We are not a relief organization. We are an institution-builder.
If we walked away tomorrow, the work would continue — because the people, pods, and businesses we build belong to the communities themselves.
We recruit Africa's top agribusiness students, train them for six months, and deploy them home in pods that build revenue-generating businesses with the farmers they train.
The Changemaker journey.
01University selection & pod formation
Top agricultural students form five-member pods to drive community-led innovation.
02Boot camp & global mentorship
Students receive rigorous training in business and agriculture from African and U.S. mentors.
03Community transformation
Each pod trains at least 30 farming households in resilient, profit-making techniques.
1 changemaker → 5 pod members → 30+ farmers → ~150 lives touched
Three engines of income.
Value addition
Mentors guide pods in developing saleable products and help farmers create marketable goods.
Community & demo garden
A learning hub where crops are grown and livestock reared — for both education and income.
Market linkages
Identifying sustainable markets, connecting farmers, and generating income through those connections.
How the network holds together.
Agri-Agents coordinate student clubs, community demo gardens, and income-generating pods on the ground.
What lasting impact stands on.
Regenerative & climate-smart farming
Permaculture and agroforestry techniques that restore soil health and biodiversity.
Agribusiness & financial literacy
Connecting farmers to market linkages, loans, and business planning to boost incomes.
Social equity & leadership
Equal participation in decision-making to build thriving, inclusive communities.
Cedric Nwafor
Founder & Executive Director
It started with a student club — and a refusal to accept the gap.
Growing up in Bamenda, Cameroon, Cedric Nwafor planted and harvested by hand — carrying heavy bags across acres, hungry, and wondering how he could change things for his family and village.
After a trip across Idaho, he saw how technology and innovative techniques let farmers produce more with less. He set out to close the knowledge gap between US and African farmers — connecting farmer to farmer, student to student, university to university.
In 2017, ROOTS Africa launched as a student club at the University of Maryland, working in real time with students in Liberia. Today it is a cross-continental institution-builder — training changemakers who train the farmers who feed the region.
