Kenyatta University

Kenyatta University

Kenyatta University is located along the Thika Super Highway approximately 20 kilometers from Nairobi Central Business District. The Main Campus is set on 1000 acres in Kahawa, Kiambu County. It started as Kenyatta College in 1970 as a constituent College of the University of Nairobi. In 1985, it was granted full university status, and was renamed Kenyatta University. It is ranked number two in the country after University of Nairobi.

The KU team which also includes members from Embu University College brings on board a wealth of relevant field-level experience gained from a number of concluded and on-going multi-faceted projects. The team comprises of;

Dr Jayne Mugwe (Team Leader -KU)

Prof Daniel Mugendi (Embu University College)

Dr Felix Ngetich (Embu University College)

Dr Monicah Mucheru Muna (KU)

Dr Eric Bett (KU)

Mr. Ocar Kisaka (KU Ph D student)

The team has expertise in developing and implementing various integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) strategies, environmental/climate issues, supervising postgraduate students, field experimentation, demonstration setting and management. Through previous and on-going research, the team has already established a framework for interaction among farmers, scientists, extension services and other stakeholders on the testing, adoption and adaptation of soil fertility management technologies through some other concluded projects.

In addition, through some of the on-going projects, the team aims to maximize the benefits of management technologies in the maize-based systems in the two districts by developing and promoting (i) production technologies that reduce water stresses under erratic rainfall, and (ii) marketing options that help farmers to obtain a higher income from their products. So far, the projects have successfully reached over 120,000 smallholder farmers in the region with soil fertility management technologies and agricultural marketing related innovations, including technologies that are geared towards enhancing soil health and productivity and making farming a profitable venture.

As a partner in this project, the team will play a key role in capacity building, knowledge delivery and development. The team’s roles will involve developing targeted soil fertility management interventions in conjunction with stakeholders to ensure sustainability, while taking advantage of existing long term trials to generate data that can be used to come up with model adaptations. The University has well established faculties relevant for the capacity building of the envisaged post graduate students. Other infrastructure and resources include; offices, operating costs, personnel costs (salaries for project leader and scientists working in the project paid by the institution) and a vehicle.