th Graduation Edition Agritech News · 2016. 7. 1. · Agritech News A Publication from the Office of the Vice Chancellor Issue No. 65 April – June 2016 Volume 54 A Commonwealth

Agritech NewsA Publication from the Office of the Vice Chancellor

Issue No. 65 April – June 2016 Volume 54

A Commonwealth Universities Award Winning Magazine

27th Graduation Edition

JKUAT on the Brink of Digital Literacy

EBAFOSA Kenya Chapter UnveiledJKUAT to Host TICAD Side EventsCoffee Spents Enhance Mushroom Farming

E.A. University Games to be Held at JKUAT

Inside:

Sports:

Digital Revolution should not Kill Pupils’ Handwriting Skills in Schools

It’s thumbs up for JKUAT in partnership with Positivo BGH for setting up an assem-

bly plant whose output is already be-ing felt in public primary schools in 21 counties in Kenya after the suc-cessful execution of the programme at the proof of concept (POC) stage.

When the University offered her-self to bid for phase one of the tender to supply, install and commission the digital learning devices to selected schools in fulfilling Jubilee govern-ment’s manifesto’s promise, some critics had their reservations. This was understandable because, only multinationals, or so they thought, could deliver.

But to the University Manage-ment, the time had come. It was an opportunity to prove to the world that the premier Institution had what it took to deliver the digital literacy programme. It was neither going to be a trial nor a rehearsal. The Uni-versity’s past experience and track record having introduced into the Kenyan market the first ever assem-bled desktop computers (E-MADO) ten years ago and later, the now pop-ular Taifa laptop Brand was raring to go.

What many did not realize was that the task had become lighter for JKUAT for various reasons: Firstly, JKUAT still retained some of the experts who worked on the earlier assembled desktop computers; sec-ondly and most importantly; the in-stitution continued to work on the challenges experienced in the past for improvement, a reason that gave birth to the installation of its own as-

sembly plant at the Juja Main Cam-pus. This time, assembling laptops, tablets and soon to be introduced–mobile phones. In fact, the Univer-sity is further exploring other areas of technologies that can be produced at the plant.

While all these are positive devel-opments that we all must embrace, Agritech News is worried about what would happen to the beautiful, artis-tic handwriting skills that children exhibited in schools as they grew up. Are keyboards going to compromise these skills and replace them with the new technology?

Analysts tell us that one’s hand-writing skills speak volumes about an individual. This explains why, irrespective of the inevitable digi-tal transformation we are going through, teachers should ensure that the art of handwriting taught at the lowest levels of schooling are not re-placed by the tablets.

It should be remembered that even newspapers, despite the inva-sion of social media, will continue to be printed. Likewise, letters will still be written and posted the advent of social media notwithstanding. In a nutshell, many things will be in-troduced, but what is natural will re-main standing.

Meanwhile, Agritech News con-gratulates the 4,088 candidates, out of whom, 75 are PhD graduands, who are graduating during this year’s 27th Graduation Ceremony. We salute all the graduands for their deserved achievements. We urge them to remain focused and be good ambassadors of their alma mater.

Inside this Issue

Upcoming Events1. Open Day:

September 9, 2016 (JKUAT Main Campus).2. The Central Kenya ASK National Show:

September 14 – 17, 2016 (Nyeri Kabiruini Show Ground).

3. Nairobi International Trade Fair: September 26 – October 2, 2016 (Jamhuri Park).

4. Tech Expo: November 3 – 4, 2016 (JKUAT Main Campus).

5. The Scientific Conference: November 10 – 11, 2016 (JKUAT Main Campus).

6. The East African Universities Games: December 16 – 21, 2016 (JKUAT).

7. CUE Exhibition: March, 2017

InnovationsPage 25

Taekwondo Partnership

Page 16

Views expressed in this publication are those of individual contributors and do not in any way represent those of the publishers.The publisher will therefore not be held responsi-ble for any incorrect or otherwise of the infor-mation herein. The Editor however welcomes contributions from the readers on subjects of interest.

Teacher Lucy Nyaga guides her Class One pupils during their maiden Digischool class session at Kiambu Township Primary School, Kiambu County, moments after Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i launched the Digischool programme at the institution on May 4, 2016.

Editorial TeamHindzano Ngonyo - Editor

Patrick Amunavi - Associate EditorOgeke Araka

Cavince AdhereStephen Wakhu

Agritech News is a Quarterly Publication Published by

the Vice Chancellor’s Office, Department of Corporate Communications

All correspondence should be sent to:The Editor,

Agritech News Magazine,Department of Corporate Communications,

P.O. Box 62000 – 00200, Nairobi,Tel: +254-67-5870000/1/2/3/4/5. Email: [email protected]

Web: www.jkuat.ac.ke

© Agritech News, 2016Layout, Design & Printing by:

Elston EnterprisesEmail: [email protected]

Cover Picture

Discover JKUAT@DiscoverJKUAT

Hindzano Ngonyo

Editorial

While all these are positive developments that we all must embrace, Agritech News is worried about what would hap-pen to the beautiful, ar-tistic handwriting skills that children exhibited in schools as they grew up. Are keyboards going to compromise these skills and replace them with the new technology?

Analysts tell us that one’s handwriting skills speak volumes about an individual. This explains why, irrespective of the inevitable digital trans-formation we are going through, teachers should ensure that the art of handwriting taught at the lowest levels of schooling are not replaced by the tablets.

Cricket FarmingPage 28

Agritech NewsA Publication from the Office of the Vice Chancellor Issue No. 65April – June 2016

Volume 54

A Commonwealth Universities Award Winning Magazine

27th Graduation Edition

JKUAT on the Brink of Digital LiteracyEBAFOSA Kenya Chapter UnveiledJKUAT to Host TICAD Side EventsCoffee Spents Enhance Mushroom Farming

E.A. University Games to be Held at JKUAT

Inside:

Sports:

Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research & Innovation | 3

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and Positivo BGH

Consortium concluded the delivery and installation of pupils’ tablets and teacher learning devices (lap-tops) under the Digital Literacy Pro-gramme (DLP), at the piloting stage which kicked off simultaneously in various schools across the country on April, 5.

The DLP is Jubilee Administra-tion’s flagship project being imple-mented by several government agen-cies led by the ICT and Education Ministries, aimed at integrating ICT in teaching and learning to enhance access and quality of education in public primary schools in Kenya.

At Kiambu Township Primary School in Kiambu County, the digi-tal literacy programme came to frui-tion, Tuesday, May 4, following the delivery and installation of 212 tab-lets, 2 teachers’ laptops, a projector and a content access point (CAP) for use by class one pupils and their tu-tors.

JKUAT and Positivo BGH Con-

sortium delivered the devices during a ceremony officiated by the Edu-cation Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Fred Matiang’i, accompanied by the Min-istry’s Principal Secretary Dr. Belio Kipsang, ICT Authority Ag. CEO, Robert Mugo, and several Kiambu County Education officials who in-cluded Sub-County Director of Edu-cation, Victoria Mbwika, TSC Sub-County Director, Jackson Mwelese

and Education Officer Francis Kibi-ku.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, Dr. Matiang’i lauded the government agencies that worked in collaboration to deliver on the proj-ect which he observed, was at the Proof of Concept (POC) stage.

He singled out JKUAT and Moi University, the two local institutions that won the bid, for taking the lead in spearheading local transfer of the ICT skills.

“I congratulate JKUAT for win-ning the bid, and we are keen on transfer of skills to build capacity in ICT. We will work with JKUAT to modernize the way education con-tent is delivered in Kenyan schools.”

Dr. Matiang’i, said, three schools were selected per county plus 9 spe-cial needs schools, making it 150 schools that participated in the pi-lot project which was concluded in May.

JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga, who was accom-panied by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance) Prof. Bernard Moirongo, Director of Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park, Dr. Suleiman

By Agritech News Team

JKUAT on the Cusp of Digital Literacy Transformation in Kenyan SchoolsOketch, said JKUAT and Positivo BGH Consortium was committed to the digital learning programme implementation because of its enor-mous transformative benefits in learning in the country.

Prof. Imbuga said, “The delivery and installation of the tablets at Ki-ambu Township Primary School was a clear manifestation of that commit-ment,” noting, JKUAT was the first University to launch and assemble computers way back in 2006, as well as the first University in Kenya to launch its own branded computer - Taifa.

Positivo BGH representatives present led by Joan Djedjeian (Man-ager Kenya Project), Juan Ponelli (President for Africa) and Mr. Mar-cio Rosiak expressed their readiness to work with JKUAT to implement the digital literacy programme to boost learning in the Kenya’s pri-mary schools, having implemented a similar programme in Rwanda.

Kiambu Primary School Head Teacher Mr. Paul Kagiri, while ac-knowledging receipt of the tablets and laptops, said his school will be-come a case study for the successful implementation of the digital school

and expressed optimism that the devices will bring about improved learning at the school.

Teacher Lucy Nyaga, who teach-es class one pupils could not hide her joy: “I am grateful to the govern-ment for giving me an opportunity to guide my pupils through this digital learning experience in Kenya.”

Teacher Leah who conducted the first digital learning experience session with her pupils during the launch said: “The learners are ex-

cited and this will help sustain pu-pil’s concentration during learning thus enhancing learning outcomes.” She observed that the teacher device had a class management feature that ensures all learners remain focused.

At Ilbissil Boarding Primary School, Kajiado County, pupils broke into song and dance when the school received its consignment of tablets and laptops. After extolling the virtues of patience and hope in one of the songs, the visibly excited class one pupils clutched on the new devices, each keen to be part of the digital revolution. The long wait was over.

The School’s Head Teacher, Nicholas Muriu thanked the govern-ment for honouring one of Kenya’s oldest institutions to pilot the digi-tal literacy scheme. The school with over 500 pupils, he said, was home to hundreds of girls who had been rescued from forced genital mutila-tion and early marriages.

“Our transition rate has been very slow because pupils opt for acad-emies with ICT infrastructure. With the digital literacy programme, this will now be a thing of the past,” said

L to R: Prof. Imbuga, Mr. Mugo, Dr. Matiang’i, Dr. Kipsang and Mr. Kagiri interact with Class One pupils at Kiambu Township Primary School during the

launch of Digital Literacy Programme at the school

Teachers assist pupils at Katheka Primary School, Kangundo, Machakos County, to access the digital learning content on their tablets

Learners at Ilbissil Primary School, Kajiado County, display their mastery of ICT skills after a short orientation on how to access content on their tablets

“This is how it is done...” Musa Gitau Primary School, Kiambu pupils interact with their learning devices after the launch at the school by Dr. Matiang’i on May 5, 2016 Continued on page 6

| Agritech News April – June 2016 Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research & Innovation |4 5

COVER STORYCOVER STORY

EBAFOSA Kenya Chapter Unveiled

By Stephen Wakhu

Extreme weather conditions have made the agricultural sector the most vulnerable

in the country leading to destruc-tion of agro-based infrastructure and livelihood.

As a result, key stakeholders from the government, public and private sector, academia and NGOs across the country, Thursday, May 12, 2016 launched Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security As-sembly (EBAFOSA), Kenya in a bid to achieve climate resilience.

EBAFOSA-Kenya domiciled at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agri-culture and Technology, is the fifth established Chapter in Africa after Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Mozambique chapters.

The assembly is the first inclu-sive Pan-African policy framework and implementation platform that provides ecosystem based adapta-tion which ensures food security in Africa. It seeks to combat food in-security, climate change, ecosystems degradation and poverty.

Mr. Willy Bett, Cabinet Secre-tary, Ministry of Agriculture, Live-stock and Fisheries who was rep-resented by his Principal Secretary, Dr. Andrew Tuimur acknowledged that the agricultural sector is a key economic pillar for the attainment of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and lauded the establishment of EBAFOSA-Kenya, designed to re-shape food security and climate resilience in Kenya.

Mr. Bett said the government is

committed to the course chartered by EBAFOSA and was positive that the establishment of the Kenya Chapter will contribute to the country’s ef-forts to adapt and build resilience in the agriculture sector and aid in the attainment of the Sustainable Devel-opment Goals.

“The government has created an enabling environment for the agri-cultural sector by putting in place policies and strategies that support Ecosystem based approach,” assured the Cabinet Secretary.

On her part, EBAFOSA Africa Chairperson, Dr. Alice Kaudia said the falling agricultural production in Africa is the leading contributor of stagnating economic growth across the continent. To curb this, she said, EBAFOSA was empowering farm-ers with requisite agricultural skills and facilitating market linkages to penetrate agricultural markets.

She challenged the Kenyan gov-ernment to collaborate with the Ke-nya Chapter in cascading ecosys-tem-based approaches to the county levels to enhance food security thus leading to economic growth and im-proved livelihoodsamong Kenyans

Dr. Tuimur (2nd left) presents a certificate to EBAFOSA-Kenya President Jonathan Kimunge. Looking on is Dr. Kaudia (2nd right) and Prof. Mengech

EBAFOSA Kenya secretariat pose for a commemorative group photo

Continued on page 14

About 4,000 Graduate, 75 with PhD

A total of 4, 088 candidates are set to be awarded di-plomas and conferred

with degrees during JKUAT’s 27th Graduation Ceremony on Thursday June 30, 2016. The occasion will also see the University Chancellor, Prof. Geoffrey Ole Maloiy confer 75 doctorate degrees; the highest ever recorded in a single gradua-tion. While the number of PhD male candidates have increased from 30 to 62 compared to November 2015 graduation, the number of female has remained constant at 13.

The University distance and e-

learning platform has also made significant achievement with 45 pio-neer students earning undergradu-ate degrees. JKUAT currently offers online programme in a rich variety of academic areas such as computer systems, procurement, business ad-ministration, entrepreneurship and project management.

Another positive development in the upcoming graduation regards the number of international students with 33% of the doctorate recipients drawn internationally. Nationals of Rwanda, Eritrea and Nigeria will be in the graduation square; Nigeria taking up 25 PhD slots.

JKUAT continue to attract stu-dents both locally and international-

ly. In November 2014 the University graduated 54 students drawn from 11 African countries through the Pan African University Institute for Ba-sic Sciences, Technology and Inno-vation (PAUSTI); an African Union led graduate training facility hosted at JKUAT.

The graduands’ numbers has been on the rise in the last five years. While 4190 graduated in 2010, a total of 7,699 passed out in 2015; a figure that is likely to be exceeded in the twin graduations of 2016.

By Cavince Adhere

Chancellor, Prof. Maloiy (right) assisted by Prof. Imbuga, confers a doctorate degree during the 24th

Graduation Ceremony

Schools go Digischool

Muriu.Prof. Imbuga in a speech read by

Prof. Esther Kahangi, her Deputy in charge of Research, Production and Extension services said, JKUAT had inaugurated a devices assembly plant at the Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park with a capacity to assemble 700** laptops per day.

Another school, Katheka Prima-ry in Kangundo, Machakos County also received learner and teacher devices and support infrastructure

on the same day. JKUAT Vice Chan-cellor was represented at the func-tion by the Deputy Vice Chancel-lor (Finance) Prof. Bernard Otoki Moirongo, who was accompanied by the Director of Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park, Dr. Suleiman Oketch and Positivo BGH repre-sentatives Mr. Reginaldo Veira and Marcio Rosiak.

The delivery of the devices to the over 63 schools comes after the training of 62,000 primary school teachers in readiness for the pro-gramme, where 21 teachers from

3 schools across 21 counties were trained at JKUAT in April this year.

The government has equally al-located resources to upgrade in-frastructure such as electrification, device storage security and connec-tivity in primary schools across the country.

The realization of the digital lit-eracy programme will fundamen-tally transform not just the learning process and environment; but will

From page 5



NEWSNEWS

Coffee Spents Now Enhancing Mushroom Production

Floriculturist Bags AWARD Fellowship

By Hindzano Ngonyo

By Patrick Amunavi

Coffee spents, the waste disposed from fresh pro-cessed coffee in hotels

such as Java and other upcoming outlets, have become the latest lu-crative sources that could be used to boost mushroom production. Java alone for instance, discards about 10 tons of coffee spents (waste emanat-ing from processed coffee) every month, waste that is potential for boosting mushroom yields.

Patrick Kanyi, an expert mush-room growing researcher at JKUAT’s Institute of Biotechnology Research (IBR), claims the coffee spents in Nairobi’s Java coffee bars have

given a proven 32 per cent increase in mushroom yield in farms where it has so far been experimented, as opposed to the conventional mixture of saw dust and wheat straws supple-mented with cotton seed and bran medium which only produced a 30 percent of mushroom yield.

JKUAT has been quite successful in carrying out research on differ-ent mushroom varieties, key among them, Oyster (Pleorotus Ostreatus), the medicinal Shiitake (Lentinus Edodes), Ganoderma as well as the

Naomi Chelimo, a Doctoral re-search student in the Department of Horticulture, has bagged the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowship for 2015 – 2017.

AWARD is a career development programme focusing on women sci-entists in agriculture, supported by

the Bill and Melinda Gates Founda-tion.

Ms. Chelimo beat other candi-dates across Africa, to book her place among the final 70 Fellows selected from across the continent, and one among 11 from Kenya, participat-ing in Round 7 AWARD Fellowship Programme.

A specialist in Irrigation and Crop Production, Chelimo is a Tuto-rial Fellow in plant physiology, flo-riculture and post-harvest manage-ment at JKUAT. After completing high school, Ms. Chelimo ventured into the field of agriculture where she earned B.Sc. in Ornamental Sci-ence and Landscaping and M.Sc. in Horticulture both from JKUAT.

Currently, Chelimo is a Ph.D student at the University of Han-nover, Germany, where she is pursu-ing studies in Water Management in Vegetables under the Horticultural Innovations and Learning for Im-proved Nutrition and Livelihood in East Africa (HORTINLEA) scholar-ship programme.

Since its inception in 2008, over 90 Kenyans have benefitted from the AWARD programme. JKUAT

scholars such as Prof. Wariara Kari-uki, Prof. Christine A. Onyango, Dr. Lucy Kananu and Ms. Annah Inde-che, are previous beneficiaries of the AWARD programme.

Benefits of the programme in-clude: Training on leadership skills; science and proposal writing skills for capacity development; fully funded oral presentation of research findings in an international forum; advocacy for ripple effect through mentorship and role modelling – where the Fellows are mentored, af-ter which, they mentor junior female scientists in agriculture and conduct a role modelling event in the com-munity to create awareness on the significance of women in science-based careers.

As part of the AWARD mentor-ship programme, Chelimo, together with Daisy Ngeno and Edna Jebet both from the Faculty of Agriculture, conducted a successful inspirational role modelling event at St. Elizabeth Girls Chepkunyuk in Nandi Hills in May this year, where they under-scored the importance of science and education to over 500 high school girls.

They shared life skills as well as study tips the girls could leverage on to overcome social, economic and academic obstacles in their ca-reer aspirations. Chelimo also made school fees donations amounting to Ksh. 20,000 to support the education of five girls at the School, namely; Shimuli Ruth, Mercy Jeptoo, Eunice Jerono, and Faith Jepkoech.

Ms. Chelimo, a recipient of two Vice Chancellor’s Awards at JKUAT for being the Best Student overall in her second and third year of study, is a member of two professional as-sociations: International Society for Horticultural Sciences (ISHS) and Horticultural Association of Kenya (HAK). She has published two sci-entific papers in Acta Horticulturae, a peer reviewed journal.

Button mushroom. Unlike in the earlier instance

where heat pasteurization was nec-essary in enhancing growth, the use of coffee spents gives a farmer an easy path considering that the coffee spents go through a rigorous boiling process during the preparation of coffee.

Mr. Kanyi encourages farmers to plant more m u s h r o o m s due to the i n c r e a s i n g demand as well as lucra-tive incomes. Currently, he says, Shiitake which is high-ly medicinal sells for Ksh. 2000/- per kilo to green grocers while Oyster goes

for Kshs 500/- for the same weight.Another medicinal type of mush-

room that grows naturally in most counties is Ganoderma. Available in sachets in most supermarkets, this equally medicinal type of mushroom goes for between Ksh. 5,000/- to 15,000/- per kilo locally, while the imported variety costs Ksh. 52,000/-

Ganoderma and Shiitake spawn are available at JKUAT. A complete growing kit of 2kgs goes for Ksh. 200/- per kilo.

Why medicinal mushrooms have

become quite popular:

ShiitakeOriginally from Japan, consump-

tion of this variety boosts among others, the body’s immune system, and controls cancers, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol. It has be-come quite popular in Japanese and Chinese restaurants, especially now when there is an influx of these rac-es due to the massive construction work going on in the country.

GanodermaLike Shiitake, this variety also

boosts the body immune system, lowers both the blood pressure as well as cholesterol. Further, Gano-derma is quite effective in the cure of a liver condition called liver disinte-gration disease, insomnia (sleeping disorder), chronic fatigue syndrome,

controls cancer, slows ageing pro-cess, and extends one’s lifespan.

Other uses of coffee waste are organic charcoal briquettes, but this new utilization of coffee spents is a further confirmation that mushroom growing utilizes agricultural waste.

Button Mushroom

Ganoderma growing kit

Chelimo during a role modelling event at St. Elizabeth Girls Chepkunyuk, Nandi Hills

Chelimo examines flowers in the com-mercial rose grower farm in Naivasha

Oyster

Shiitake


NEWSNEWS

IBM Award to Spur Open Data Research

Digital Learning Programme

By Cavince Adhere

The Director, ICT Centre of Excellence and Open Data (iCEOD), Professor

Joseph Muliaro Wafula, has won the IBM’s Shared University Research Award (SUR) to foster open data research and cloud computing at JKUAT.

The award will see IBM provide technical support and knowledge transfer on analytics capabilities.

Through the project, iCEOD will create a portal in Africa that will spur innovation based on research data from the continent and provide links to other global resources build on open data principles.

Commenting on the award, Prof. Wafula said the move is a great boost to JKUAT’s efforts to harness open

data research and best practices for national benefit.

“The cloud will avail modern data analytics softwares and tools for our researchers to gain deeper insight about their undertakings and

work collaboratively in order to cre-ate new knowledge,” he offered.

According to IBM, SUR is de-signed to promote research in areas of mutual interest to IBM and uni-versities across the world.

The award is designed to stimu-late collaborative research; increase access to IBM technologies while providing opportunities within IBM for undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. students.

Based on a 2013 MoU between IBM and JKUAT, the two institu-tions have been working closely on ICT training and research.

The partnership has seen the Uni-versity review its ICT curriculum with the input from the multination-al.

IBM has also provided a mod-ern ICT laboratory for research by JKUAT students and staff.

Prof. Muliaro (left) engages IBM trainers on DB2 Professional

Certification programme for Computer Science and IT students at JKUAT in

2014

also have considerable impact in fostering rural economies through power connection. Positivo BGH representatives Mr. Reginaldo Veira

and Marcio Rosiak expressed their readiness to work with JKUAT to implement the programme to boost learning outcomes in the country’s primary schools, having implement-

ed a similar programme in Rwanda. “The sight of happy pupils excit-

ed to experience the digital products is a unique experience in their lives which they will cherish for a long-time to come,” said Mr. Rosiak.

Speaking moments after receiv-ing the tablets and laptops, Katheka ABC Primary School Head Teacher Mr. Francis Mutoo said, he could not find the perfect words to express the excitement and joy brought about by the learning tablets, and the antici-pated impact the devices will create in the improvement of learning and instruction outcomes at the school.

“I sincerely thank the Govern-ment of Kenya for choosing our school to pioneer in this pilot digital learning programme in the country,” said the elated school head.

“This will greatly help our pupils

From page 6


School teachers during the launch of the ICT Integration in learning training

JKUAT Bags Energy Management Award

China to Boost Dry Land Research

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has been declared the top

public institution in energy man-agement in Kenya by the Centre for Energy Efficiency and Conservation (CEEC) – an arm of the Kenya As-sociation of Manufacturers (KMA). The April 2016 Energy Management Award (EMA) was in recognition of the University’s effort to deploy innovative methods to reduce con-sumption and cut costs.

JKUAT was evaluated on a num-ber of fronts including availability of energy policy, planning and imple-mentation of various energy aspects as well as adoption of energy saving and conservation innovations.

The University’s Energy Manag-er, Anthony Gitahi attributed the win to JKUAT’s strategy to foster an en-ergy conscious community through capacity and institution building; and policy orientation.

‘We have undertaken sensitiza-tion sessions to orient both staff and students to the new paradigm,’ said Gitahi. “JKUAT has also developed

Kenya’s dry land agricul-tural sector is set to ben-efit from a joint research

initiative aimed at advancing liveli-hoods through increased agricultural productivity. The project, jointly pioneered by researchers from JKUAT’s Faculty of Agriculture and China-based Lanzhou University, employ the ‘micro-field rain water harvesting’ technology, designed as a double ridge and furrow system

an evaluation matrix to monitor con-sumption of various energy aspects like electricity, diesel, firewood and Liquid Petroleum Gas.’

Besides an energy policy, the University has also instituted an ad-visory board to facilitate and guide implementation of various energy management programmes.

Through the Institute for Ener-gy and Environmental Technology (IEET), JKUAT is also leveraging on renewable energy to further cut down reliance on conventional pow-er.

IEET Director, Prof. Robert Kinyua said the Institute was partly using biogas generated from re-search activities. He added that JKUAT, in collaboration with Looop Inc, had finished installation of solar panels that will supply three kilo-watts to power research laboratories at the University.

JKUAT was in 2014 awarded ISO 14001:2004 certification on En-vironmental Management Systems (EMS); becoming the first institution in East Africa to bag the award.

The milestone was result of the University’s best practices in re-source consumption, waste manage-

ment and environmental enhance-ment.

EMA is a collaborative venture of KMA, Global Environmental Facility and the Government of Ke-nya. Founded in 2004, the initiative brings together energy sector stake-holders to celebrate best practices in energy management.

The award targets all industrial, commercial and institutional enter-prises.

By Cavince Adhere

By Ogeke Araka

Mr. Gitahi displays the Energy Management Award trophy

Prof. Youcai Xiong, Prof. Wang Yuhua, Prof. Prof. Li Fengmin and Prof. Pan Baotian of LZU and Dr. David Mburu from JKUAT, Dr. Denis Otieno and Mr. Cosmas Kombat (PhD scholar) from Bayreuth University, Germany, Mr. Wesly Kiprotich (scholar at LZU)Continued on page 26


NEWSNEWS

Gender Centre Releases Survey

By Olive Nelima

A sample survey carried out on administrative staff/clerks in the Academic

Department at JKUAT Main Cam-pus in March 2016 by the Director-ate of Gender and Mentoring Centre revealed that 50% of staff in and Ac-ademic Division do not understand what Sexual Harassment is.

The findings of the survey indi-cated that more information should be given to these members of staff to increase their knowledge on sex-ual harassment in order to identify it

easily and nip it in the bud.Sexual harassment is the unsolic-

ited interest in a sexual relationship from the opposite sex. It manifests itself through touching private parts, prolonged handshakes, suggestive talk, winking and sending porno-graphic material and dirty messages.

During the survey, 80% of the respondents acknowledged that they had not been sexually harassed at the work place, but those that had, were female and they described the expe-rience as emotionally draining and disturbing.

The study also showed that wom-en are prone to sexual violence due to the cultural setup whereby, it is assumed that women are supposed to be passive and the men should be aggressive. Others felt that women

Response from Administrative Staff/Clerks in JKUAT, Main Campus

Academic Affairs Division

Director, JKUAT Gender and Mentoring Centre, Dr. Robert Kinyua (standing), makes a presentation during Gender sensitization meeting held in March

at the Academic Affairs BoardroomJKUAT Staff Fitness Welfare Association members join their Patron, Prof. Victoria

Ngumi (centre, front row) in celebrating the Association’s 10 years of existence

who dressed provocatively, contrib-uted a lot to their being physically attacked.

According to the findings, only 10% of the respondents felt that women are violent towards men and this is usually due to stress or emotional problems.There were no known statistics regarding men who have been sexually assaulted at their places of work, but the data showed that women were the most vulner-able. It was seen that women should actually take control of their sexual-ity and avoid being harassed at their places of work by having principles in place such as faithfulness to their partners or practicing abstinence for those who are unmarried. Women should also stop dressing provoca-tively and respect themselves as well as the opposite sex.

The data also showed that sexual offenders can be put off if one is as-sertive and knows their rights as women. Any sexual advances can be stopped before it is too late by no-ticing any suggestive behaviour and talk in good time.

Sexual harassment cases can be reported to the Directorate of Gen-der and Mentoring Centre. Others pointed at the Security office, Hu-man Resource Management and the Ombudsman as reporting points for

any occurrence.Additional suggestions included

informing a close friend as a way of watching out for each other and direct warning of the culprit of dire consequences is also effective. It is also good to equip oneself with self-defense techniques in case of a phys-ical attack such as carry some spray in the bag to spray at the attacker, carry a heavy object in the bag to hit off the attacker or basic Tae Kwando or Karate skills could also suffice.

Men also have a role to play in preventing sexual harassment. One of the issues that need to be ad-dressed was the treatment and re-spect for women as equal partners in the work place. Most people felt that more men should speak out to the authorities either when they are ha-rassed or when they do witness any harassment and the necessary action taken against the perpetrator.

Men should also go for aware-ness training so that they are aware of Gender issues and Sexual Harass-ment issues. Men should also avoid the vice by being self-disciplined and role models to other men.

In terms of discrimination at the workplace, only 20% felt that they were being discriminated against


Dr. Churchill Saoke, a wind energy scholar in the Department of

Physics at Jomo Kenyatta Univer-sity of Agriculture and Technology and a Mandela Washington Fellow (MWF) has clinched the Mandela Washington East Africa Regional Pitching Competition Prize in the just concluded MWF Eastern Africa regional conference in Nairobi.

The Pitch Competition featured five finalists drawn from DRC, Ke-nya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, whose projects were adjudged as the most viable and outstanding after beat-ing other entries at the pre-selec-tion stage that attracted a host of Mandela Washington Fellows from Eastern Africa.

Dr. Saoke’s winning project enti-tled: A Nomad’s Wish, stirred the au-dience and judges at the conference with his inspirational journey aimed at meeting the energy needs of vul-nerable people across the globe.

A Nomad’s Wish is a portable power solution for nomadic commu-nities across Africa, which, accord-ing to Dr. Saoke, “Seeks to empower

rural women in the nomadic com-munities through social enterprise to obtain basic energy needs for light-ing and phone charging.”

Saoke, 30, said he was optimistic, the power solution would positively impact on livelihood transformation, reduce the use of kerosene or wood, enhance communication access in homes could enhance civic participa-tion in the temporary homes, pupils would be able to read at night using clean energy, as well as employment creation for the youth through local fabrication. The project could also inspire the contribution of nomadic communities in the green revolution process and climate change mitiga-tion initiatives.

While pitching for A Nomad’s Wish, Dr. Saoke said, “The greatest thing in life is to find someone to be successful for: I want to be success-ful for the young little boy and girl who longs for a clean source of light to read at night and pass his/her ex-aminations in order to have brighter future like any other child around the world.” He rallied the support of development partners to join him in availing clean power to the vulner-able populations.

The renewable energy scholar al-luded to the fact that leadership in the 21st century is a complex matrix.

Nonetheless, he exuded confidence that the leadership of his time must be like no other. “It must be a leader-ship that will increase opportunities for people to become what they have ever dreamt of.”

The East African Regional Man-dela Washington Fellow Conference is part of the US President Barack Obama’s flagship project for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) dedicated to nurturing future leaders in Africa.

The Conference opened in Nai-robi, Safari Park, June 14 – 17, and brought together the MWF from the East African region as well as speak-ers from private sector, regional bodies and government agencies. Those present included the US Am-bassador to Kenya, Robert F. Godec; Presiding Officer for AU Economic, Social, and Cultural Council, Dr. Joseph Chilengi; Project Director, Mandela Washington Fellowship, Jill Grana, among others.

Some of the benefits that come with Saoke’s win include: free travel outside the country, execu-tive coaching, international linkages such as the Akon Sol ar Power Ini-tiative dedicated to lighting millions of households in Africa using solar energy.

By Patrick Amunavi

Saoke displays the Pitch Competition Certificate

Scholar Scoops Mandela Washington Pitch Prize


NEWSNEWS

Alumni Business Centre Launched

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Alumni Association (JKUA-

TAA) launched the Business Incuba-tion Centre for her members on the 6th February 2016 in a ceremony that was graced by the Chairman of Council Prof. Paul Kanyari, Vice Chancellor Prof. Mabel Imbuga, Deputy Vice Chancellors, Directors and Alumni members.

Located on the 3rd floor of Wood-lands office park along Woodlands road in Nairobi’s Kilimani area, the centre has and still provides a strate-gic location for doing business. The facility currently hosts 15 businesses of JKUAT graduates, the businesses range from IT consultancies, engi-neering, architectural companies and Non-governmental organizations.

As one of the business owners hosted at the center noted, “The position of this facility is ideal and

because of that, it has enabled us to make big business deals which have made my company to provide internships opportunities for current students.”

Chairman of Council and Vice Chancellor commended the Alumni officials for their dedication and ser-vice; noting that the professionalism displayed by the Association was a pride to the University.

The JKUAT Alumni Association officials Arch. Christopher Naicca and Churchill Saoke recalled the journey to the launch of the facility which they described as long.

However, with the assistance of the university management, the of-ficials observed, they managed to achieve on their project objectives, and expressed hope that the ben-eficiaries would benefit more as the Centre seeks to forge partnerships with financial institutions as well as insurance companies to help scale up their businesses.

This Centre’s inception was in-

spired by the desire to shift the at-tention of graduates to job creation using the skills acquired in JKUAT so as to provide an opportunity for young people to build their busi-nesses from scratch through profes-sional networking, business hosting through subsidized rental rate and common office administration.

The facility’s rental rates have two options: open plan which costs Kshs. 8000 per month and closed of-fices which cost Kshs. 20,000. The space has a well-furnished board-room equipped with modern presen-tation equipment, common reception areas, common postal address, fast internet, common kitchen with and break away area for networking and free interaction.

Council Chairman Prof. Kanyari (front row, 5th from left), Vice Chancellor Prof. Imbuga and other top university managers join Alumni Association officials after the launch of the Alumni Business Centre in Kilimani, Nairobi

By Agritech News Reporter

...the position of this facility is ideal... it has enabled us to make big business deals...

JKUAT to Host TICAD Side Events

EBAFOSA Unveiled

By Cavince Adhere

The 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD)

will be staged for the first time in Af-rica on 27th -28th August 2016. The event to be held in Nairobi, Kenya seeks to promote high-level policy dialogue among African countries and international organizations, part-ner countries, private companies and civil society organizations towards sustainable development, peace and security in Africa.

A number of side events related to the conference are set to be held at Jomo Kenyatta University of Ag-riculture and Technology in July and August 2016.

Japan has implemented a series of TICAD since 1993 and all meet-ings were held in Japan every five years; TICAD I in 1993 at Tokyo, TICAD II in 1998 at Tokyo, TICAD III in 2003 at Tokyo, TICAD IV in 2008 at Yokohama, and TICAD V in 2013 at Yokohama.

Through TICAD meetings, Ja-pan has been emphasizing the im-portance of Africa’s ownership and the partnership between Africa and the international community for its sustainability. The conference will be staged held in Nairobi, Kenya. This will be the first time TICAD is

being hosted outside Japan since its inception in 1993. From 2016, how-ever, the TICAD will be held every three years and hosted alternately in Africa and Japan.

JKUAT was founded and imple-mented through a technical bilateral cooperation between the Govern-ment of Japan and the Government of Kenya.

The University is host to the Pan African University Institute for Ba-sic Sciences, Technology and Inno-vation (PAUSTI) a graduate training

facility fronted by the African Union with support from Japan.

JKUAT has emerged as a strong example of what targeted interna-tional cooperation can achieve.

By hosting PAUSTI, the Univer-sity has positioned itself to contrib-ute to Africa’s development and in-tegration through higher education; a feat that is in line with aspirations of TICAD.

TICAD V in 2013 at Yokohama, Japan

in the rural areas. Prof. Haroun Mengech, Princi-

pal, College of Health Sciences who represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga, reiterated the importance of academia, industry and government partnership espe-cially in ecosystem based-approach-es towards development initiatives in the Kenya.

“Findings of research and in-novations from the researchers and students at JKUAT and other uni-versities will need partnerships to upscale and transfer to the users for wealth creation, improvement of

livelihoods and for economic de-velopment of our nation,” said Prof. Imbuga

She acknowledged that food se-curity and ecosystems management for sustainability in the current trend of climate change posed a challenge, adding that there was need for con-certed efforts to develop innovations to assist communities in adaptation and climate change resilience.

Prof Imbuga assured the audi-ence that JKUAT as the host institu-tion for the secretariat would play her role as outlined in the EBAFO-SA Constitution.

From page 7

The 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) will be staged for the first time in Africa on 27th -28th August 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.


NEWSNEWS

NEWS

City Flooding Linked to Poor Planning

Experts have linked the spate of flooding and crumbling buildings in

Nairobi City to inadequate planning for storm water management in the wake of increased private sector de-velopment activities.

The exponential urbanization has not been matched by infrastructure development especially in the water and sewerage system.

World Agroforestry Centre Water Management Programme Coordina-tor, MaimboMalesu, said extensive construction of buildings and paved areas in Nairobi had outstripped capacity of existing drainage ways leading to flooding commonplace.

Malesu was speaking, Mon-day, May 6, 2016 at JKUAT during a workshop to chart a roadmap for water research, planning and de-velopment in Kenya under the Wa-ter Research and Resource Centre (WARREC); a vison 2030 flagship project.

Prof. Joy Obando of Kenyatta University said it was unfortunate that the country, which is water deficit was yet to come up with in-novations and systems for water harvesting.

‘It is unfortunate that at 300 cu-bic meters per person per year, we are unable to tap the raging waters during the time of plenty for use dur-ing time of scarcity,’ posed Obando.

WARREC Director, Prof. Bancy Mati said the Centre had come up with a Strategic Plan to aid the coun-try infuse science and technology in the water sector.

Key themes covered by the plan include infrastructure development, capacity building, research and inno-vation, and enhanced collaboration.

The Director added that up to 35% of Nairobi residents do not have access to clean and safe water,

yet none-revenue water losses stood at 40%.

With right infrastructure how-ever, she said, the County could har-

vest 596,485 cubic metres of water which could go a long way in allevi-ating the existing water stress.

By Cavince Adhere

A participant makes a contribution during the workshop

and contribute in improving learning outcomes and instructional delivery in class one. You can see it on the faces of my pupils, teachers, parents and the school sponsors,” Mr. Mu-too, further observed.

Class one Teacher, Rhoda Mun-yao at Katheka Primary, had these to say: “I am grateful to God. Although am soon retiring, God has favoured me with a lifetime opportunity to guide my pioneer class one pupils through the digital learning experi-ence. When I retire next year, I will do so gladly, knowing what this pro-gramme means not only to me and my pupils, but also to the whole country.”

Her sentiments were echoed by the school sponsors – the African Brotherhood Church representative Pastor Francis Musau – who said, the community was thankful to the Gov-ernment for selecting their school to

participate in the pilot programme. “God has favoured us among so

many schools and we thank the Gov-ernment. We thank JKUAT and her Positivo BGH partner for coming to install the tablets and teaching our pupils how to use them,” the Pastor observed.

The conclusion of the Proof of Concept phase, now paves the way for the nationwide rollout of the digital learning devices to all the re-maining public primary schools in 47 counties with JKUAT and Posi-tivo BGH expected to deliver and install the learning gadgets in 21 counties.

These are: Baringo, Embu, Keri-cho, Kirinyaga, Laikipia, Meru, Muranga, Nakuru, Nyandarua, and Nyeri.

Other counties are: Tharaka Nithi, Kiambu, Nairobi, Garissa, Isiolo, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Wajir, Machakos and Kajiado. Moi University will cover 26 counties.

Schools Go DigitalFrom page 10


Kukkiwon Display Taekwondo Moves

A team from Kukkiwon, theWorld Taekwondo Headquarters;the ulti-

mate authority of Taekwondo global-ly, docked at JKUAT, June 10, 2016 in a bid to promote the Taekwondo sport to the youth of the country.

The Kukkiwon’s superb dem-onstration before staff and students comes after the Government of Ke-nya, through the Ministry of Edu-cation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kukkiwon to strengthen and develop cooperation between Kenya and South Korea in the field of Taekwondo technology and education.

Part of the agreement will see the construction of the Martial Arts Tae-kwondo Academy at JKUAT which will host M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Tae-kwondo.

Kukkiwon will avail Masters lev-el teachers who will offer technical and educational support to standard-

ize and promote Taekwondo in the 47 Counties in Kenya.

Speaking during the demonstra-tion, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Kenya H.E. Mr. Young Dae Kwon, lauded the partnership between Kukkiwon and JKUAT say-ing it will enhance bilateral relation-ship between Kenya and South Ko-rea through cultural and academic exchange.

“This partnership will be a great opportunity to share our cultures and I want to thank the management of

the University for introducing Tae-kwondo in JKUAT,” said the Am-bassador.

On her part, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga, thanked the Republic of Korea Government for their continued support acknowl-edging the existing collaboration JKUAT has with Korea Maritime Institute in Marine Engineering and Yeungnam University in student and staff exchange.

She also appreciated Kukkiwon for the demonstration and hoped it will lead for more cultural ex-changes between the two countries, helping to build not only Taekwondo but new relationships and broaden understanding between Koreans and Kenyans.

“It is my hope that Taekwondo will help the youth of this country use the sports to address local con-cerns and broader social issues,” said Prof. Imbuga.

The JKUAT taekwondo team also showcased their skills and knowl-edge of the sport which was also at-tended by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Finance), Prof. Benard Moirongo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Adminis-tration), Prof. Victoria Ngumi, Prin-cipal, COETEC, Prof. Bernard Ikua, Director of Sports, Moses Ondeng and Registrar (Academic Affairs) Dr. Esther Muoria.

The Kukkiwon Team from Korea showcase their craft at Assembly Hall

Kukkiwon and JKUAT teams pose for a group photo with the Korean Ambassador and members of the University Management

By Stephen Wakhu


TRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATIONNEWS

Chandaria: Adopt New Work Ethic

It will take a change in atti-tude, willingness to innovate and adoption of new work

philosophies to turnaround Africa’s potential into a sustainably thriving economy.

This is the message that thread-ed the address by the renowned in-dustrialist, Dr. Manu Chandaria to a team of researchers, scholars and industry players who attended the 2016 International Sustainable Re-search and Innovation Conference.

Dr. Chandaria who officially opened the conference, challenged participants to begin to look at re-search and innovation anew.

Meaningful innovations, he opined, should positively transform livelihoods. He passionately dis-suaded the academy from engaging in worthless research that cannot translate into anything useful.

The industrialist decried petty competition among African coun-tries which he said was a barrier to

cross-country learning and collec-tive synergy to move the continent forward.

Dr. Chandaria said that even as the rest of the world gets fixated on Africa, it was up to Africans to do the hard work to improving global visibility and better life to the over 1 billion citizens.

The important work of nation building, he warned, should not be marred by social and sub-national identities like ethnicity.

On her part, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga informed the participants that JKUAT had over

the years invested in research and in-novation with the effort now paying off.

Prof. Imbuga who was represent-ed by Prof. Romanus Odhiambo, Deputy Vice Chancellor in Charge of Academic Affairs, mentioned the Taifa Laptop, the first locally conceived and designed computing device to retail in Kenya, as a testi-mony to the University’s innovative knack.

‘This innovative dexterity saw a

consortium of JKUAT and Positivo BGH win a highly a competitive bid to supply and install digital learning devices under the Jubilee govern-ment’s Digital Literacy Programme,’ said the Vice Chancellor in a speech read by Prof. Odhiambo.

The government’s confidence in local capacity to provide national solutions, she added, was a boost to indigenous innovation and talent.

Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Research, Production and Extension, Prof. Esther Kahangi challenged the participants to focus on emerging areas like renewable energy and rural to urban migra-tion; both holding implications for the socio-economic progress of the country.

During the two day confer-ence, a total of 51 papers covering key areas including Environmental Management, Power Systems and Transmission, Marine Applications, Renewable Energy, Mining and Mineral Processing, Manufacturing, and SMEs will be presented.

The event attracted 102 par-ticipants drawn from universities, research institutions and industry from nine countries namely: Ke-nya, Uganda, Botswana, South Af-rica, Egypt, South Korea, Japan, The Netherlands and Germany.

The opening ceremony was also attended by Principals: Prof. Ber-nard Ikua (CoETEC); Prof. Haroun Mengech (CoHES); Prof. David Mulati (CoPAS) and Prof. Jackson Kwanza (Karen Campus).

By Cavince Adhere

Dr. Manu Chandaria makes a point at the conference’s opening ceremony. He is flanked by Professors; Kahangi, Odhiambo and Ikua (to his extreme right)

Improved Diagnostics Capacity for Cassava Virus Diseases

Cassava (Manihot esculen-ta Crantz) is an important food crop in Kenya par-

ticularly in the Coast, Western and Nyanza regions. Few crop stands are found in Eastern and Rift Valley re-gions. A major attribute of cassava is its ability to grow in regions where cereals and other crops fail due to drought and low nutrients supply. The crop’s importance in subsistence

agriculture is however compromised by virus diseases.

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is considered the most important due to its spread in cassava growing re-gions whereas cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) has gained promi-nence due to its continued spread. Notable yield losses due CMD and CBSD of 70% and 100%, respec-

tively have been reported. The virus-es are both spread by use of infected cuttings or transmitted by white flies (Bemisia tabaci).

Cassava plants infected with CMD express a range of symptoms which depend on the virus species and/or strain, prevailing environ-mental conditions, and the sensitiv-ity of the cassava host. Symptoms majorly include mosaic and leaf chlorosis. On the other hand, cas-sava brown streak disease induces brown necrotic streaks that occur on the green portions of stems of sensi-tive varieties. The most common and distinctive symptoms are however, chlorotic mottles on the leaves and development of dry, brown, corky necrotic lesions on the root.

Mitigating the impact of cassava virus diseases

Recently, JKUAT through the Department of Horticulture obtained a grant to fund a project aimed at mitigating the effects of cassava vi-rus diseases titled: “Diagnostics for Sustainable Cassava Productivity in Africa”. The project being imple-mented in seven countries in eastern and southern Africa namely Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Mozam-bique, Rwanda and Zambia focuses

on disease surveillance, virus char-acterization and their vectors includ-ing the development of resistant cas-sava varieties. Project members also interact with farmers at farm level, and train farmers on how to identify symptoms and manage the diseases. This will be achieved by setting up demonstration fields in Coast, West-ern, Nyanza and Eastern regions.

To improve the diagnostic infra-structure at JKUAT, the project has established a modern molecular bi-ology laboratory and green house to facilitate virus testing, virus char-acterization and training within the university. The laboratory/green-house complex will be launched in July 2016. The laboratory is expect-ed to enhance the country’s capacity to diagnose and characterize viruses of cassava and other crop species thereby increasing food production nationally as well as regionally.

The laboratory is equipped to handle molecular virology experi-ments as well as serology. This will be an invaluable asset for training postgraduate students in plant dis-ease diagnostics.

-Prof. E. M. Ateka is the leader of this Project. He can be contacted via Email: [email protected]

By Elijah M. Ateka

Severe root browning

Severe CMD symptoms

Cassava farmers after getting disease-free planting materials

...even as the rest of the world gets fixated on Africa, it was up to Africans to do the hard work to improving global visibility...


TRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATIONTRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATION

Researchers Call for Modern Agriculture and Rural Access in Africa

Africa urgently needs to invest in modern agri-cultural practices for in-

creased food productivity in order to feed its growing population. The continent should equally modernize its transport infrastructure including rural access, to facilitate movement of food from source areas. This was reiterated by two Japanese research-ers during a seminar at Jomo Ke-nyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Thursday, March 24, 2016.

Hiroshi Koaze, a Professor of Agriculture atObihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medi-cine, Japan, said the continent needs to move in tandem with the prevail-ing challenges like climate change. New methods to produce, store and distribute food like roots and tubers which have shown greater resilience and adaptability could benefit the continent.

Prof. Koaze challenged African academics and researchers to engage in multidisciplinary research aimed at addressing various agricultural value chains. He added that the con-tinent will only benefit from the pop-ulation dividend if people can access adequate and quality food.

Addressing the seminar, Prof. Makoto Kimura from Kyoto Uni-versity, Japan, spoke on the need to enhance rural access by modernizing feeder roads. His interest in foster-ing rural accessibility springs from 1980s when as a JICA volunteer to JKUAT, he saw first-hand how farm-ers would struggle to take their pro-duce to the market.

He gave an example of a technol-ogy he engineered earlier at JKUAT in which gunny bags are filled with soil, firmed up and used as subbase

as an alternative that could be de-ployed to make African rural roads passable. The technology, he added had been piloted in many parts of the world including Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia with sustainable outcome.

Prof. Kimura said apart from im-proving usability of the rural roads, the low cost technology could be harnessed to provide income gener-ating activities for the African youth.

The two professors addressed staff and students of both JKUAT and Pan African University of Basic Sciences, Technology and Innova-tion from various academic and re-search disciplines.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Im-buga thanked the two researchers for identifying what she characterized as solutions of consequence that could be harnessed to spur socio-economic growth and development.

The seminar was organized under the auspices of the AFRICA-ai-JA-PAN Project which seeks to facilitate African innovation in which local knowledge and wisdom is harnessed to provide sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the continent.

By Cavince Adhere

Prof. Imbuga (left) with Prof. Koaze (centre) and Prof. Kimura at the end of the Seminar

Students Develop Alternative Digital Power Distribution System

Three Jomo Kenyatta Uni-versity of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) en-

gineering students have developed a digital power distribution system.

Paul Tamaro, Edwin Wanjohi (both B.Sc. in Electrical and Elec-tronics Engineering students), and Dominic Mativo (B.Sc. in Electron-ics and Computer Engineering) all from the College of Engineering and Technology, have developed an au-tomated system for power manage-ment at the distribution level.

According to Tamaro, who came up with the innovation idea, the smart electricity distribution system provides an alternative way of ac-cessing power during power failures thus reducing on unnecessary power outages.

“It also helps in load distribution among the three phases of the power line preventing overloading in any of the phases, consequently reducing on distribution losses,” adds Tamaro who won the JKUAT Vice Chancel-lor’s Academic Awards as the Best Student in Electrical & Electronics Engineering during the 2014/2014 academic year.

The students have also come up with a remote controlled module for power management. In their solu-tion, “using a computer application,” Mativo explains, “a power utility company such as the Kenya Power Limited (KPL) has the entire distri-bution network mapped, providing real time monitoring of each of the power consumers.”

This, Mativo adds, can enable an intelligent power rationing scheme whereby, for a given locality selected for load shading (power rationing), the power utility company would be able to leave critical installations

(such as hospitals, schools, security lighting, communication infrastruc-ture, etc.) operational without any interruption as the case obtains cur-rently.

The digital control solution will further help to curb illegal power connections reducing on the cost of power distribution.

Wanjohi highlights that with the same system in a homestead with solar installation, the occupants can use solar (when sufficient) as their main source of power during the day to help save on the cost of power and

still have access to the backup solar power during blackouts.

The switch between solar power and utility power supply is automat-ic and super-fast that no power inter-ruption is noted.

The students’ innovation has re-ceived several awards and recog-nition: Winner Young Innovator’s Pavilion Competition AITEC East Africa ICT Summit, held at Osh-wal Centre, Nairobi, from 24th – 25th Feb 2016. The innovation also scooped the 2nd Runners up position

at the JKUAT Tech Expo 6.0, held at JKUAT from 3rd – 4th Nov 2015.

The JKUAT Tech Expo is an an-nual event, the University’s equiva-lent of “the Oscars” which provides a platform for students to showcase their creative, innovative genius ideas, aimed at providing solutions toward the achievement of the coun-try’s development blueprint-Vision 2030.

The students have managed to patent their innovation with the Ke-nya Intellectual Property Institute (KIPI).

Tamaro hopes to pursue his Mas-ters’ degree in Control Engineering, either locally or abroad if an oppor-tunity arose, so that he could further develop the system. He is optimistic that one day he will work for the Kenya Power Limited, a company which he observes, could utilize the digital power distribution system they have developed, to help reduce operating costs and provide efficient, reliable services to KPL’s customers in the wake of increasing complaints from their customers.

By Patrick Amunavi

Wanjohi (right) and Tamaro explain how the digital power distribution system works during TechExpo 2015

Gender Survey

especially in the case of breastfeed-ing mothers who felt they are not able to breastfeed during working hours. The others felt that men are favored in terms of promotions.

It was generally felt that the Uni-versity should create an enabling environment through providing enough resources and putting poli-cies in place such as the dress code, affirmative action when employing staff.

The university should have more open plan offices and line manag-ers, who should be role models, conversant with any sexual harass-ment issues and be accountable. More resources should be set aside for gender mainstreaming activi-ties to enable frequent and effec-tive sensitization of staff through the Directorate of Gender and Mentoring Centre.

From page 13



JKUAT/PAUSTI Researchers Showcase Innovative Knack

JKUAT has since inception been implementing a variety of research activities under

the Research, Production and Exten-sion (RPE) Division. Due to the kind understanding and support of the di-vision, AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project since 2014 supported a number of innovation and research activities.

For the 2nd year of the Project ac-tivity, the Project had implemented 39 innovation and research activi-ties.

The innovation research teams reported the final result of their re-search and innovation activities during the event held at the Project Office. The beneficiaries who were drawn from JKUAT and PAUSTI had a chance to showcase insights into their projects.

The presentations totalling 39 covered wide areas including engi-neering, health, food security, bio-

technology and agriculture. A Panel of judges composed of the repre-sentative from each Sub Task Force including Prof. Tsunoda and Prof. Shiomi reviewed the projects.

Two JICA short term experts, Prof. Makoto KIMURA from Kyoto University and Prof. Hiroshi KO-AZE from Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medi-cine were also in the panel. As the presenters took to the floor to report their progress, it was clear that the funding had enabled them to trans-late theory into practice with fulfill-ing outcomes.

Dorothy Murugu, a Food Science PhD student who is investigating nutrient composition of crickets and commercial viability of the insects says the funding greatly facilitated her study.

‘I would never have gotten a head start without the funding. It enabled me to purchase some of the labora-tory supplies for the kind of analysis I required’, she said.

Due to the funding, Dorothy is

now keen to take her study to the next level, and she is optimistic that the study could lead to insect based food products innovations of com-mercial value.

Even more promising accord-ing to the budding researcher is that crickets are easy to farm, tolerant to heat hence suitable for arid areas; have short life cycle, making har-vesting possible within two months.

Another beneficiary, Muturi Njoka of the Biochemistry Depart-ment effused confidence that the funding will give a head start to his resolve to produce a new drug that can inhibit spread of malaria causing parasites.

The M.Sc. Biochemistry student is trying to respond to the devastat-ing tropical disease which was re-sponsible for 472 deaths in Kenya alone, in 2014; according to World Health Organization records.

Clement Nduati, an Engineer attached to JKUAT Engineering Workshops used the funding to in-novate an integrated chapati making machine which he believes can be deployed to save energy and time.

Prof. LosengeTuroop who chaired one of the presentation ses-sions agreed that the students and staff showed great potential in their studies. He particularly lauded the move and encouraged students to embrace multidisciplinary studies.

Prof. Tsunoda Manabu, Chief Advisor, AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project said a number of innovative ideas were presented during the two day event. He added that the adoption of local knowledge, wisdom and prac-tices in the research design and ac-tualization was an important step in consolidating African Innovation as per the aspirations of both RPE and AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project.

By Cavince Adhere

Mr. Balachew Asteray Demiss, 2nd batch PAUSTI student from Ethiopia reports his research outcome during the presentations

Rice Farmers Reap Big with Technology

For 36 years, Francis Abuya Odidi drudged in his rice fields, shedding his youth

in an enterprise whose socio-eco-nomic benefits remained elusive.

Despite the intense labour, yields were often disappointing; prices dis-mal. Indeed, like other farmers in West Kano Irrigation Scheme, Fran-cis started shopping for alternative crops.

Rice farming was not the gem it was billed to be. It simply had be-come untenable.

On the verge of abandoning Ke-

nya’s third most popular staple, how-ever, Francis heard of a new technol-ogy that could reverse his dwindling fortunes.

The System of Rice Intensifica-tion (SRI), introduced for the first time at the neighbouringAhero Irri-gation Scheme in 2011, had forayed into West Kano, raising hope for Francis and his contemporaries.

‘It was welcome news. We were

glad that a new way to grow more rice with less input and labour had finally arrived,’ Francis recalls.

In the morning of May 13, 2016 for instance, Francis joined other farmers at the West Kano Irrigation Scheme, Block C to tend to his one month old paddy.

Ordinarily, you would not find farmers in the field at that time of the year as irrigation would not be pos-sible. SRI was gaining traction.

But what exactly is SRI technol-ogy? According to Prof. Bancy Mati who pioneered SRI research in Ke-nya at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, the innovation combines a number of

agronomic practices to boost yields while cutting back on inputs and wa-ter.

‘The idea is to differently man-age water, soil, nutrients and the rice plant to achieve higher yields. This allows us to grow more rice with available water and land,’ explains Prof. Mati.

Contrary to the water intensive continuous flooding method, under

SRI, farmers can practice alternate wetting and drying; fostering air re-tention capacity of the soil.

The technology equally makes it possible to transplant 8-12 day old rice in square patterned lines instead of broadcast. This maximally ex-poses the plants to nutrients and sun-light, producing to stronger stalks and more tillers.

Managed well, paddy under SRI matures three weeks earlier with 25-50% increase in yields.

It is these attributes that continue to endear the technology to farmers like Francis across the country with over 5000 farmers currently using it.

Teresa Akinyi Ouno, another farmer from West Kano says since she embraced the technology, her life has dramatically changed.

‘As a woman, SRI has lessened the work while increased the returns. Instead of 25kgs of seeds per acre now I only use - 5Kgs. The yields have also shot to 33 bags per hectare up from 27 previously,’ enumerates Akinyi.

Prof. Mati believes that SRI can be deployed to bridge the gap be-tween consumption and production patterns of the commodity in the country.

The don says Kenya currently produces 80,000 metric tonnes of rice annually against an increasing consumption rate of 400,000 metric tonnes.

The technology was first intro-duced in Kenya at the Mwea Irriga-tion Scheme in 2009 with support of the National Irrigation Board; the African Institute for Capacity Devel-opment, World Bank and JKUAT.

By Cavince Adhere in Kisumu

Prof. Mati explains to farmers in West Kano how to make organic fertilizer (biochar) using rice husks

The technology equally makes it possible to trans-plant 8-12 day old rice in square patterned lines instead of broadcast.



Commercialization of Innovations

Speaking in 1963 in Ad-dis Ababa Ethiopia, Gha-na’s founding President,

Kwame Nkrumah painted a futuris-tic view for Africa; a continent that would eventually astound the world with its ability to feed her people, connect the cities and eliminate dis-eases. One tool to realize this Africa of the future, Nkrumah underscored, was science and technology.

Half a century later, through the African Union, the continent

is consolidating efforts to actual-ize Nkrumah’s aspirations. One key achievement was the establishment of the Pan African University (PAU) in 2011. The PAU Institute for Basic Sciences, Technology and Innova-tion (PAUSTI), hosted at Jomo Ke-nyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is now emerg-ing as a formidable tool for conti-nental transformation through adop-tion of endogenous technologies.

Both PAUSTI and JKUAT sup-ported by the Research, Production and Extension (RPE) Division and the AFRICA-ai-JAPAN Project; have

now turned the torch inside in search of technologies and innovations that can foster the continent’s emerging knowledge economy.

One significant platform for this new bid is the Innovation Centre for Product Development and Commer-cialization (iPDeC), currently being implemented at JKUAT/PAUSTI. The ultimate aim of this ambitious initiative is to harness innovations arising out of PAUSTI/JKUAT into tangible products that can be tapped to transform livelihoods of Africans.

iPDeC sub-taskforce Chairper-son, Prof. Martin Obanda who is

also the Director of Production at RPE says, a total of 75 innovations under both RPE and the Project cov-ering areas of agriculture, engineer-ing, and biotechnology are currently being profiled for commercializa-tion. Profiling, he explains, takes into consideration the technical, eco-nomic, and socio-cultural character-istics of a product.

This will make it possible to understand the technical specifica-tions of the innovation, its specific intended use, know what is required to mass produce the innovation product, current market potential

to absorb product, possible market-ing strategy, potential joint venture partners, appropriate collaboration arrangements for economic produc-tion, sustainable production levels, appropriate funding and sources, and Intellectual Property (IP) protection status.

Prof. Obanda explains that iPDeC together with RPE equally strives to link the academia, industry and the public so that potential investors can learn about novelties arising from JKUAT/PAUSTI for possible funding. It expects to achieve this through hosting forums such as ex-hibitions, shows and conferences.

Eng. B. K. Kariuki, head of the Directorate of Intellectual Property Management and University-Indus-try Liaison (DIPUIL) and member of iPDeC argues that much of the innovations coming out of the Af-rican universities are not protected; hence it is difficult to exploit them economically. This can be attributed to a poor IP culture that is a key im-pediment to the continent’s industri-alization agenda. He singles out de-veloped economies like Japan where the Japanese Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII) established 110 years ago has succeeded in assisting innovators translate their novelties into commercial ventures.

To reverse the trends in the con-tinent, RPE and the Project through DIPUIL has put in place plans to sensitize JKUAT/PAUSTI research-es and supervisors on IP practices for greater understanding and aware-ness. Ultimately, Prof. Obanda says, iPDeC aims to enable PAUSTI/JKUAT not only produce competent manpower but also create conditions necessary for translating innovations into industries.

While this remains just one of the initiatives rolled out in Africa, its success will be a key contribution to the actualization of African leaders’ aspirations for the continent.

By Cavince Adhere

M.Sc. in Nursing Programme Launched

Consequences of Poor Planning

The School of Nursing has been given a go ahead by the University Senate to

mount a new Masters of Science in Nursing programme.

According to the Dean, School of Nursing, Dr. Peter Mwaniki, “The M.Sc. in Nursing is a two year pro-gramme, comprising of course-work and research project. It has been carefully developed with the aim of producing nurses who are criti-cal thinkers, inquirers, researchers, change agents and leaders in various specializations.”

The programme has the follow-ing specialization options: M.Sc. in Community Health Nursing; M.Sc. in Medical-Surgical Nursing;M.Sc. in Paediatric Nursing; M.Sc. in Mid-wifery and Reproductive Health; as well as M.Sc. in Nursing Education.

Dr. Mwaniki, says, some of the emerging issues that were consid-ered during the development of the curriculum were: the need to strengthen evidence based nursing

practice; Poor health indicators of mothers and children; Increasing dis-ease burden especially the upsurge of non-communicable and lifestyle- related conditions;Emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases; Changing disease patterns; Aging population; Globalization associated with pandemics; Advances in medi-cal and scientific technology.

While designing the M.Sc. in Nursing programme, the university

considered the Lancet Commission Report of 2010 regarding transfor-mative Nursing and Medical Educa-tion. The Lancet Report made vari-ous recommendations. Some of the highlights were: Nurses must be ed-ucated to utilize knowledge, Train-ing needs should be competency driven, Critical reasoning and ethi-cal conduct must be reinforced, Use of global knowledge and resources need to be enhanced.

By Patrick Amunavi

Nursing Council members when they visited the University to evaluate the uni-versity’s preparedness to launch the new programme

A student explains how his robotics innovation works during Tech Expo 2015

Prof. Mati added that WARREC was working with a number of ac-tors in the water sector including ministries, NGOs, universities and research institutions.

Water and Sanitation for the Ur-ban Poor Programmes Manager, Eden Mati said a collaboration with WARREC had enabled her organiza-tion to reach out and empower urban water practitioners with information and skills.

WARREC, a centre under JKUAT Research, Production and

Extension division, was set up with support from Ministry of Water and Irrigation and launched in December 2011.

It seeks to facilitate innovations and knowledge to serve various stakeholders in the water value chain such as communities, researchers, water resource managers, policy makers and water users, both locally and internationally.

The workshop also reviewed two new degree programmes namely: BSc. Aquatic Technology and BSc. Hydrosystems Engineering; both of which will be mounted under the

Department of Soil, Water and Envi-ronmental Engineering.

From page 17

It is unfortunate that at 300 cubic meters per person per year, we are unable to tap the raging waters during the time of plenty for use during time of scarcity.



Varsity Library Makes Big Strides towards e-Content Access

New Petroleum, Coal Studies Introduced

First Harvest of Grapes Jomo Kenyatta University of

Agriculture and Technology is currently accessing (9)

nine million rare and classic full-text eBooks and e-Documents courtesy of 60 days free trial access offer by World eBook Library (WEL).

The offer which ends on 31st July, 2016, was clinched during the eLearning Africa 11th International Conference on ICT for Develop-ment, Education and Training that was held in Cairo, Egypt on May 24th – 26th 2016, and attended by the University Librarian, Dr. Roselyne Mang’ira.

World eBook Library (WEL) offers access to the most influential books in humanities, science and technology originally printed from the 10th – 19th centuries. WEL data-base is the only e-database with dig-itally enhanced editions of scanned books from top notch universities in USA and Canada. The database covers more than 1000 years’ worth of books conveniently searchable across 200 specialty collections in

The Department of Mining, Materials and Petroleum Engineering (MMPE), is

set to offer three new academic pro-grammes starting September, 2016 following University Senate’s ap-proval.

The new programmes are: M.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering, M.Sc. in Mining Engineering Technology (Coal), and PhD. in Mining Engi-neering.

The programmes, sponsored by African Development Bank, will be launched in September this year.

Similarly, the B.Sc. in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering pro-gramme which was also approved by the JKUAT Senate will be launched in September.

According to the Chair, MMPE Department, Dr. Bernard K. Rop, the department is developing B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering, B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Applied Geology.

The M.Sc. in Applied Geology

key academic subjectareas which include: Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, Economy, Management, Government, History, Agriculture, Medicine, Education, Fine Arts, Languages, Law, Literature, Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, An-thropology, and Technology.

JKUAT students and staff within and outside Kenya have been sensi-tized on the availability of the free access offer through the library web-site, social media, emails, What-sApp, among other communication platforms. Library users are encour-aged to make full use of the free trial access period to search and down-load e-content from this valuable in-formation resource.

How to Access the eBooksThe eBooks can be accessed

through the JKUAT Library website at: http://jkuat.ac.ke/departments/li-brary/68-2/ or http://community.eb-ooklibrary.org/?Affiliate Key=WEL-JomKenUniAgr.

The University Library provides all its members with access to all e-resources from whatever location they are in through the Off Campus Access to E-Resources link that is

found on the library website, or on: http://vpn.jkuat.ac.ke/login.

The JKUAT library catalogue is available online on: http://library.jkuat.ac.ke/. The Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) allows searches for details of print books available in the library at the conve-nience of every library user. Compi-lation of reading lists has been made much easier. Availability of aprint book for borrowing can be con-firmed without having to visit the library.

of Mines, who is currently, JKUAT’s representative in Tuning Africa Academy, has developed an advanced, elaborate meta-profile in Applied Geology which includes: exploration geology, mining geology, geotechnics, and environment geology and regulation as specific competence based subjects.

Whereas the generic subject com-petences include: critical thinking and synthesis, creativity, leadership, quality management, entrepreneur-ship, professionalism, communica-tion skills, and finally social eco-nomic impact.

Dr. Rop has generated an abstract, which if approved, will be discussed in the Tuning Africa Symposium on Research and Good Practice Com-petences-Based Student-Centered Approach in Higher Education, that will form part of the Tuning Africa II 3rd General Meeting scheduled to take place from 17–19th October 2016 in Accra, Ghana.

has gone through the requisite stake-holders’ input process.

Dr. Rop, former Commissioner

By Agritech News Reporter

By Patrick Amunavi

Students accessing research material in the JKUAT Library Mining and Mineral Engineering students during a practical learning field trip

Vice Chancellor Prof. Imbuga(left) and Department of Horticulture researchers display the first harvest of grapes from the JKUAT Farm produced under a collaborative research initiative with the Chinese Academy of Sciences

that seeks to establish a pilot scale grape production vineyard at JKUAT

covered with plastic film mulch, that is well estabished and significant in boosting food production in China.

Dr. David Mburu, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, says, the two col-laborating universities were working out plans to establish a joint research centre for dry land agriculture at JKUAT. Dr. Mburu who visited Lan-zhou University in April, held fruit-ful discussion with officials of the University where he singled out in-adequate rainfall as a huge challenge to Kenya’s food production.

According to the Dean, JKUAT had a lot to learn from dry land ag-riculture technology practiced in northwestern China, and fronted by Lanzhou University which he said would provide an effective ap-proach to solve the problems of food insecurity in Kenya. Among the of-ficials that Dr. Mburu met during his visit to China was Prof. Pan Baotian, Vice President, Lanzhou University who welcomed the collaboration and urged JKUAT scholars to seize the numerous opportunities under the partnership; mainly in gradu-ate scholarships, staff exchange and technology transfer.

Dry Land ResearchFrom page 11


TRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATION TRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATION

Varsity Partners with Embu County to Enhance Digital Learning

Cricket Farming for Animal Feed Protein

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in an effort to ensure no pupil

is left behind in the Digital Learn-ing Programme signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding with Embu County Government, Kenya Private School Association (KEPSA), Embu Branch, and Family Bank to sup-ply laptops to private schools within Embu County.

Speaking during the signing cer-emony, Embu County Governor, Martin Nyaga Wambora lauded the partnership and said it will improve the quality of education and infra-structure in the County.

The Governor commended JKUAT for her invaluable work in engineering, agriculture and tech-nology, and assured the people pres-ent that this was the beginning of great partnership in various areas.

“JKUAT is a powerhouse in engi-neering technology and agricultural mechanization and I look forward in partnering with the University in

The shortage of animal feed protein in the local market is set to receive a substan-

tial boost following the establish-ment of the Cricket Farm research project at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to upscale cricket farming for animal feed protein through mass produc-tion.

The Cricket Farm aims to mass-produce edible insects as protein source for animal feed, and will serve as a centre for resource and training on insects farming for farm-ers and investors as well as enlight-ening Kenyans about the value of edible insects resource that is avail-able around us.

In an interview conducted at the Cricket Farm, Dr. John Kinyuru, a Lecturer in the Department of Hor-ticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, who is spearheading the initiative, says, “the edible insects research centre seeks to optimize conditions for medium and large scale cricket farming; develop animal feed using mature crickets, build capacity and

develop dissemination manual on cricket farming and utilization.”

Why the focus on insects? Ac-cording to Dr. Kinyuru, the in-creased demand for animal protein coupled with high costs of fish meal and soybean, climatic changes re-sulting to low yield of food crops among other environmental factors, have informed the search for alter-native sources of protein for animal feed. The nutrition profile of insects proteins exceed that of convention-

al sources mainly omena and other plant proteins.

Dr. Kinyuru contends that insects farming will lead to less pollution and less space and time utilization compared to animal sources. Insects too, are easy to farm since they occu-py a small space compared to other protein rich feedstocks.

Insect farming is easy because they are not labour intensive; needs low technological and capital re-quirements, making it appropriate for many African countries. Al-though the centre currently produces crickets, plans are underway to in-clude grasshoppers and black soldier flies.The mass-production of crick-ets has been driven by the premise that; to effectively supply crickets for animal feed production, mass production is essential.

“The feed industry consumes over 20 tonnes of omena per day as a protein source. Hence if we supple-ment 10% of that with crickets, we require 2 tonnes per day, and that can only be achieved through mass pro-duction,” observes, Dr. Kinyuru.

The centre has been able to do-mesticate wild harvested crickets,

these areas in order to especially ad-dress the issue of rotting mangoes in our farms,” said Wambora.

On her part, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Imbuga appreciated the commitment of the County and KEPSA, Embu Branch, in the col-laboration and said JKUAT was committed to provide the knowl-edge, skills and technology which will in turn give all the pupils an equal playing platform in the Digital Learning Programme.

Prof Imbuga said the partnership

will enhance academia-government-industry linkages and hoped that other counties will replicate the same for private schools all over the country to ensure that all pupils have access to the Digital Learning Pro-gramme rolled out by the govern-ment.

The Chair of KEPSA, Embu Branch, Mr. Francis Mbuthia ap-preciated the parties involved in the collaboration and acknowledged that the partnership will be key in im-proving the education sector in the county.

“I’m grateful for the partnership

and my association will communi-cate, sensitise and mobilise the 160 private primary schools in the coun-ty on the importance of this partner-ship,” said Mr. Mbuthia.

The ceremony was also addressed by the Managing Director, Family Bank, David Thuku and attended by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Production and Extension), Prof. Esther Kahangi, Director, Nairobi Industrial and Technology Park, Dr. Suleiman Oketch, Academic Reg-istrar, Dr. Esther Muoria and the University’s Chief Corporate Com-munications Officer, Dr. Hindzano Ngonyo.

The one year collaboration will see Embu County Government through its Department of Education facilitate the interaction between JKUAT and KEPSA, Embu Branch, while Family Bank will establish a working arrangement on how repay-ment installments for the financed devices will be recovered.

By Stephen Wakhu in Embu

By Patrick Amunavi

Prof. Imbuga addresses the press flanked by Mr. Mbuthia (left), Governor Wambora (2nd right) and Mr. Thuku (right)

Dr. Kinyuru monitoring the cricket egg laying sitesInset: Adult house cricket reared at the farm

Animal feed mill for processing crickets at the Edible Insects Research Centre Inset: Cricket manure that can be used as a biofertilizer

Continued on page 34JKUAT is a powerhouse in engineering technology and agricultural mechanization and I look forward in partnering with the University in these areas in order to especially address the issue of rotting mangoes in our farms.


PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONSTRAINING / RESEARCH / INNOVATION

Fostering Engineering Software Solutions

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technol-ogy has acquired four en-

gineering softwares from MIDAS Information Technology Co. Ltd (MIDAS IT) for teaching and design purposes. MIDAS IT, a South Ko-rean Company, specializes in civil, structural and mechanical engineer-ing software and also provides pro-fessional engineering consulting.

These softwares include: Midas Gen for integrated design system for building and general structures; Midas Civil for integrated solution system for bridge and civil struc-tures; Midas GTS for 2D/3D geo-technical and tunnel analysis system; and Midas NFX for true analysis driven design in Mechanical engi-neering.

During a presentation to Col-lege of Engineering and Technol-ogy (COETEC) staff, John Elinami, MIDAS IT Structural Engineer, said MIDAS technology reflects the state of the art engineering and knowl-edge that is respected globally.

“Our software has been used in major projects across the world

including the world’s tallest sky-scraper, Burj Khalifa in Dubai,” said Elinami.

Elinami said MIDAS IT ensures the day to day work of engineers are efficient and effective, adding that their products do not only give opti-mal results that are accurate but also saves time.

Dean, School of Civil Engineering and Geomatic Engineering(SCEGE), Prof. Eng. Geoffrey Mang’uriusaid the acquisition comes at opportune time especially in the engineering

sector in the country and will make JKUAT programmes and students stand out from the crowd.

“Interacting with the MIDAS softwares, I realized that they have features and tools that the other soft-wares we are currently using don’t have,” attested Prof. Mang’uriu.

The MIDAS softwares will be applied in areas such as structural safety checks; fatigue check and seismic performance evaluation; un-conventional tunnel intersection; vi-bration analysis for earthquake and blasting; and electronics and electri-cal engineering.

The uptake of these softwares by Kenya could easily solve the prob-lem of unsafe building in our coun-try.

MIDAS IT has also availed 160 licenses, 40 each for every software and will also avail one semester fee sponsorship for a COETEC student.

Elinami was accompanied by Re-gional Branch Manager, India and Middle East Asia Regions, Adrian Kang and they were received by the then Ag. Vice Chancellor, Prof. Romanus Odhiambo, Principal, COETEC, Prof. Bernard Ikuaand Dean, SCEGE, Prof. Eng. Geoffrey Mang’uriu.

By Stephen Wakhu

Midas Gen

Mr. Kang gives his remarks to COETEC Staff

JKUAT Red Cross Partners with Kijiji Cha Upendo in Kibera

The Kenya Red Cross JKUAT Chapter has achieved another mile-

stone in its noble cause of alleviat-ing human suffering and poverty by forging a partnership with Kijiji Cha Upendo Children Project based in Kibera,Saturday,April 2, 2016.

The partnership is driven by the vision of empowering the young orphans and vulnerable children through feeding and mentorship to enable them become responsible citizens in future hence underscor-ing the Kenya Red Cross society’s alleviation of human suffering and poverty agenda.

The partnership outlines various roles the two parties will undertake including putting up a 10,000 liters drinking water tank in Kibera, so that orphans and vulnerable children could access clean drinking water for domestic use. The Chapter mem-

bers will also offer mentorship talks to the children to empower them academically, socially and economi-cally. This will be achieved through active involvement of the Red Cross University Youth Volunteers in giv-

ing the mentorship talks and busi-ness training skills to the guardians as well as contribution of funds which will be generated through various fund raising initiatives such as car wash exercise.

Kijiji Cha Upendo Communityad-ministrator Mr. Andrew Obara,said, the community was happy and ready to work in order to uplift the lives of the young and vulnerable children in Kibera slums. The two parties came up with practical viable policies that if implemented, will achieve by giv-ing back to the community.

The partnership has come at an opportune moment when the Chap-ter has been proactive on ground in its humanitarian work within Ki-ambu and its neighboring county, Nairobi.

It has been doing a lot of commu-nity services including training mem-bers as first aid service providers for emergency cases within and outside the university, organizing blood do-nation drive exercise in conjunction

By Alex Gandi Kidzagamba

Red Cross JKUAT Chapter Chairperson Eric Kinyanjui presents beddings to Mrs Kanini, a beneficiary of the initiative.

Linda (right) a JKUAT student donates sugar to one of the Kijiji Cha Upendo beneficiaries



PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONSPARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS

Commercialization of IT Solutions

JKUAT has over the years, been developing cutting edge information technology (IT) solutions. Unfortu-nately, commercialization of these solutions has been a challenge. This is bound to change following the University’s partnership with Sim-baNET on a business – IT alignment model that will optimize returns from IT investments, Friday, April 22, 2016.

SimbaNET provides telecommu-nications services in mission-critical areas, and serves some of the region’s biggest and most respected organi-zations. The five – year partnership will see SimbaNET harmonize Ke-nya’s IT activity with JKUAT’s busi-ness direction to the mutual benefit of both institutions.

Speaking at the signing of the Memorandum of Understand-ing, SimbaNET General Manager, Delano KiiluLongwe commended JKUAT for their invaluable work in research and innovation and was certain, the partnership will be bene-ficial especially for JKUAT’s young IT innovators, building not only their socio-economic status but also

that of the country. Mr. Longwe on the commitment

of SimbaNET to the partnership said, his company will invest and forge other partnerships that are ben-eficial to the two institutions.

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mabel Im-buga, observed that the partnership will enhance academia – industry linkages adding, JKUAT values the need to mentor young innovators who will contribute to the social and economic development of the coun-try.

“I am positive that the partner-ship will encourage the students to delve into IT applications develop-ment encouraging them to be entre-preneurial,” said Prof. Imbuga.

The two institutions also signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Robisearch Limited who developed iTrace (Local tracing application) and Nikague(Security application) hosted by SimbaNET. These two ap-plications were developed by Jasper Kumo and Daniel Ondigo, JKUAT IT students.

The meeting was also addressed by the Deputy Vice Chancellors: Prof. Romanus Odhiambo (AA) and Prof. Esther Kahangi (RPE) and ICT Director, Mwirigi Kiula.

By Stephen Wakhu

From right: Prof. Imbuga, Mr. Longwe and Jasper Kumo, Director, Robisearch sign the Memorandum of Agreement

with the Blood Link Foundation, Kenya Blood Transfusion Centre, Pledge 25 Kenya and the Kenyatta National Hospital. Among all these activities the Children home visit is the most admired activity by major-ity of the students at the university whereby it attracts even non-mem-bers and other Clubs and societies i.e. the Rotaract Club hence joining us and making the cause morelively. Due to these and many other viable initiatives the chapter was ranked as the most active chapter by The Ke-nya Red Cross office-Thika branch in July 2013, and stand as one of the most proactive Chapter, nationally.

The Chapter is open to collabo-ration with other like-minded in-dividual, groups and organization; because we believe if we work to-gether cooperatively we will be able to reach out to a bigger population of the needy children hence having a big impact to the society.

By working with vigor and com-passion in our noble cause as one people with a common vision we will eventually empower the chil-dren fully thus make them live their dream life. As Nelson Mandela once said: “A fundamental concern for others in our individual and com-munity lives would go a long way in making the world the better place we so passionately dreamt of.”

-The writer is a former JKUAT Stu-dent and Youth Volunteer with Ke-nya Red Cross Society

JKUAT - Red Cross

PartnershipFrom page 31

ISO 9001 Quality Management System Moves a Notch Higher

JKUAT is certified to both ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004.

Both standards have been revised by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

This article reviews the changes in the new ISO 9001:2015 edition that was released on 23rd September 2015.

ISO is a global network of na-tional standards bodies (165 mem-bers) with each member represented by the national standards body. ISO was established in 1947, in Geneva, Switzerland. Kenya is represented in ISO by the Kenya Bureauof Stan-dards (KEBS). ISO develops and promotes International Standards.

ISO 9001 is an international stan-dard that sets out the requirements for a Quality Management System (QMS) where an organization needs to demonstrate itsability to provide products and services that meet customer needs. It aims at enhanc-ing customer satisfaction through effective application of the process approach. It helps businesses and organizations to be more effective-andefficient to improve customer satisfaction. This standard was first published in 1987 and as per 2014 over 1.2 million organizations were certified to this standardworldwide.

ISO standards are reviewed every five years and revised if needed. This helps ensure the standard remains a useful tool for the marketplace. The challenges faced by business and organizations today are very differ-ent from a few decades ago and ISO 9001 has been updated totake this new environment into account. For example, increased globalization has changed theway we do business and organizations often operate more complex supply chains than they di-

din thepast. In addition, there are in-creased expectations from customers and other interested parties and, with more access to information, today’s wider society has a stronger voice than ever before. A new version of the standard, ISO 9001:2015 that was launched in September 2015 replaced the previous version (ISO 9001:2008). The revision process took approximately threeyears.

ISO 9001:2015 has reflected these changes in order to remain rel-evant. There has been a number of revision to the QMS standard as fol-lows: 1987 (1st Edition) was biased towards manufacturing; 1994 (2nd Edition [1st revision]), attempted to cover service organizations and to put emphasis on documenta-tion; 2000 (3rd Edition [2nd revi-sion]), the role of top management enhanced, and it was more oriented to customer focus, included permis-sible exclusions and also introduced quality principles as philosophy to guide in the implementation; 2008 (4th Edition [3rd revision]), was more user friendly, and aligned to other management system standards; 2015 (5th Edition [4thRevision]), enhanced role of top management and risk-based-thinking was incor-porated as an integral part from plan-ning to implementation of processes and objectives.

The most noticeable change to the standard is its new structure. ISO 9001:2015 now follows the same overall structure as other ISO man-agement system standards (known as the High-Level Structure). This makes it easier for organizations us-ing multiple management systems to implement the standards in an integrated manner. Another major difference is the focus on risk-based thinking. While this has always been part of the standard, the new ver-sion gives it increased prominence.

The standard introduces a systematic approach to risk, rather than treating it as a single component of a quality management system.

The standard also reinforces the management of organizational knowledge and evidence-based management.

In previous editions of ISO 9001, a clause on preventive ac-tion was separated from the whole. Now risk is considered and included throughout the standard. By taking a risk-based approach, an organiza-tion becomes proactive rather than purely reactive, preventing or reduc-ing undesired effects and promoting continual improvement. Preventive action is automatic when a manage-ment system is risk-based.

Other changes includes fewer prescribed requirements; less em-phasis on documentation; improved applicability to service delivery; a requirement to define the boundar-ies of the QMS based on organiza-tions context and interested parties considerations, greater emphasis on achieving desired outcomes to meet customer requirements, enhanced top management role, ensure that processes deliver their intended out-puts leading to improved customer satisfaction; increased emphasis on understanding organizational con-text and needs and expectations of interested parties including custom-ers; end-users, suppliers, distribu-tors, retailers, regulators,and other relevant interested parties; need to determine the knowledge necessary for the operation of the QMS and its processes and to foresee the need for changes in knowledge and the risk of not acquiring it in a planned and timely manner; requirements for quality policy to be compatible with purpose and context of the organiza-

By Cyrus C. Kamau




tion and should provide a framework for setting and review of quality ob-jectives.

The ISO 9001:2015 version of the standard brings the user a number of benefits including putting greater emphasis on leadership engagement and hence integration QMS require-ments into the business processes; helping address organizational risk-sand opportunities in a structured manner; uses simplified language and a common structure and terms – this is particularly helpful to organi-zations using multiple management systems such as those for the envi-ronment, health and safety, or busi-ness continuity addressing supply chain management more effectively; more user-friendly for service and knowledge-based organizations.

The new standards has omitted

a number of requirement that were in ISO 9001:2008 including: quality manual is not specifically required, nor mandated as to its contents; Management Representative is now considered part and parcel of the or-ganization’s leadership and top man-agement; documented procedures are left to organization determina-tion and needs; Preventive action is not a specific clause, but effectively usurped by the risk based thinking to be applied through the QMS.

Now that 2015 edition has re-placed the 2008 edition, it is recom-mended that organizationsupdate their quality management system to fit the new edition since every organization is different. The steps needed to adjust an organization’s management systemare likely to be unique to each organization’s situa-tion but in general the steps to follow

include: understand the new standard (ISO 9001:2015); identify organiza-tional requirements gaps between ISO 9001:2008 and ISO9001:2015; develop an implementation plan that will address the identified gaps; pro-vide appropriate training and aware-ness for all relevant parties; update existing quality management system to meet the ISO 9001:2015 require-ments; request for the certification to the new standard.

There is a three-year period from 23rd September, 2015 to transit to the 2015 version.This means, after 22nd September, 2018, certifica-tion to ISO 9001:2008 will no lon-ger be valid. It is recommended that planning and implementation com-mences in good time to mitigate last minute effort to the transition and re-certification under the revised stan-dard.-Mr. Kamau is the Registrar (RPE) & JKUAT ISO QMS Consultancy Coordinator.

Referencing Your Sources: A Simple Introduction

In higher education whenever you include a fact or piece of information in an assign-

ment or essay, you must also include where and how you found the infor-mation. This is because in higher education assignments and academ-ic writing writers are not just being tested on what they know, but rather what they are able to find out and what they think it means.

It has been a daunting exercise for most writers at this stage to iden-tify differences in referencing styles and what they contribute to the qual-ity of one’s final document. Ability to achieve consistency in the process of this discussion is an art and a skill each writer must seek to acquire. This article will address issues of referencing in academic writing.

In academic writing, details about where you found the informa-tion utilised to write your assign-ment are kept in two chapters’ right at the very end, called the reference list and bibliography.

• The reference list is where you list the direct quotes or para-phrased findings of another author.

• The bibliography is where you list sources you’ve read for background information, but did not directly include in your work.

In addition, a small mention to the author and publish year, within brackets, must be given in the main body of your assignment wherever you make a reference. This is re-ferred to as in-text citation.

Referencing Styles:To make the reference list and

bibliography consistent and easy to read across different papers there are predefined styles by each organiza-tion where academic writing and re-

search activity take place. The stan-dards states how to the elements of a document cited in a work - these are called citation styles. The following are the most popular:

APA • APA is an author/date based style.

This means emphasis is placed on the author and the date of a piece of work to uniquely identify it.

• Harvard is very similar to APA. Where APA is primarily used in the USA, Harvard referencing is the most well used referencing style in the UK and Australia, and is encouraged for use in the humanities.

MLA• MLA is most often applied by the

arts and humanities, particularly in the USA. It is arguably the most well used of all of the cita-tion styles.Vancouver: The Vancouver sys-

tem is mainly used in medical and scientific papers.

Chicago and Turabian: These are two separate styles but are very similar, just like Harvard and APA. These are widely used for history and economics.

There are more though such as IEEE which is favoured by engi-neers due to its ability for dealing with many other features unique to the discipline. This paper will con-centrate on the above for which most research students get mixed up.

Regardless of what subject one is writing, it is mandatory that one must not mix-and-match styles. Consistency is the rider for any style chosen. Punctuation usage is critical in the manner in which the elements are organised.

The elements are the author (per-sonal or corporate) title of the work, year of the work, extent of the work

cited in case of journal, book chap-ters and volume works), place of the publisher, publisher, urls and DOI incase of online works, etc.

There are softwares that assist in generating references –such as Mendeley, Zotero, Cite This For Me. The Microsoft word has a feature un-der the menu referencing to assist in the same task. If select the features then - manage reference one is able to select the type of document in questions and get the required fields for each. This is a feature becomes useful since not all cited works can are from the internet. However, the other platforms also allow one to add new items to the library.

Arrangements of the elements for different styles

PlagiarismWhen a writer quotes or para-

phrases another author’s work with-out including a reference to it this is not acceptable. One is said to pres-ent information of others as if it were their own idea.

This is referred to as plagiaris-ing. Not only is it very easy to detect plagiarism using online services like Turn It In, but it is also very easy for your tutor to spot it just by reading your work.

Remember - you are not being marked on your ability to write facts or show off what you know. Any as-sumptions or facts you state must have someone else’s credible work to back you up.

Plagiarism does not only mean cheating, it is mainly used to de-scribe forgetting or not realising to include a reference to other’s work or theories.

Remember the statement by Isaac Newton that we see far when we stand on the shoulders of giants.

-Ms. Njeri works at JKUAT Library

By Mary Njeri

Quality Management

Edible Insects Research

increased cricket population from a few heads to about one million crickets in just less than 5 months. The centre has produced cricket meal for incorporation in animal feed as a protein source.

Benefits of crickets as animal feed for chicken are many: Broilers add weight faster and layers grow fast and produce large size of eggs regularly due to the high protein content and quality which is highly digestible. Current activities at the edible insects centre include: insect collection of eggs; incubation and hatching; cricket rearing to acquire required weight and age; harvesting; cricket meal production; animal feed formulation. Animal feeding trials are scheduled to start soon.

Large scale production of crick-ets, Dr Kinyuru states, will result in cheap, high quality insects, protein-

rich food, reduced cost of animal feeds and consequently, the cost of animal based products. The move will help address the demand for the alternative protein source, research and document the economies and the value chain of cricket farming, besides curbing environment degra-dation associated with the rearing of other protein source feeds.

Dr. Kinyuru is upbeat about the future prospects of the insect re-search initiative and envisages a positive trajectory that will lead to a full blown industry processing crick-et meal for feed; ability to export cricket flour to other countries; cre-ation of jobs, and last but not least, to be a blueprint or prototype project for farming of edible insects.

However, the sector faces legal/legislative, policy, social-cultural, and economic challenges. Dr Kiny-uru decries the lack of a legal frame-work for insect farming as well as

policies for insect farming and insect use as food especially on large scale.

The researcher reveals that there are myths surrounding the use of in-sect as food which need to be dealt with. There are people who believe insect eating is disgusting and there is need to address this.

“Those who are willing to ven-ture into insect farming are not sure of their capital investment value, and where to sell their insects. He calls for an intensive study on the cricket cost of production so that when people invest, they know how much they need to put in and how much output to expect.

Dr. Kinyuru suggests that besides policies and legislation on insect use as food and feed, further research on economic impact of cricket farming to enable food and feed producers to use insects as raw material to enable farmers get market for insects.

From page 28

From page 33



Retirement: Are you Prepared?

Succession Planning through God’s Word

It is evident that retirement is a major event in one’s life cycle. Preparing for retirement may

take a considerable amount of time, maybe years. But how exactly does one go about preparing for retirement.

Our first major task is to conquer our own resistance to the notion of transitioning from current occupa-tions and actually confronting the de-cision before it becomes pressing. Be-ginning to think about retiring early enough so that the thoughts don not induce anxiety, helps take the sting out of the transition. Serious consid-eration should begin close enough to retirement to be realistic. The issue of timing is important in preparing for retirement. When should we begin thinking about it? Certainly, while there is still enough employment time left to permit meaningful preparation, close enough to the actual date to cre-ate real concern but not paralyzing anxiety.

There is no magic age, but age 50 may be a good age at which to engage in some serious regrouping, refram-ing and future planning. A gradual increase in retirement behaviour may lead to a more graceful transition into retirement, influence the thought of preparation and help guard against the temptation to revert to unplanned liv-ing.

If possible and practical, work days or weeks maybe shortened and vaca-tions prolonged in such a way that a sudden break is avoided. Progressive-ly adding in greater doses to our de-sired retirement activity, whether that is writing, travelling, grand-parenting or volunteering, will prevent the stress caused by the sudden change.

Financial preparedness is key to successful retirement. No matter your age, today is not too early or too late to start gathering information and thinking about decisions you will

Succession planning is a must for any organization that is planning not to fail

by creating a gap in its operations. After the exit of staff in leadership position in whichever cadre through retirement, joining other organiza-tions, self-employment, end of dura-tion in the terms of service or upon demise, it is of necessity that mea-sures be put to ensure continuity in the operations.

Great care has to be taken select-ing the next leader. Besides being knowledgeable, talented, commit-ted to serve and having the relevant skills, the successor must be strong,

have to make.The earlier the better, of course, but the increasing dependence on defined contribution pension plans, those in which the employee makes the investment decisions and bears the consequences, make early planning even more important than in the past.

Employees who may receive a lump sum from their pension or save carefully are likely to have a lot of cash. This may attract crooks. Many offer investment schemes or business opportunities (pyramids) that are so tempting to someone who might be thinking about starting a business. Educate yourself as a consumer.

Retirement causes loss of working colleagues, of status, of responsibility, and of a self-identity built over a long period. For many people, work is an anchor, it stabilizes their lives and the loss of work can sometimes lead to people to withdraw from all forms of creative activity. It is not uncommon for retired people to become apathetic and unable to divert the energies they used at work to alternative activities.

Well qualified and industrious peo-ple typically relate their sense of pur-pose in life to their work and its loss can affect the individual dramatically. Adverse symptoms (sometimes re-ferred to as retirement syndrome), can include disorientation, failing physi-cal health (not necessarily related to age) and deteriorating social relations. Organizations should advise on the possible assumption of fresh financial obligations. Think about your living situation: “Do you plan to move house when you retire?” When you’re still working, it’s the good time to find out how.

“Develop a checklist for things that are important to you –climate, distance from family, cost of moving and public transportation facilities.” Bogosian said, “Know what you should have done while you still have some time to do it”. Think of what you will do with your time. Talk to your spouse and family about retire-

fearless and sensible. A candidate should be interrogated to determine whether he/she will serve the people or rule over them with a heavy hand. After all, leadership is about team work if the vision, mission and ob-jectives of the organization have to be realized.

From the Bible we learn that King Solomon, the wisest king ever known, made his own bad choices but worried over his successor: “Who Knowth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have a rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun” (Eccl. 2:19). Solomon expressed concern over the successor because of his “effort and skill”.

ment matters.Retirement programmes should

aim to provide considerable values for the organizations and the society at large. Successful retirees are walking ambassadors of goodwill for the orga-nization and the society. Get all de-tails of your company’s pension plan. These plans are designed to provide a steady income for your life in retire-ment, but many have various options you need to consider. These choices are not as simple as they seem, and, are one area where it is worth getting help. You can chose to take lump sum and bet that you can manage your money better that the company may give an annuity.

Pre-retirement preparedness helps to adjust and transition to retirement much easier than when we are sud-denly confronted with it. Most suc-cessful retirees report that they had been pursuing their retirement activi-ties long before they actually retired. To enhance the smoothness of adjust-ing to retirement, retirement activities should be a continuation of our pre-re-tirement activities with only a change in emphasis and intensity.

The best time to start planning for retirement is the day you go to work on the first day. However, almost no one does that. Instead, most people wait until they are middle age or be-yond, to start taking a serious look at what their lives are going to be like in retirement and all decisions they need to make before they head for the door.

Pre-retirement preparedness is a must for all who have entered any work, for where there is an entry to let IN there is a provision for an EXIT. In 2009, the government increased the retirement age from 55 years to 60 years; this was an opportune time for those who were about to retire then, to prepare further. Beginning next year, the 5 years will start lapsing at partic-ular times, the question is:

“Just how prepared are we for our retirement?”

When the Israelites asked for more humane working conditions, it was an opportunity for Rehoboam to demonstrate servant leadership “ If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them…” the elders advised: “They will always be your servants” (1 Kings 12:7). He rejected their counsel. He failed to seek God. His harsh response to the people di-vided the kingdom and accelerated the spiritual decline of Gods people (1 Kings12:14-19).

In the family, the workplace, at church or in our neighborhood, we need God’s wisdom for the humility to serve rather than be served. Dear Lord, please give us a humble ser-vants heart and help us lead and fol-low with humility and compassion.

By Agritech Reporter

By Nancy Oloshukoki

Making Life’s Choices and Decisions

One’s life is determined by the choices and decisions he/she makes in every

area. You have got where you are as a result of the choices and decisions that you made. Wanting to become successful is a choice and the deci-sions you make now will determine whether you will be successful or not.

In “Health and You” Agritech News article, a story was told of a 17-year-old young man who went to see a doctor for what he considered serious health problem. The young man told the doctor that every time he smoked marijuana his eyes got red and that he was worried. The doctor told the young man to stop smoking marijuana and the young man answered, “Anything but not marijuana” and turned away. I not-ed that this young man’s behavior is representative of the attitude that people have about their health. The same can be said about success. Peo-

ple want to become successful but do not want to pay the price.

In his book, “The 80/20 Princi-ple: The Secrets of Achieving More with Less,” Richard Koch asserts that 80 percent of results or out-puts flow from 20 percent of causes, choices or decisions. That a minority of causes, inputs or efforts usually lead to a majority of the results or success. Taken literally, this means that, for example, 80 percent of what you achieve in your job comes from 20 percent of the time spent.

“The quality of your life ultimate-ly is shaped by the quality of your choices and decisions,” remarked Robin Sharma, author of “Who Will Cry When You Die?” When you constantly flex your willpower by making those choices that you know are the right ones rather than the easy ones, you take back control of your life. “If it is going to be, it’s up to me” is a wonderful adage. Many of us are leaving the quality of our futures to chance rather than choice. If we don’t act on life and take action to make things happen, life will act

on us and give us results we might not want.

As Robin Sharma notes “To be-come more proactive in our lives, we need to begin to see ourselves as the Chief Executive Officers of our des-tiny.” All effective CEOs realize that “if it’s going to be, it’s up to me” and act as catalysts of their own dreams. Similarly, if you want something done, rather than waiting for luck to look your way, take steps to get it done. You can make excuses or you can make progress, but you cannot do both. Seeing yourself as the CEO of your life can create a fundamental shift in the way you perceive your world.

Instead of sailing through life as a passenger, you become the captain of the ship, leading things in the di-rection you choose to move in rath-er than reacting to the whim of the changing tides. Take greater control of your life; as if it’s going to be, it’s up to you.

-Mr Madivoli works at JKUAT, Westlands Campus

By Gerishom Madivoli


STAFF WELFARESTAFF WELFARE

Duo Set for Karate Duel in South Africa

Softball Players to Fly National Colours at World Championships in Canada

Eastern Africa University Games to Foster Regional Integration

Consistent exemplary per-formance by JKUAT Karate Team in national

and varsity tournaments for the last 8 years has finally bore fruit for the JKUAT Karate Team (Morwins) af-ter two players were selected to join the national call up.

The two female players Corazon Wambugu and Rachael Muna (pic-tured) have been selected to form part of the national provisional team

The JKUAT Ladies Softball team: “Team Wisdom” is set to participate in the

ISF XV Women’s World Softball

Championship slated to take place in Canada starting July 15 – 24, 2016.

Five players namely; Virginia Munderu (B.Com HR), Margreat Wanjeri (B.Com Finance), Edith Njoroge (B.Com Accounts), Mercy Mutua (Public Health) and Sarah

Makau (B.Com) have been selected to form part of the national team that will compete in the ISF XV Wom-en’s World Softball Championship. The players who are all in their 4th year second semester, are happy to represent the Kenya.

They are upbeat that they will give the championships their best shot and fly the national colours high.

The Ladies team has displayed outstanding performances in the Na-tional League, Nairobi Metropolitan League as well as in other tourna-ments such as Chairlady’s Cup, Western Open Cup, Mombasa Open Cup and the Ryders Tournament among others.

The team has been conducting their rigorous training at Multime-dia University and JKUAT sports grounds since April, 2016.

Softball was officially introduced in JKUAT in 2009. The Ladies team has performed well over the years and because of that, 6 of them formed part of the National team that travelled to Uganda in 2015 for a friendly match that gave them good exposure.

The Eastern Africa region has been championing re-gional economic integra-

tion to create a seamless market for goods produced in various sectors in each member state. In a quest to play its part in regional integration, the East Africa University Sports Fed-eration introduced the East Africa Universities Games (EAUG).

The games, awarded on a rota-tional basis among member states, were established in 1999 with the aim of promoting youth develop-ment and unity among East African countries through sports.

The EAUG brings together par-ticipating teams from Kenya, Ugan-da, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea. The federation acknowl-edged that peace and unity is critical to creation of the right environment

upon which regional integration in all aspects can be nurtured.

Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology will host the 10th East Africa Univer-sity Games beginning December 16, 2016. The role of sports cannot be downplayed in fostering social rela-tions. Sports creates an avenue that not only fosters health but also re-sponsibility and discipline amongst the athletes.

This year the theme of the games is ‘Regional Sports for Health, Uni-ty, Peace and Academic Excellence’. The EAUG seek to promote interac-tion among students within the uni-versities, encouraging professional and personal growth and enhance regional integration process in East Africa through sports aiding in re-inforcing economic, social and cul-tural integration.

The week-long games that end December 21, 2016, will see over 4000 students across the East Af-

rican Region compete in 18 sports disciplines namely Athletics, Bas-ketball, Football, Rugby, Volleyball, Tennis, Handball, Netball, Hockey, Swimming, Table-tennis, Karate, Tae-kwon-do, Chess, Scrabble, Wood ball and Badminton.

So far 25 universities have con-firmed participation where over 70 universities from across the region are expected to grace the games.

Egerton University won the 1st Edition but Ugandan universities have dominated the games, with Makerere University winning the 2nd to 7th Edition while their coun-terparts Ndejje University winning the last two Editions.

JKUAT is optimistic of becom-ing the Kings of the 10th Eastern Af-rica University Games and remains positive the games will elevate the level of competition and transform the status of sports in promoting in-teraction among students within the region.

that is expected to represent Kenya during the Africa Senior Karate Championship slated for July this year in Durban, South Africa.

Speaking to Agritech News, Hel-len Ngethe, the Sports Officer, re-vealed that Wambugu and Muna have been undergoing training and assessment at Utalii Sports Grounds, since April 2016, and are optimistic that they will finally qualify for in-clusion in the final national team that will fly to Durban, South Africa.

Last year, Daniel Auru, who is the current Captain was selected to

join the national team which repre-sented Kenya in the 11th All African Games in Congo, from 1st – 9th September, 2015.

Ms. Ngethe said, “The selection of this provisional team was based on performance during the Kenya Open Karate Championship which was held on 26th and 27th March, at Afraha High School in Nakuru, where 30 teams participated. JKUAT registered a sterling performance considering it was a national tourna-ment that attracted a galaxy of play-ers across the country who show-cased their sporting prowess.

The JKUAT Morwins team scooped 2 gold medals from Kelvin Ombati in Novices Male Kata and Novice under 60kg Male Kumite categories, 3 silver medals from Corazon Mbugua (Novice under 55kg Female Kumite) Rachael Muna

(Novice under 68kg Female Kumite) and Danson Wachira (Novice under 60kg Male Kumite). JKUAT also scooped 6 bronze medals from Loyce Njeri and Joyce Mumbe (Novice un-der 55kg Female Kumite), Boniface Masika (Novice under 60kg Male Kumite), Ambrose Maiyo (Novice under 67kg Male Kumite), Daniel Auru and Samuel Kiniti (Senior Un-der 60kg Male Kumite.

The overall medal standing for JKUAT was position 2 out of 30 teams with 2 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 6 bronze medals.

While congratulating the two players, Ngethe said, the sports fra-ternity wishes Rachael and Corazon all the best as they strive to make it to the final list to Durban, and ac-knowledged Coach Andrew Sensei for guiding and steering the team to success.

By Stephen Wakhu

By Hellen Ng’ethe

By Patrick Amunavi

The Softball Team: From left to right; Ms Njoroge, Ms Wanjeri, Ms Makau, Mr. Baya (Coach), Ms Munderu and Ms Mutua

HumourExaminations

It was the night before the final examinations and everyone was cramming in prepara-

tion. One fellow was almost a ner-vous wreck as he paced the floor; he would snap his fingers and call out, “B-A-I-K, B-A-I-K.”

A fellow student interrupted him, “What does B-A-I-K mean?”

“It means, Boy Am I Konfused?”“But confused should be spelled

with a ‘c’ not a ‘k’,” suggested his friend. The distraught student snapped his fingers again saying, “Boy, I’m more confused than I thought I was!” (Anonymous)

- Compiled by Donna Onserio


SPORTS AND GAMESSPORTS AND GAMES

Main Campus – JujaThika SuperhighwayP.O.Box 62000-00200Nairobi.Contacts:Tel. 0722295988, 067-5870001, 067-5870002,067-5870003, 067-5870004, 067-5870005Email: [email protected], [email protected],[email protected]

Nairobi CBD CampusICEA Building – Kenyatta Avenue,P.O. Box 62000 – 00200, Nairobi.Tel: 0705950712.Email: [email protected]

Westlands CampusKabarsiren Avenue, Off Waiyaki Way,P.O. Box 62000 -00200, NairobiTel: 020 – 4447769, 0729958003, 0708241204Email: [email protected],[email protected]

Karen CampusBogani Road, Off Langata South Road,P.O. Box 62000 – 00200, Nairobi,Tel.0735864163, 0727803636.Email: [email protected]

Mombasa CBD CampusMombasa Trade Centre,Nkrumah Road,P.O. Box 81310 – 80100, Mombasa.Tel: 041 – 2315434, 0735628272.Email: [email protected]

Nakuru CBD CampusKwanza Motors Building,P.O. Box 1063 -20100, Nakuru.Tel: 051 – 2216660, 07147 16957.Email: [email protected]

Kisumu CBD CampusOpp. Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching & Referral HospitalP.O. Box 3433 – 40100, Kisumu.Te: 0736693960, 0724333534,Email: [email protected]

Kitale CBD CampusMega Centre, Mak Asembo Street,P.O. Box 3347 -30200, Kitale.Tel: 054-30800.Email: [email protected],[email protected]

Kakamega CBD CampusAmbwere Furaha Building,P.O. Box 1014, Kakamega.Tel: 0726239014/0716478099.Email: [email protected]

Kisii CBD CampusElimu Centre Building,P.O. Box 268 – 40200, Kisii.Tel: 0721479550.Email: [email protected]

Keiyian Campus,P.O. Box 124-40700,Kilgoris, Transmara.Tel: 0700627512/0727812930/0713786328Email: [email protected]

Jomo Kenyatta University of

Agriculture and TechnologyJuja Town, Thika Super Highway,

P.O. BOX 62000-00200, City Square, Nairobi, Kenya.www.jkuat.ac.ke, Discover JKUAT, @DiscoverJKUAT

JKUAT is ISO: 9001:2008 and 14001:2004 Certified Setting Trends in Higher Education, Research and Innovation

Eldoret CBD Campus(Sirgoi House, Eldoret)P.O. Box 62000 -00200,Nairobi, Kenya.Te: 0722403077.Email: [email protected], : [email protected]

JKUAT KQ Pride CentreP.O. Box 62000-00200, Nairobi.Tel: 0719828131/0735015175.Email: [email protected] Airways Pride CentreP.O. BOX 19002-00501,Embakasi Road, Off Airport North Road,Embakasi, Nairobi.Tel:020-6422832 / 0711022832 / 0734102832.Email: [email protected]

Arusha CBD CentreP.O. Box 16857,Arusha, Tanzania.Email: [email protected]@jkuat.ac.ke

Kigali CBD CampusP.O. Box 3373, Kigali, Rwanda.Tel: +250-787888881/2.Email: [email protected]@jkuat.ac.ke

Where to Find JKUAT Academic ProgrammesSeptember 2016 Admission on-going