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New platform connects guinea fowl farmers and researchers across Africa and beyond

Guinea
New platform connects guinea fowl farmers and researchers across Africa and beyond

A new digital platform, co-created by guinea fowl researchers from the University of St Andrews, has launched with collaborators from across Africa and Scotland. It’s aim is to support the people who work with guinea fowl every day by making knowledge easier to share across regions, languages, and disciplines. 

The guinea fowl is a familiar presence in many households across Africa, raised for meat and eggs, it is particularly valued for its contribution to family livelihoods, however, it remains relatively understudied. 

Developed through the Guinea Fowl Research Network (GFRN), this new resource will connect partners in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, and Scotland, making it easier to exchange practical experience, research insights and locally grounded ideas, bringing knowledge together in one shared space. It will feature accessible research summaries, a multilingual blog, farmer stories, and discussion forums.  

“Guinea fowl may not attract much international attention, but they are deeply important to the families who raise them,” said Professor Karen Spencer of the University of St Andrews and the GFRN. “This platform has been built together with partners across the GFRN and creates a space where knowledge can flow in all directions between farmers, researchers and communities.” 

 

Following the launch, a series of online workshops will bring together farmers, academics, and NGOs to explore shared challenges and opportunities across the network. In-person engagement will also take place through local partners, helping to reach farmers in remote areas and ensuring that those without internet access can still contribute to and benefit from the project. 

The GFRN hopes the platform will grow into a lasting hub for collaboration, supporting rural livelihoods while raising the profile of a species that plays an important, yet often overlooked, role in food systems across the continent, and strengthening connections with research communities in Scotland and beyond. 

 ENDS