Dr. Stephen Wambugu Maina work as a lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Education and Extension, faculty of Education and Community Studies at Egerton University. I qualify with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in agricultural extension; a Master of Science degree in agricultural extension; and a bachelor of science in agriculture. Dr Maina is also a qualified and an experienced agricultural extensionist with wide experience in Kenyan communities and also in Kenya, India, Tanzania, Malawi, Israel, Egypt, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Turkey, Rwanda. and Ethiopia.
Dr. Maina is has written and published various journal papers/articles in international peer reviewed journals on SAN and voluntary sustainable standards and certifications. Dr. Maina is a reviewer of various curriculum and academic programs like PhD, Masters and Bsc degree in the Department of Agriculture and Extension, at Egerton University. Dr. Maina has developed e-learning materials and teach online for the Egerton University, College of Open and Distance Learning. Dr. Maina teach undergraduate and post graduate students on extension, agricultural extension and rural development, technical writing and reporting; rural sociology, extension organizations and management, programme planning and implementation; Agricultural information and communication, Seminars among others at Egerton.
Dr. Maina has over twenty years of experience in agricultural extension and rural development while working as an agriculture teacher in secondary schools and as an agricultural extension expert in the Ministry of Agriculture, Kenya Sugar Research Foundation and currently Egerton University. He has worked and interacted with farmers, Agricultural extension managers, Agricultural stakeholders, communities, NGOS, and CBOs as an agricultural extension scientist and Principal Agricultural officer at Vihiga, Nakuru, Garissa, Bomet, Narok, Kericho, Kiambu, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru, Muranga, Kisumu, Kakamega, Homabay, Migori, Kisii, Bungoma and Kilifi Counties. During his work, Dr. Maina has implemented various SIDA funded extension programmes like NALEP I & II, Njaa Marufuku Kenya, Farmer Filed Schools, etc and gained a lot of experience on agricultural extension, food security initiatives, projects planning and management, stakeholders and community mobilization, sustainable agricultural practices, extension programmes, demand-driven, farmer-led, participatory approaches, youth and gender issues. Dr. Maina has experience in undertaking curriculum reviews, developing training modules, involved in various agricultural research, writing agricultural technical proposals and reports, written a book chapter in agriculture extension and published many research articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Dr. Maina was a member of the Research Team conducting the Soft skills’ Training Needs / Assessment of Jua-Kali Operators in Horticulture, Livestock and Business/ Entrepreneurship in Nakuru County. During the same year, he was a key researcher in the System Design and Scalability of Farmer Field Schools and Rainforest Alliance certification East and West of Rift Valley. This study was funded by the Netherlands Embassy through ETC East Africa Ltd. He also participated and was a key consultants in two world Bank funded Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agri-business Project (KAPAP) consultancies in 2014 and 2015 (Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP)- Contracted Agricultural Extension Service Delivery Model (CAESDM) and for Impact Evaluation of the Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project). He attended a US-India-Africa triangular International Training Programme on ‘New Dimensions for Extension Management’ at National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) in India from July 2015 to September 2015. In 2016, with others won a consultancy for Assessing Farmer Learning Pathway Preferences and Agricultural Technology Uptake by Small Scale Farmers in Kenya by the Biovision Africa Trust. A reviewer of various curriculum and academic programs like PhD, Masters and Bsc degree in agricultural extension in Egerton University; FAO supported Farmer field school Certificate course, Diploma and Degree for Pwani University among for farmers in 2017. I was the agriculture extension adviser during the for Kenya Organic Agriculture (KOAN) review of their agro-ecological curriculum at Tabor Hill- Nyahururu 2015. Agricultural extension expert during the validation of extension guidelines and standards workshop at Morendat Training and Conference Centre, Naivasha on 10th to 12th April, 2017. Reviewed and edited the National Guidelines and Standards for Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services. Participated in reviewed for the curriculum for organic agriculture diploma course for Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) from 3-6th October, 2017 at Tabor Hill- Nyahururu and helped to develop agricultural extension module for the course. I was a resource person and agricultural extension expert during the GIZ supported review of Kenya’s National Agriculture Sector Extension Policy (NASEP) from 20th to 24th November 2017 at Dairy Training InstituteNaivasha- Kenya. Participated and presented an experience sharing session on Farmer Field Schools cost and benefit analysis, Tea farming in Kenya during an Eastern Africa Field school sharing event. Held at Lemigo Hotel, Kigali- Rwanda on 29-30 November 2017. I was an extension expert during development of Field School Certificate course and the institutionalization of Field Schools at Pwani University for 29th April to 5th May 2018. Contracted by Control Union Agriculture Services (Afghanistan), a company incorporated in Thailand, with its business address at Qala -e- fatullah, Street 2, 5th Floor, Kabul, Afghanistan to produce a commercial organic standard for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in English language in 14-31 May 2018.