EGERTON
UNIVERSITY
29th May, 2024
- Sara Mbago-Bhunu, Director of East and Southern Africa Division, IFAD
- Hongyong Mei, Deputy Representative, Counsellor, Permanent Representation of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture in Rome
- Yan Zhu, Vice President Nanjing, Agricultural University
- University Management Board Members
- Distinguished Guests
- Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning:
On behalf of the University, I welcome you to Egerton University for this China-IFAD South- South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) Facility Event: Advancing Resilience and Sustainability through Climate-Smart Solutions
Egerton University was founded as a farm school in 1939 by Lord Maurice Egerton of Tatton, a British National. In 1950, the school was upgraded to a college. In 1986, the College was gazetted as a constituent College of the University of Nairobi, and in 1987, Egerton College was fully established as a University through an Act of Parliament. The University has the following ten Faculties: Agriculture; Arts and Social Sciences; Commerce; Education and Community Studies; Engineering and Technology; Environment and Resources Development; Health Sciences; Law; Science; and Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. The University has an Institute of Women, Gender and Development Studies, Confucius Institute and a School of Distance Learning. It has three campuses, namely: Njoro Main Campus, Nakuru City Campus College, and Kenyatta Campus.
The topic for today has come at the right time, the devastating floods experienced in our country recently has not only caused deaths, and displaced families but also loss of livelihood in terms of farm crops and livestock. Therefore, there is a need to advance resilience and sustainability through climate-smart solutions to avoid future occurrences. Our University is playing a critical role in resilience and sustainability through climate-smart solutions as follows:
In collaboration with Nanjing Agricultural University, we are implementing a project on Appropriate Agricultural technology on the Vegetable Grafting and Smart LED Grow Lights in Kenya for the management of bacterial wilt in tomato in Nakuru County. This project is fundend by IFAD and implemented by Egerton University in Nakuru County. The project will apply advanced horticultural technologies like tomato grafting and smart LED grow lights, powered by solar energy, to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides to control pests and diseases, thus enhancing tomato resilience and productivity in Nakuru County. The project titled “Empowering Rural Youth with Innovative Horticultural Solutions in Tomato Value Chain Supported by SSTC” demonstrates effective adaptation strategies for the Nakuru County, promoting sustainable and lowcarbon farming, through Vegetable grafting and smart LED grow lights.
This intervention through IFAD has provided a special opportunity for the farmers to learn and apply applicable horticultural solutions that are widely used in China, with the aim of: (i) increasing productivity through addressing incidents of pests and diseases in crops, the diffusion of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP); and (ii) transforming the livelihoods of rural youth and women through initiating various value-added measures and linking farmers with markets. The results of this SSTC initiative are aligned with the Government's Agriculture Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (ASTGS 2019-2029).
Egerton University has a long tradition of agricultural training and research in the region since its inception: Agro-Science Park and Innovation Centre at Egerton University has recorded notable achievements in the release and commercialization of high yielding crop varieties of beans (Chelalang, Tasha and Ciankui), groundnuts (Nyota and Mwangaza), Sorghum (EUS1), finger millets (Snapping green), chickpeas (Saina ka1) and pigeon peas (Egerton Mbazi M1, Mbaazi M4 and Mbaazi M3) for farmers in Kenya through KEPHIS and seed industry. These varieties which are recommended for farmers in low and medium areas of Kenya have enhanced crop resilience and productivity in Nakuru County by increasing production, and yields and thereby reducing rural poverty by advancing Resilience and Sustainability through Climate-Smart Solutions (high yields, high-quality early maturity and to some extent they have shown tolerance to common diseases.
Finally this event will showcase solutions of Facility-funded projects, promote knowledge exchange on climate resilience, and bring a diverse global audience, including government institutions, UN agencies, private sectors, and think tanks to exchange views on effective ways to leverage available and efficient solutions from the Global South to increase climate resilience and sustainability. Furthermore, today’s event will also provide learning and networking opportunities for agricultural experts, prospective SSTC partners of the Facility, and IFAD staff interested in climate adaptation through SSTC. In addition, the event will spread information about the Facility and attract applicants and implementing partners from China and other Southern countries.
