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Research Institution
Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) is the premier agricultural research organisation in Kenya. It is comprised of 16 semi-autonomous research institutes spread across the country. NON-RUMINANT RESEARCH INSTITUTE – (KALRO-KAKAMEGA) situated in western Kenya is one of the Research Institutes at KALRO.
Who We Are
KALRO-Kakamega runs various programs addressing research issues both in crops and Animal production targeting mostly smallholder farmers in western Kenya. Its crops of interest are Maize, Grain Legumes, Sorghum and Finger millet, Cassava, sweet potato, soybeans, groundnuts, and horticultural crops in addition to Animal production (poultry, goats, cattle, fodder and feeds, pigs). The institute has 29 research scientists (PhD=10, MSc/MA=11, BSc/BA=8) from 8 departments namely Agronomy, Horticulture, Biotechnology, Natural Resource Management, Agricultural and socio-economics, Food Science and postharvest technology as well as Biometrics. There are also laboratory staff and other technical staff who support scientific work. The scientific research staff are of mixed age groups and have many years of ground experience in on-farm research as well as designing and implementing international collaborative research projects. There is a Seed Unit at the institute that spearheads the production of certified seed for improved crop varieties for easy accessibility by interested stakeholders. The current and past activities of KALRO-Kakamega are described on the website (Official Website).
Our Own Experience
The project research team is multidisciplinary with hands-on experience in conducting on-station and on-farm collaborative research in agronomy, post-harvest technology, and natural resource management. Our on-farm approach to farmers is entry through farmer groups and the formation of farmer working groups that participate in technology testing and dissemination in collaboration with government and non-government extension workers stationed in specific villages of research interest. We conduct research projects by partnering with local, regional as well and international partners.
Noel Makete
I am an Agronomist and Post-harvest specialist at KALRO – Kakamega. I have 17 years of work experience in basic and adaptive research on food crops and vegetables. Research interests are on environmental and physiological stresses that impact crop yields. Recent research projects that I have participated in include the Finger Millet Genetic and Cultivation Improvement project in Eastern Horn of Africa 2011-2015 funded by the Mc Knight Foundation. I also led the Kenyan Agronomic component of the H2020 “FLOWERED ‘’ project.
I do offer capacity building on Agri-business development to farmer organizations on invitation by government and non-governmental organizations. In EWA BELT I will be involved in WP2 specifically sustainable soil management and WP3 Contributing to Establishing a Remote PLANT HEAlth Diagnostic Network in Eastern and Western Africa. I am also the team leader for KALRO activities in the project
Francis Wayua
I am a Food Scientist, with a PhD in Food Science and Postharvest Technology at KALRO (KALRO-Kakamega). My research interests concern Food safety and quality. I head the Postharvest Section at KALRO Kakamega. I coordinated a one-year project on strengthening research extension linkage in western Kenya funded by GIZ, Kenya (2017-2018). Currently, I am spearheading a project on screening and validating Fusarium resistant banana varieties in western Kenya (2020-2022). I am a Master Trainer on Postharvest and Value Addition Technologies for the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP), 2020-2022.
I have 20 years of research and consulting experience in food science, postharvest technology, and human nutrition. I also have five years of teaching experience as a part-time lecturer at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya (Official Website) and at the IGAD Sheikh Technical Veterinary School and Reference Centre, Somaliland (2016-2018) (Official Website). In EWA BELT I will be involved in WP3 specifically the improvement of food and crop protection, and Contributing to Establishing a Remote PLANT HEAlth Diagnostic Network in Eastern and Western Africa, and in WP6 “Communication/dissemination/capacity building and maximization of the EWA-BELT impact at the UN level”.
Caroline Kundu
I am a Soil Scientist, with a PhD in Global Arid Land Sciences (Soil Sciences). My research focus centers on Soil fertility, Plant nutrition, fertilizer use and recommendations, and general sustainable land use (natural resource management). I serve as the Acting Deputy Institute Director and also head the Natural Resource Management Section at KALRO Kakamega. I am Currently spearheading a project on aligning integrated soil fertility management technologies to biophysical and socio-economic conditions for improved soil and fertiliser management in western Kenya (2020-2022). The second project in on fertilizer use in maize production in collaboration with YARA fertilizer.
I have 13 years of research experience. I also have six years of teaching experience as a part-time lecturer at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST Official Website) and the Mount Kenya University, Kakamega Campus. In EWA BELT I will be involved in WP2 specifically soil testing and analysis and WP3 by Contributing to Establishing a Remote PLANT HEAlth Diagnostic Network in Eastern and Western Africa.