu.sn

     Nutrition

NICOLE DOSSOU FATOU NDOYE
fatoundoye20@gmail.com

     Soil microbiology

MAME SAMBA
MBAYE
Mame.mbaye@ucad.edu.sn
     Botany Biodiversity

cres@cres-sn.org
     Economics

ABDOULAYE
DIAGNE

MODOU DIENG
modouabsadieng@gmail.com

     Food Technology

ABDALA GAMBY
DIEDHIOU
abdala.diedhiou@ucad.edu.sn
     Microbiology

Research Area

• UCAD Nutrition Laboratory, assessment of the
risks of malnutrition and development of means to
remedy it, Services (biological analyses, databases,
food surveys, conduct of studies).

•  UCAD's Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, produc-
tion of horticultural plants, where you will find the
necessary equipment to carry out all the stages of in
vitro plant culture.

• Joint Laboratory of Soil Microbiology, brings
together researchers from IRD, ISRA and UCAD, to
study the natural diversity of symbiotic microorgan-
isms, their genetic and functional diversity, their
conservation and their use to improve soil fertility
and the productivity of cultivated and forest plants.

• Farm Schools (50 ha UCAD RURALE; 50 ha of
ENSA Thiès and 30 ha of UGB Saint Louis) and Labo-
ratory of Biological Sciences, Agronomy and Com-
plex Systems Modelling (Gaston Berger University)

• Pedology laboratory (ENSA) for the physical and
chemical characterisation of soils

• Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Food Tech-
nology for the processing of ESP agro-food products,
the formulation of new products and for risk analysis.

FACT SHEET

https://ace.aau.org/ ACE I @the_ACEProject

For further enquiries,
Tel: +233-30-277-4495

Mobile: +233-0547728975


BLOG OF KNOWLEDGE (Shari'ah, Law, Islamic Finance and Muslim News)
Shari'ah, Law, Islamic Finance and Muslim News
February 27, 2011
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Top 100 Companies of the Muslim World: 2010 DS100 Ranking
2010 DS100 Summary: Companies Absorb Financial Crisis Shock
Available at:
http://dinarstandard.com/rankings/2010-ds100-summary-companies-absorb-financial-crisis-shock/
The 7th Annual DS100 continues to benchmark the corporate environment of the 57 OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) member countries.
The 2010 DS100 ranking, which is based on end-of-year (EOY) 2009 revenue data of the top 100 Companies of the OIC member countries, fully shows the impact of the 2008/09 financial crisis.  As expected, EOY 2009 revenues were down for all sectors represented on the DS100 compared to EOY 2008. The silver lining has been that sectors such as finance, consumer goods, and utilities absorbed the shocks, still showing single digit growth, although down from double digits growth experienced in the previous year.
With USD 1.12 trillion in total revenues, the 2010 DS100 list of companies recorded a 26.47% overall decline in annual revenue over the previous reporting period.  Conversely, 44 companies on the list grew in revenue, with 19 showing double digit growth.
The fastest revenue growing companies on the 2010 DS100 were YTL Corp. (+85.48%, Malaysia,) PT Adaro Energy (+48.89%, Indonesia,) Savola Group (+29.64%, Saudi Arabia,) Etihad Airways (+29.15%, UAE,) Proton (+26.20%, Malaysia,) Bank Rakyat Indonesia (+26.02%, Indonesia,) BIM Birlesik (+25.48%, Turkey,) Public Bank (+24.30%, Malaysia,) Selçuk Ecza Deposu (+24.28%, Turkey,) and Pakistan State Oil (21.48%, Pakistan.)
The 19 Integrated Oil & Gas Companies on the list continue exerting their revenue dominance, representing 64% of the total DS100 company revenues.  However these 19 companies showed a 38% drop in yearly revenue from the previous term.  This was mostly due to the significant drop in oil prices from their dramatic peaks in 2008 ($94.4/barrel ’08 OPEC reference basket price) back down to norms of previous years ($61/b in ’09.)  As we publish this analysis however, 2011 oil prices are back up in the $90/b range.
The important and sizeable Finance sector recorded a 6% increase in EOY 209 revenues while Utilities, Consumer Cyclical, Telecom and Retail sectors all recorded a 7% increase during the same term.  All these sectors had recorded double digit growths in the previous term.
Companies from 20 out of the 57 OIC member countries are on the DS100. The minimum threshold to be on the 2010 DS100 list was USD 2.67 billion in annual revenues.
Global Comparison
Globally, the DS100 companies in 2010 represent 10.4% of the USD 10.8 trillion in revenues attributed to the top 100 global companies from Fortune magazine’s 2010 Global 500 list.
SABIC (Saudi Arabia) and KOC Holding (Turkey) are the only two DS100 companies on the Fortune 500 Global list. Meanwhile, no brands from OIC member countries made it to the BW/Interbrand Top 100 Global Brand list.
Industry Breakdown
Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil producer, continues to lead the DS100 list as the largest business enterprise of the Muslim world.  However, during the term of this ranking (EOY 2009) Saudi Aramco recorded an estimated 42% decrease in its revenues from the year before. This drop, however, is almost a complete reversal of the estimated 47% increase in revenue experienced in the previous term (EOY2008).
Overall, the Energy sector continues to confirm its dominance by number of companies on the list (19) and, more significantly, by revenue size (US$ 642 billion.)  Indeed 9 out of the top 10 companies on the list are all state-owned Integrated Oil & Gas companies.  From these top 10 companies, Petronas (#3 rank) recorded the smallest decrease in annual revenue growth, of -18% as compared to the previous term.
After the Energy sector, the diversified companies represent the second largest sector on this year’s DS100 list (18 of 100 companies); with the Turkish family-owned conglomerates Koc Holding, and Sabanci Holding representing the largest and second largest diversified companies, respectively, followed by Astra International (Indonesia), and Sime Darby (Malaysia). The diversified sector also registered a contraction in annual revenue growth of -7.43% over the previous year.
The third largest sector represented in the 2010 DS100 ranking is Financial Services (17 of 100 companies) with Turkish banks IsBank (#19), Ziraat Bank (#24), Akbank (#31), leading the list, followed by Malaysia’s Maybank Group (#37).
Bank Melli Iran (#57), Al Rajhi Bank from Saudi Arabia (#85), and Kuwait Finance House (#100) are the leading full Islamic banks within the financial services sector.
The other major sectors represented are Basic Materials Manufacturing, Services (Telecom and Retail), and Transportation.   A fast maturing sector, the Telecom space has become increasingly competitive regionally, and is led by Saudi Telecom (#31), Etisalat (#27), and Zain (#28.) Telecom continues to be the most exciting sector with a flurry of acquisitions, market expansion and technology innovation.  Although not the fastest growing sector, Basic Material Manufacturing is emerging as a major area of opportunity and investment. SABIC (#11 – chemicals), IMIDRO (#23, metals/mining), are the leading players in this sector.
Publicly Listed vs. Government and Private Companies
The 2010 DS100 list had 56 publicly traded firms from 11 countries compared to the previous year’s (2009) 58 firms from 13 countries.
Turkey-based Koc Holding–a diversified electronics, automotive, energy, finance, and retail giant, is the largest publicly traded company on the list. It is followed by SABIC (#8, chemical), and Saudi Telecom Company (#13, services).
While a majority of the companies on the DS100 are publicly traded, the bulk of the total revenue (64%) is attributed to the 31 government-owned companies on the list, signifying their powerful roles in the respective economies. This trend remained mostly the same from the year before.  Additionally, it should be noted that some of the ‘Listed’ companies still have majority government ownership and are at different stages of privatization drives.
In regards to privately held companies, the ranking this year has 13 private enterprises. Data for these companies was available through public sources. Sabanci Group (#16, Turkey) leads this list, followed by Saudi Oger (#29, Saudi Arabia), and ETA – Ascon Group (#39, UAE). Even though there is a small representation of private companies on the list, there are many firms for whom data was not available and therefore were not included in this report.
Turkish, Malaysian, Saudi and Indonesian Companies lead the List
Turkish companies continue to set the benchmark for OIC economies, evidenced by the fact that Turkey has more companies on the 2010 list (20 companies) than any other country. Subsequently, the Turkish companies also present the widest and most diverse sector representation of any other country in this year’s ranking. This should come as no surprise, given the fact that Turkey has the largest OIC economy, as measured by GDP output.
Malaysia has the second highest number of companies (16 companies) on the DS100. This is quite impressive, as Malaysia is only the 5th largest OIC economy (by 2009 GDP est.)  Indonesia, the second largest OIC economy, had 11 companies represented.  Reflective of their growing potential, this number has increased from 9 Companies represented on the previous DS100 ranking.
13 Saudi Arabia based companies are on the list.  Other major representations include 8 from both UAE and Iran, and 6 from Kuwait. Other countries represented included Algeria Brunei, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, and Syria

Ranking Purpose & Challenges
The purpose of the DS100 (in its seventh year) is to portray as close a picture as possible of the leading domestic business activities in the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) member countries while providing its corporate managers and strategists with a tool to benchmark trends and identify opportunities.
The DS100 aims to recognize companies that are leading the charge in the global competitive landscape and are making a significant impact on the well-being of their communities.  The ranking is based purely on the 2009 end-of-year annual revenue figures (as EOY 2010 data has not been released by most as yet).
More than half of the list is comprised of publicly listed companies (56 of 100) from the growing public markets of the Muslim World.  At the same time, the ranking continues to include government and private enterprises to reflect their disproportionately significant role in the Muslim world economies.  Only those private and government enterprises are included for whom data could be estimated or verified through various media sources. Acquiring this verification continues to be a challenge, given limited financial disclosure practices. However, a visible positive trend towards better corporate governance, transparency practices, and privatization is facilitating a clearer view of the corporate environment in the Muslim World.
Top 10 Companies of the Muslim World

1. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Saudi Aramco)- Saudi Arabia

2. National Iranian Oil Company- Iran

3. Petroliam Nasional Bhd. (Petronas)- Malaysia

4. Kuwait Petroleum Corp.- Kuwait

5. Sonatrach- Algeria

6. PT Pertamina (Persero)- Indonesia

7. Qatar Petroleum- Qatar

8. Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.- Nigeria

9. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.- UAE

10. Koc Holding A.S.- Turkey
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
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