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DR Dickson Otieno Okello

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Staff Information
PERSONAL DETAILS
Designation
LECTURER
Corporate Email
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Personal Email
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Job Category
Teaching
Phone Number
+254711181353
Division / Faculty
Faculty of Agriculture
Directorate / Dept
DEPT. OF AGRIC.ECON & AGRI/BUS
Address
P.o.Box 536, Egerton
FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION

Entrepreneurship (Business model/enterprise development coach/mentor), Agricultural Value Chain Analysis, Human Resource Management, Auditing, Business Finance, Leadership Development, and Marketing

WORK EXPERIENCE
  1. December 2024-April, 2025: Consultant for KCB Foundation in Business Development Services for MSMEs in Kenya. The consultancy entails training needs assessment, capacity building/boot camp and mentorship/coaching.
  2. December, 2023: Capacity building consultant for UNESCO Kenya National Commission on Value Addition, Branding of Geopark Products and Services for stakeholders on, 8th – 9th December 2023 at Chemeron Dryland Research Training and Ecotourism Centre(Drtec), Baringo County, Kenya.
  3. November, 2023: Capacity building consultant for Kenya Industry and Entrepreneurship Project (KIEP), KIRDI on mapping sectoral value chains and technology needs assessment training workshop held on 7th-8th November, 2023 at KIRDI HQ, Nairobi
  4. September 2023 to December, 2023: part of the consultants involved in identifying and capacity building grazing committees/associations and producers for grazing and livestock service plans for SNV (LISTEN PROJECT).
  5. April to December 2022: part of the consultants involved in Labour Market Assessment in Kenya (Kisumu, Kakamega, Nakuru, Kiambu, Isiolo and Mombasa) for USAID Empowered Youth Programme and Michigan States University, USA.
  6. June 2022: Consultant involved in training smallholder farmers in entrepreneurship and business proposal development using rural invest for Nakuru Living Lab.
  7. August to December 2021: part of the consultants involved in landscape analysis and scooping exercises on challenges, opportunities and pathways for youth employment in Kenya for USAID and Michigan States University, USA.
  8. November to December 2021: part of consultancy team involved in developing investment prospectus for Lamu County in USAID Kuza Project.
  9. September 2021: Consultant and trainer in entrepreneurship and value chain analysis of tomatoes value chain for farmers in Kajiado County.
  10. December 2020: part of consultancy team involved in M &E for the project “Securing Your Family’s Future (SYFF): Transforming Peer Norms about Women’s Land Rights”. Funded by Wellspring Philanthropic Foundation.
  11. February 2019 to December, 2019: Awarded consultancy work by National Museums of Kenya to undertake a feasibility study on the viability of commercialization of aloe in Kenya.
  12. January 2018 to April, 2018: Part of the team that is involved in development of proposal for Cultivate Africa's Future 2 (CultiAF 2).
  13. February, 2018: Project Administrator for Empowering Kenyan Youth through Agrienterprise Incubation for Improved Livelihoods and Economic Development (AGLEAD)
  14. December, 2017: Part of team that drafted a proposal for funding to RUFORUM Entrepreneurship Challenge Program (RECAP).
  15. Jan 2017-Dec 2017: Agribusiness Specialist in Seeds of Gold offering advisory services to smallholder farmers and agrientrepreneurs.
  16. December, 2017: Assistant Consultant – Development of short course on Entrepreneurship for Students for Transforming African Agricultural Universities to Meaningfully Contribute to African’s Growth and Development (TAGDev) Project, Egerton University, Njoro.
  17. August, 2017: Consultant – Business Plan Development Training Course for CEFA (Strengthening livelihood of rural agro-pastoralist in Kitui East Sub-County) Staff in Thika, Kiambu County.
  18. June, 2017: Research Assistant - Impact Evaluation of Entrepreneurship Course Among Agricultural Related Graduates Of Egerton University for TAGDev Project, Egerton University, Njoro.
  19. January to April, 2017 – Organized Business Plan Writing Competition in Egerton University for Undergraduate Students.
  20. April, 2017: Resource Person and Mentor - Indigenous Chicken Improvement Programme (INCIP) Incubation Training on Opportunities in Agribusiness: Case of Indigenous Chicken Value Chain in Kenya, ARC, Njoro.
  21. February, 2017: Guest Speaker – Entrepreneurship and Opportunities in Agribusiness Mentorship at Laikipia University organized by Laikipia University Agribusiness Students Association.
  22. August 2016: Resource Person – Agribusiness Clinics in Nakuru County for TAGDev Project, Egerton University, Njoro.
  23. September, 2016: Consultant – Development of Training Manual in Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship for Training of Staff of Bungoma County Ministry of Agriculture.
  24. March, 2016: Research Assistant – Baseline Survey for Evaluation of Bayer Corporate Social Responsibility in West Pokot County, Kenya.
KEY PROJECTS

1. Climate Smart Agrifood Systems (CSAS) initiative, funded by the European Union under its Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme https://c-sas.org/

2. Strengthening Agri-Entrepreneurship and Community Engagement Training in East, West and North Africa (AgriENGAGE). Website -- http://agriengage.org/

3. Innovative Learning and Co-Creation of Teaching Methodology for Scaling Entrepreneurship in Food and Agribusiness in Sub-Saharan Africa (AGRISCALE). Website -- https://www.agriscale.net/

4. Problem-based-learning bio-economy entrepreneurship and capacity building programme in Africa (PBL-BioAfrica) Projects. Website -- https://www.pbl-bioafrica.net/

5. Empowering Kenyan Youth through Agrienterprise Incubation for Improved Livelihoods and Economic Development (AGLEAD)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Researching is a wonderful experience for developing human-centered solutions to people's problems on earth.

My research interest focuses on four key areas in agribusiness management:

  1. Entrepreneurship in Agriculture
  2. ICT and Mechanization in Agriculture
  3. Agri-food Value Chain
  4. Sustainable Agriculture

I work on the nexus of these 4 research communities, trying to build knowledge among them and establish their role in sustainable and climate smart agribusiness in Africa.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
  1. Okello, D., Mshenga, P., Saidi, M. et al. Entrepreneurship education in East, West and North Africa Higher Education Institutions (HEIs): mapping agripreneurship curriculum and lecturers’ competencies. Discov Educ 3, 100 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-024-00204-9
  2. Kirui, E.C. Kidoido, M.M. Mutyambai, D.M. Okello, D.O. Akutse, K.S. Farmers’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices Regarding the Use of Agroecological-Based Pest Management Practices in Crucifers and Traditional African Vegetable (TAV) Production in Kenya and Tanzania. Sustainability 2023, 15,16491. https://doi.org/10.3390/
  3. Edwin Mumah, Yangfen Chen, Yu Hong, Dickson Okello (2024). Machinery Adoption and Its Effect on Maize Productivity among Smallholder Farmers in Western Kenya: Evidence from the Chisel Harrow Tillage Practice. Research on World Agricultural Economy. https://journals.nasspublishing.com/index.php/rwae
  4. Apollo Uma, Dickson Okello & Florence Opondo (2023). Effect of paddy sourcing methods on the volume of rice milled by rice millers in Mwea, Kirinyaga county, Kenya. Heliyon. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22901
  5. Apollo Uma, Dickson Okello & Florence Opondo (2023). Intensity of Usage of Paddy Sourcing Methods by Small and Medium-Scale Rice Millers in Mwea, Kirinyaga County, Kenya. International Journal of Research Studies in Agricultural Sciences (IJRSAS), Volume 9, Issue 5, 2023, PP 1-12, ISSN No. (Online) 2454–6224. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2454-6224.0905001
  6. Kelvin Mungai, Dickson Okello and Florence Opondo (2023). Assessing the Changes in Consumption Patterns of Households Due to COVID-19 Measures in Kenya. Asian Journal of Agricultural Extension, Economics & Sociology, Volume 41, Issue 10, Page 92-101, 2023; Article no. AJAEES.105705. ISSN: 2320-7027
  7. Winnie Jematia Kokown, Hillary Kiplangat Bett, Florence Opondo, Dickson Otieno Okello (2023). Effect of Entrepreneurial Motivation on Psychological and Social Capital of Youth Fruit Agrienterprises in Nakuru County. Open Access Library Journal, Volume 10, e10418, ISSN Online: 2333-9721, ISSN Print: 2333-9705
  8. Paul O. Tana, Stephen W. Maina, Bockline O. Bebe, Felister W. Makini and Dickson O. Okello (2023), Determining importance of functions of innovation systems in fostering cassava innovations in Nyando climate smart innovation platform, Kenya (AJAR/11.01.23/16313)
  9. Naomi Chebiwot Chelang’a, Isaac Maina Kariuki, Gideon Aiko Obare & Dickson Okello Otieno (2023) Determinants of adoption of GLOBAL G.A.P. standards: Evidence from smallholder French beans farmers in Murang’a County, Kenya, Cogent Food & Agriculture, 9:1, 2176949, DOI: 10.1080/23311932.2023.2176949
  10. Dickson Otieno Okello & Fahad Juma Luttah | Mohamed Mousa (Reviewing editor) (2022) Effects of market orientation on farmer resilience and dairy farm performance in emerging economy, Cogent Business & Management, 9:1, https://doi.org/ 10.1080/23311975.2021.2010481
  11. Okello, D., Owuor, G., Larochelle, C & Gathungu, E. (2021). Determinants of utilization of agricultural technologies among smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research 6 (2021) 100213
  12. Okello, D & Okello, P. (2021) Dairy agripreneurs’ preference for production and animal health support services in Kenya—a choice experiment. Tropical Animal Health and Production (2021) 53:386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02834-9
  13. E. I. Wanyonyi, E. W. Gathungu, H. K. Bett & D. O. Okello | Fatih Yildiz (Reviewing editor) (2021) Determinants of Porter’s competitive strategy utilization among agro-dealers in Kenya, Cogent Food & Agriculture, 7:1, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2020.1865595
  14. Dickson Okello | (2020) Gender effect of entrepreneurial orientation on dairy farming career resilience in Kenya, Cogent Food & Agriculture, 6:1, 1863565, https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2020.1863565
  15. Okello, D., Feleke, S., Gathungu, E., Owuor, G., and Ingasia, O. (2020). Effect of ICT tools attributes in accessing technical, market and financial information among youth dairy agripreneurs in Tanzania (Cogent food and agriculture). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2020.1817287
  16. Okello, D., Owuor, G., Larochelle, C & Gathungu, E. (2020). Effect of agribusiness support services on choice of dairy cooperative market channel in Kenya (African Crop Science Journal). https://www.ajol.info/index.php/acsj/article/view/200191
  17. P.M. Mshenga, D.O. Okello, N.W. Mungai, O.I. Ayuya, D. Mwangi, D. Ouma1 and J. Jabu (2020). Influence of entrepreneurship education on Egerton University’s graduates’ intention to start a business (African Crop Science Journal).
  1. September 2017: Okello, D.O. Ireri., D.M. (2017) Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Use of ICT Tools by Rural Agrientrepreneurs in Kenya. International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, Vol 5 Issue 9, Pg 302-307.

Papers at journal publication

  1. Kevin Mworia, Dickson Okello & Florence Opondo (2023). Determinants of effects of covid-19 measures on the changes in food consumption patterns for urban low-income households in Kenya (Cogent Food & Agriculture-2023-0274R1)

Papers Under Review

  1. Okello, D., Owuor, G., Gathungu, E & Oloo, B. Factors influencing utilization of agribusiness support services among smallholder dairy farmers in Kenya (under review: Outlook on Agriculture).
  2. Okello, D. Effect of Farmers' Entrepreneurial Behavior on Dairy Enterprise Performance in Kenya (under review: Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer Nature).
  3. Okello, D. Evaluating the Impact of Agribusiness Support Services on Productivity and Income among Smallholder Farmers in Rural Kenya: Insights from a Multinomial Endogenous Switching Regression Analysis (under review: Discover Agriculture, Springer Nature).
  4. Okello, D. Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Climate-Smart Dairy (CSD) Technologies Among Youth Agripreneurs: Insights from a Choice Experiment in Nakuru County, Kenya (under review: Discover Agriculture, Springer).
  1. David Muita, Dickson Okello, and Florence Opondo. Determinants of Post-Harvest Losses in the Avocado Value Chain: Insights from Farmers in Murang'a County, Kenya (under review: Discover Food, Springer).
  2. David Muita, Dickson Okello, and Florence Opondo. Assessing the Impact of Post-Harvest Losses on the Economic Viability of Avocado Farmers in Murang’a County, Kenya (under review: Heliyon, Elsevier).
  3. Andrew Seruma, George Owuor, and Dickson Okello. Adoption of On-Farm Food Safety Measures Among Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Central Uganda (under review: Discover Agriculture, Springer).
  4. David Rutto, Dickson Okello, and Hillary Bett. Determinants Influencing Market Outlet Choices Among Smallholder Dairy Farmers in Developing Economy. (under review: Discover Food, Springer).
CONFERENCES & INVITED PRESENTATIONS
    1. November 2023: Attended the 13th African Farm Management Conference as a presenter in East London, South Africa on, 19th – 23rd November, 2023.
    2. November 2023: Attended workshop on CURRICULUM ADAPTATION and implementation in Entebbe, Uganda on, 13th – 17th November, 2023.
    3. November 2023: Attended the 19th RUFORUM Annual General Meeting in Yaoundé-Cameroon on, 28th October- 02nd November, 2023.
    4. September 2023: Attended a Training course on Agribusiness Development Services in Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Morocco on 18th – 22nd September, 2023.
    5. May 2023: Attended a Training course on University- Industry collaboration through teaching in University of Pavia, Italy on 15-19th May, 2023.
    6. February 2023: Participated and completed a short course on ILO Start and improve Your Business Training of Trainers workshop on 30th January to 9th February, 2023 at Egerton University.
    7. January 2023: Attended a Training course on Development of Entrepreneurship Short Modules University of Copenhagen, Denmark on 15th- 21st January, 2023.
    8. January, 2022: Participated and completed a short course on RURALINVEST – preparing effective rural investment business plans organized by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 24th January – 4th February, 2021 at Naivasha, Kenya.
    9. December, 2021: Attended RUFORUM Triennial Conference, the 17th Annual General Meeting and 7th African Higher Education Week held in the Republic of Benin at Centre International de Conférences et Palais des Congres de Cotonou, Benin from 6th – 10th December, 2021.
    10. December 2021: Attended AgriENGAGE Training on curriculum review, design and development through integration of AgriEntrepreneurship and Community Engagement on 3rd – 5th December, 2021 in University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin.
    11. July 6th – 8th, 2021: Attended International Conference for early career research leader fellowship at Laikipia University as a speaker and rapporteur.
    12. December, 2019: Attended RUFORUM Annual General Meeting (AGM) and conference on 2nd – 6th December, 2019 at University of Cape Coast, Ghana.
    13. November, 2019: Attended training on Policy Brief and Scientific Writing on 11th – 15th November, 2019 at IITA-Ibadan, Nigeria
    14. July, 2018: Egerton University in Collaboration with Agripreneurship Alliance, Switzerland participated as the facilitators in the Blended Learning Programme by training 20 students in development of agribusiness plans.
    15. June, 2018: Participated as a facilitator in training 60 students in Business Plan Development
    16. Feb 2017: Attended Training on Agri-Entrepreneurship in Egerton University which was facilitated by Elmer Cantarero from Earth University.
    1. March 2017: Attended Egerton University 11th International Conference and Presented two conference papers.
    2. April 2017: Attended Training on Agribusiness Factsheets Development in Egerton University which was offered by TAGDev Project.
    3. June 2016: Attended training on Business Incubation and Agri-business Market Mapping and Matching Organized by Research Production and Extension department at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Research Production and Extension.
    4. July 2016: Collaborative Masters program in Agricultural and Applied Agricultural Economics Thesis Dissemination Workshop, ARC, Kenya.
    5. June 2015: Attended a day workshop on Incubating Grassroots Women Capacity for Sustainable Socio-Economic Empowerment and Livelihoods Transformation, Organized and Facilitated by Japan International Corporation Agency(JICA-KENYA) in Collaboration with JKUAT
    6. Jan 2015: Attended one week training on Radio Extension Approach facilitated by American institute of Research, JKUAT, Farmer Voice Radio, KENFAP, FIT Resources, Kenyatta University and KBC at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
HONORS, PRIZE AND AWARDS
  1. June 2021– Egerton University Vice-Chancellor’s List of Honours for Excellent Academic performance for completion of Doctor of Philosophy in Agribusiness Management in record time (32 months).
  2. June, 2021 –  Part of team awarded Research grant of $10,000 on “Market analysis of green grams farming in Kitui County” funded by the World Bank under the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture and Agribusiness Management (CESAAM).
  3. June, 2020 – Part of Egerton university team that won a project a project called ‘Problem-based learning Bio-economy Entrepreneurship and Capacity Building Programme in Africa’ supported by the Ministry for foreign affairs of Finland.
  4. May, 2018 – Awarded Research grant of $10,000 on “Enhancing capacity to apply research evidence in policy for youth engagement in agribusiness and rural economic activities in Africa” funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
  5. March, 2019 - Attracted a grant of Kes 245,000 to implement youth mentorship and networking project in entrepreneurship through Blended Ag-Powered Entrepreneurship (BAPE)
  6. December 2017 – Egerton University Vice-Chancellor’s List of Honours for Excellent Academic performance in Masters of Science in Agri-Enterprise Development.
  7. June 2017 – Awarded the Best Business Prototype after starting a business (Agrifresh Supplies) for Masters of Science in Agri-Enterprise Development.
  8. May 2016 – Awarded Research Grant of Kes 200,000 by Egerton University Alumni Association.
  9. June 2016– Attracted a business fund of Kes 250,000 from Centre of Excellence for Livestock Innovation and Business.
TEACHING AREAS

Agribusiness Management, Entrepreneurship, Enterprise Development, Value Chain Analysis, Strategic Management, Business Finance, Auditing, Agricultural Marketing, Human and Financial Resource Management, Marketing Research for agriculture and business, Project Planning and Management, Production Economics, Research Methods and Econometrics.

POSTGRADUATE SUPERVISION
MASTERS LEVEL :
  1. Bernice Nasangwe, Effect of corporate governance practices mediated by risk management practices on sustainability of agricultural cooperatives in Ngozi province, Burundi, Since January, 2022.- SUBMITTED THESIS
  2. Agnes Ntabo, Effect of utilization of banana value addition on performance of small-scale agri-enterprises in Kisii county, Kenya, Since August, 2022. - GRADUATED
  3. Beryl Ouma, Effects of agrobiodiversity practices on food security among smallholder farmers in west Pokot Sub-County, Kenya, Since May, 2023. - WRITING THESIS
  4. David Muita, Effect of postharvest losses on income of avocado farmers in Murang’a county, Kenya, Since March, 2023. - SUBMITTED THESIS
  5. Essy Kirui, Effect of agroecological based crucifer and traditional african vegetable cropping systems on smallholder farmers’ production performance in Central Kenya, Since October, 2022. - SUBMITTED THESIS
  6. Fahad Juma, Effect of entrepreneurial competency and agrienterprise firm capability on performance of smallholder potato farmers in Nyandarua County, Kenya, Since January, 2023. - GRADUATED
  7. Kevin Mworia, Impact of covid-19 measures on food consumption patterns for low-income households in Nakuru County Kenya, Since May, 2022. - GRADUATED
  8. Nakiganda Racheal Gladys, Drivers of sustainability of incubated and supported agribusinesses in selected universities in Kenya, Since October, 2022. - GRADUATED
  9. Sebastian Odanga, Farm mechanization and its effect on technical efficiency of smallholder rice producers in Mwea irrigation scheme, Kenya, Since November, 2022. - WRITING THESIS
  10. Appolo Uma, Effects of paddy sourcing methods on the volume of rice milled by small and medium-scale rice millers in Mwea constituency, Kirinyaga county, Kenya, Since June, 2022. - GRADUATED
  11. Wilson Munene, Effect of digital financial services on performance of smallholder dairy farmers in Bomet County, Since January 2023. - WRITING THESIS
  12. Celestine Mutio Munyao, Determinants of dairy firms’ incentives and opportunities to engage in valorisation pathways in Kenya, since November, 2023. - WRITING THESIS
  13.  Emanuel Kamali, Impact of farm machinery adoption on productivity and income of smallholder maize farmers in Bungoma County, Kenya, since January, 2024 - WRITING THESIS
  14. Kevin Ngugi, knowledge awareness, perceptions, adoption of castor farming and effects on household income among small-scale farmers in Makueni County, since November, 2023. - DATA COLLECTION
  15. Fidel Orawo, Effect of fertilizer use on profitability and uptake soil testing among smallholder maize farmers in Western and Rift valley Kenya. - WRITING THESIS
  16. Awor Gloria, Determinants of dietary practices and nutritional status among university students in Nakuru County, June, 2024. - DATA COLLECTION
  17. Jackson Mwachilungo, effects of inclusive business models on the profitability of black soldier fly larvae technology among smallholder farmers in Nakuru and Nyandarua counties, June, 2024. - DATA COLLECTION
PhD. LEVEL :
  1. Naomi Chebiwot, Triple win effects of climate-smart dairy strategies among smallholder dairy producers in Nyandarua County, Kenya, Since February 2023. - SUBMITTED THESIS
  2. Racheal Ninsiima, Effect of blockchain technology on the performance of barley farmers in eastern Uganda, Since, March 2023. - REVIEWING THESIS
  3. Andrew Seruma, Effect of adoption of food safety measures (FSMS) on productivity and profits of dairy farmers in central Uganda, Since April 2023. - REVIEWING THESIS
  4. Rahiel Walelgn Awoke, Evaluation of selected Herbicides for Management of Weeds and level of adoption of improved agricultural technologies and practices in Groundnut (Arachis hypomeas L.) in Kenya, since December 2024. - PROPOSAL DEFENSE
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