January - June 2008 - Kenya Agricultural Research Institute

Highlighter 

Publication of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute 

Number 23, January-June 2008 

The Minister for Agriculture, Hon. William Ruto (left) expressing a point to Dr. L.S. Gichuki (left) of KARI-Kabete 

Biotechnology Centre, Dr. E. Mukisira, Director KARI (centre), Hon. G. Ndambuki, Assistant Minister of Agriculture 

(second right) and the KARI Chairman, Dr. J. Mutugi (right) during one of his visits to KARI 

Some exciting articles in this issue: 

♦ New Agriculture Minister Visits KARI 

♦ KARI Packages Dissemination Materials for New Technologies 

♦ KARI finalizes the first Budgets and Workplans for the Fourth Medium Term Plan 

♦ Corporate Social Responsibility: KARI goes a notch higher 

♦ KARI Pension Scheme Registered 

♦ Rwanda Ambassador to Kenya visits KARI-Thika 

♦ KARI Participates in the 1st National Conference and Exhibition for Dissemination of Research Results and Review 

of Innovations 

A biannual publication of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute 

Highlighter No. 23 

1

From the Editor’s Desk 

The first half year of 2008 was very eventful in the 

Institute. The scope of activities is simply 

bewildering and this newsletter captures just a 

fraction of them. This editorial samples some of the events 

during this period. While some of them may not be 

reported in this issue, they have been reported in the sister 

publication, KARI InFocus. 

The Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit was set up 

at KARI Headquarters. KARI InFocus, the sister 

bimonthly newsletter, was launched. In the same period, 

KARI scientists have traversed the world and participated 

in numerous scientific fora. Locally, they were involved 

in various fora including field days, workshops and 

seminars which emphasize the role of partnerships with 

a cross-section of partners and stakeholders. 

Various rehabilitation works and construction of new 

structures have been undertaken. Notable among many 

is the rehabilitation of the cottages at Muguga South, now 

called KARI Retreat Centre and the still ongoing 

construction of a new office block and laboratories at 

Thika. 

Also notable in this period was the development of the 

Institute’s Fourth Medium Term Plan which was pushed 

to near completion alongside the revision of the 10 year 

Strategic Plan. 

In his characteristic vigour, the Director KARI visited 

several centres. He also participated in several local and 

international fora, notable among them the delivery of the 

keynote address at the 1st National Conference and 

Exhibition for Dissemination of Research Results and 

Review of Innovations at the Kenyatta International 

Conference Centre (KICC) in April. In the same month, 

the Director hosted a Senior Staff meeting at KARI 

Headquarters. 

The period also witnessed an influx of guests to KARI 

Headquarters and centres. The most notable visit was the 

visit to KARI Headquarters and four other centres by the 

Minister for Agriculture, Hon. William Ruto who chose 

KARI as his first stop on a familiarisation tour of 

departments under his ministry. 

More than 100 extension materials were also 

compiled. These will be packaged and disseminated in 

the second half of the year. 

Water is a scarce commodity and this issue features 

some tips on water conservation. This is a must read for 

everyone. 

Preparations for the 11th KARI Biennial Scientific 

Conference kicked off with the launch of the Organizing 

Committee in February. 

Last but not least, we appeal to our readers in the 

Institute to contribute to this newsletter by way of articles 

or letters to the editor. A lot of activities that take place 

across the breadth of the Institute still go unreported. 

Please write and share with the rest of the KARI fraternity 

through this newsletter or the sister bimonthly, KARI 

InFocus. 

Happy reading. 

Mwangi Mwariri 

Contents Page 

From the Editor’s Desk ...................................................................................................................................... 2 

New Agriculture Minister Visits KARI .............................................................................................................. 3 

Mwea MP Visits Bt-cotton Field Trial Site at KARI-Mwea .............................................................................. 4 

KARI-Muguga North Poultry Agribusiness Seminar in Makueni District ...................................................... 4 

KARI Finalises the First Budgets & Workplans for the Fourth Medium Term Plan ........................................ 6 

Media Open Day for Smallholder Flower Growers: A USAID-KHDP/KARI/MOA Initiative .......................... 7 

KARI Packages Dissemination Materials for New Technologies .................................................................... 8 

Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development (LUPIS) National Forum held at KARI-Kabete ............... 9 

Soil Health Programme of the alliance for green revolution in Africa (AGRA) ............................................. 10 

Corporate Social Responsibility: KARI goes a notch high ............................................................................. 12 

National Genebank of Kenya Hosts National Stakeholders’ Workshop ......................................................... 13 

Highlighter Pictorial News ............................................................................................................................... 14 

KARI displays at the International Day for Biological .................................................................................... 16 

Tips on Water Conservation: Every drop counts .............................................................................................. 17 

KARI Pension Scheme Registered ..................................................................................................................... 18 

Director KARI Meets Senior Staff ..................................................................................................................... 20 

Rwanda Ambassador to Kenya visits KARI-Thika ........................................................................................... 21 

KARI Participates in the 1st National Conference & Exhibition for Dissemination of Res. Results .............. 22 

SUCAPRIE-Platform Workshop ........................................................................................................................ 23 

Research on a New Maize Variety Commences ............................................................................................... 24 

KARI initiates performance based evaluation of research scientists for 2008 promotion .............................. 25 

In Transition ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 


2

New Agriculture Minister Visits KARI 

By Koinange T. Mukundi, KARI Headquarters 

The Chairman, Dr. J. Mutugi and the Director, Dr. E. 

Mukisira welcome the Minister of Agriculture at KARI 

Headquarters 

Agriculture Minister, Hon William Ruto, 

accompanied by his Assistant Minister, Hon 

Gideon Ndambuki visited KARI while on a 

familiarisation tour of departments under the Agriculture 

Ministry on the 2nd May, 2008. Speaking to staff at KARI 

Headquarters, he challenged KARI researchers to assist 

the country increase food production through addressing 

the production constraints against increased crop and 

livestock productivity. Hon Ruto observed that to 

increase food production in the country, it was necessary 

to increase the efficiency in production. He said agriculture 

offers the country a means to develop into a medium 

income economy because the sector contributes over 50% 

of the GDP and provides over 65% of the raw materials 

needed by local industries. 

Earlier, the Minister had been taken through the 

activities of the Institute and shown some of its products. 

The KARI Director, Dr Ephraim Mukisira, made a 

presentation in which he outlined the achievements of 

KARI in its 29 year history. Dr Mukisira emphasized the 

need to provide the Institute with adequate government 

funding so that it can attract and retain skilled human 

resource which forms the bedrock of its work. He also 

pointed out the need for an enabling policy environment 

to facilitate linkages that would allow effective technology 

transfer to Kenyans. 

Hon Ruto said he saw KARI as an important agent of 

change in agriculture which needed to adopt new ways of 

carrying out business. These new ways must come from 

research which was the core mandate of KARI. He went 

on to say that research must have economic value for it to 

impact positively on the country. He called on researchers 

to develop drought resistant, early maturing and high 

yielding crop varieties. He further challenged 

researchers to package user-specific information on 

fertilizer for as many areas as possible to enable good 

use of fertilizer in the country. Hon Ruto asked 

researchers to work together with farmers to enhance 

the necessary synergy to address all the problems the 

farmers encounter along the agricultural productivity value 

chain. 

Acknowledging that research was important for 

agriculture, the Minister said that his Ministry was 

prepared to provide the prerequisite financial support for 

effective research. He said he will double the research 

allocation from Sugar Levy from 0.5 to 1% and also 

establish a Cereals’ Development Fund through a new 

legislation. He noted it was important for the Government 

to take over funding of research so that focused research 

work on important areas such as soil fertility, breeding 

and other production constraints can be done as a matter 

of priority. He acknowledged the importance of working 

with partners in order to disseminate research findings. 

Saying it was necessary to look at the whole chain from 

the farm to the market, the bottom-line must always be to 

increase food production and thereby impact positively 

on the livelihood of the ordinary Kenyan. The Minister 

thanked KARI staff for continued hard and selfless work 

which had earned the Institute an enviable place in the 

Ministry of Agriculture. He promised the staff that he will 

ensure continued support to them from his office. 

Speaking to the same gathering, Hon Ndambuki 

appreciated the work KARI is doing and said that it had 

great potential for all areas, especially the unexploited 

semi arid and arid lands (ASALs). He expressed his 

appreciation that KARI was part of the bigger team in the 

Ministry of Agriculture . 

The Minister and his team arrived at the KARI 

Headquarters to a warm reception hosted by the KARI 

Chairman of Board of Management (BOM) Dr Jamleck J. 

Mutugi, the Director and senior management staff 

comprising Assistant Directors in charge of various 

programmes in the Institute. 

Welcoming the Minister, Dr Mutugi thanked him 

for choosing KARI as the first stop on his itinerary. 

He also thanked the Government, through the 

Ministry of Agriculture, for the continued support 

and expressed the need for more support in light of 

the changing times. He informed the Minister that 

KARI had a research network of 23 centres located 

in different parts of the country. Dr Mutugi noted 

that although KARI was formed in 1979, it came of 

age in 2000 after many reforms. However, he 

observed that the Institute has a staff of 3400 among 

them over 500 highly trained scientists. Noting that 

KARI is considered a model of success in Africa, Dr 

Mutugi said this can only be maintained with 

continued support from the government and 

development partners. 

The Minister later planted an indigenous tree at 

the KARI headquarters compound after which he 

embarked on a guided tour of four KARI centres, 

namely KARI Kabete, Muguga South, Muguga North 

and KARI Trypanosomiasis Research Centre. 


3

Mwea MP Visits Bt-cotton Confined Field Trial Site at KARI-Mwea 

By C.N. Waturu, KARI-Thika 

Hon. Peter Gitau (Centre) Visits Bt-cotton Field accompanied 

by Drs. C. Waturu(Left) & C.M. Kombe (Right) 

The Mwea MP, Hon. Peter Gitau visited the Bt-cotton 

site at KARI-Mwea on Sunday the 1 st June 2008. 

He was accompanied by the Principal Investigator 

of the Bt-cotton project Dr. C.N. Waturu and a local 

nominated councillor. On arrival, the MP was received by 

the Deputy Centre Director Mr. C.M. Kambo and nine 

members of staff. 

In a brief on the Bt-cotton work, Dr. Waturu explained 

what Bt-cotton was and its benefits. He reminded the 

legislator that the Biosafety Bill lapsed with the ninth 

parliament and required the urgent attention of the MPs if 

the technology was to benefit the cotton farmers in the 

country. Dr. Waturu requested him to take leadership in 

educating his colleagues in parliament about the Bt-cotton. 

and biotechnology crops in general. The MP used the 

visit to equip himself with information that would enable 

him address the issues of biotechnology crops from a 

point of knowledge. Dr. Waturu also provided the MP 

with documents previously published from the work going 

on at KARI-Mwea. The MP was guided through the Btcotton 

site and got explainations of the applicable 

biosafety regulations governing the conduct of the trials. 

In addition, he was further taken through the rice trials 

next to the Bt-cotton site. 

Hon. Gitau expressed his appreciation for the reception 

accorded him by KARI-Mwea staff and recognised the 

good work going on at the Centre. He noted the importance 

of boosting cotton production and its importance in the 

industrialisation of the country. He appreciated that Btcotton 

had the pontetial to reduce the cost of cotton 

production by cutting down on spraying for pests and 

hence increase the profit margin for cotton farmers. 

He noted that information is power and requested that 

more information be provided to him and his colleagues 

in parliament so as to make an informed judgement when 

the Bill is introduced again in Parliament. His comments 

on rice was related to the rice blast disease afflicting rice 

in Mwea scheme where he requested scientists to quickly 

find a solution. He finally promised to make another visit 

where he would interact more with the staff and learn more 

about the business of the Centre. He also promised to 

address the issue of the Centre research land. 

KARI-Muguga North Poultry Agribusiness Seminar in Makueni District 

By S.P. Omondi and J.M. Mugambi, Muguga North 

Indigenous poultry are an important source of income 

and nutrition to many households especially in the 

rural areas of Kenya. According to the Ministry of 

Livestock Development (NDP, 2001), Kenya has a 

population of 30 million chickens out of which about 70% 

are indigenous. Due to the rising human population, 

landlessness and poverty levels, poultry offers an 

alternative livelihood pathway. Poultry are inexpensive, 

relatively cheap to acquire and are frequently the first 

asset acquired through purchase or customary means by 

a young family or a resource-poor family. It has an added 

advantage over other livestock since chicken can be kept 

by landless people or in small spaces in degraded areas. 

In many communities, women and youth are particularly 

engaged in free-range poultry keeping. 

Because of the significant contribution that the poultry 

sector impacts on livelihood and the need for information 

on a documentary on Newcastle disease, KARI Muguga 

North organized a poultry training-of-trainers (TOT) 

seminar on 19 th March 2008 at Kyemole Farm, Wote, in 

Makueni District. The theme of the seminar was “Poultry 

agribusiness- husbandry and disease control”. 27 

participants drawn from poultry groups, agrovet shops, 

NGOs and Extension staff from Kathonzweni and Wote 

divisions attended the seminar. 

The events coordinator Mr. Simon Omondi, outlined 

the background and said that following a survey of the 

occurrence and impact of Newcastle disease, a seminar 

focusing on a holistic approach in husbandry skills as 

suggested by stakeholders was necessary in building the 

capacity of poultry groups to control the disease. A 

paradigm shift from subsistence to commercialisation of 

agricultural enterprises means that the market is the driving 

force. Hence knowledge-based practices from production 

to market continuum was essential in the livestock value 

chain, he said. 

Participants began with a plenary session where the 

Makueni District Livestock Production Officer, Mr. David 

Musyoki, told participants that agribusiness was important 

in improving the livelihood of farmers, especially as a tool 

in wealth and employment creation. A Danish NGO, 

Agribusiness development (ABD) started the initiative 

to empower groups for poultry enterprise. He said the 

district has 700,000 indigenous chickens (according to 

2005 census). 


4

Case Study 

When Mr. Pius Makau retired as a security officer with 

Nairobi City Council in 2004 to settle on his 20 acre farm at 

Kyemole village, little did he know that his poultry 

enterprise would grow from 20 chickens to more than 400 

birds by 2008 to become a model farm for indigenous 

poultry production. He attributes his success to hard work, 

stick-to-it-iveness and support from his wife, Alice. 

Besides, the Makaus have a dairy herd of 6 cows 

comprising Friesian and Aryshire breeds, 15 zebu cattle 

which provide draught power, a flock of goats which act 

as a bank account for household needs and school fees,. 

They have 5 acres of horticultural crops, mainly mangoes 

and oranges, and 2 acres under apiculture. The farm is 

regularly visited by farmer groups from various parts of 

the country to learn skills on indigenous poultry farming. 

Mr. Makau has attended high profile workshops organized 

by KARI and University of Nairobi and is a member of the 

National Poultry farmer’s forum. 

The forum 

Dr. John Mugambi, Centre Director, KARI Muguga North, 

informed participants that KARI Animal health projects 

focus on working with stakeholders to control livestock 

diseases. Farmers participate fully in the research agenda 

by identifying constraints and opportunities for 

interventions so that ultimately they own the 

implementation process and are responsible for 

sustainability. He observed that we all grew up with 

chickens and therefore learned quite a lot about them. He 

said, it was important to take measures to improve rearing 

of chickens in order to increase survival rates and hence 

productivity and embrace poultry enterprise as a business. 

He added that KARI would soon be testing the 

thermostable Newcastle vaccine in farmers’ fields and 

therefore the cold chain which is a limiting factor in the 

delivery of the current vaccine would not be necessary. 

He distributed two extension leaflets produced by KARI 

to the participants: “Manual for indigenous poultry 

production No.18” and “Stop Newcastle”. 

Participants listed reasons for keeping poultry as 

providing income, protein nutrition –eggs and meat, 

business enterprise, provision of manure, gifts and social 

status. Constraints to poultry keeping were identified as 

diseases, poor housing, feeds, predators, lack of 

management skills, inferior breeds, marketing and lack of 

credit. Important diseases cited include: Newcastle, fowl 

pox, infectious bronchitis, coccidiosis and ecto parasites. 

On feeds and feeding participants shared experiences 

on making of home-made rations consisting of a mixture 

Participants keenly follow the session on good poultry 

housing 

Feeding chickens on home-made ration 

of maize bran, sorghum and green grams. Birds are fed in 

the morning on this ration and released to scavenge for 

the rest of the day. Participants learned how termites can 

used to provide a rich source of protein to poultry. The 

insects are easily harvested using a stack of moist grass 

placed around termite mounds for three days. Birds fed 

on this regime attain market weight of 2 to 3 kg within 

eight months while those on scavenging alone take twelve 

months. 

The farmers learnt that Newcastle disease which is a 

major cause of death among local chickens in the district 

can be controlled through planned vaccination. According 

to the veterinary office, the disease has a seasonal pattern 

and occurs in the months of July-August and January- 

February. Hence it is appropriate to vaccinate in the 

months of June and December . The Newcastle vaccine 

which is produced by Veterinary Vaccine Production Centre 

can be accessed by the local people through the Veterinary 

office in Wote or Agrovet stockists. 

Issues and recommendations 

Newcastle disease vaccine: Packaging, route of 

administration, cold chain and accessibility- Participants 

requested KARI to package the vaccine in smaller doses 

to enable farmers with few birds to access it. They felt 

that a vaccine administered through water would save on 

labor. Apparently VVPC produces the lasota strain 

Newcastle vaccine administered through drinking water 

but the farmers are not aware of its existence. The 

thermostable vaccine would be very attractive as it would 

not require cooling. It was suggested that a vaccine techno 

shop be set up at KARI Kiboko to enable farmers in 

Makueni and its environs including livestock keepers in 

Kajiado and other service providers easy access to KARI 

products. They welcomed KARI to use some of their 

farms in testing the thermostable vaccine. 

Market access: Marketing of chickens through a group 

was regarded as an alternative in the exploration of niche 

markets and accessing better returns. 

Record keeping: Participants agreed that record-keeping 

was a useful tool that assists in evaluating and determining 

profitability of farm enterprises. 

Biosecurity: Biosecurity issues are becoming key 

concerns in the poultry trade - footbath at farm entrance, 

separate housing for birds and human beings, prohibition 

of sale of sick birds and transportation of chickens in 

public service vehicles. 


5

Community animal health info kiosk: Access to 

information can improve disease control and support 

poverty reduction strategies since most of the poor live 

in information–exclusion. Participants recommended that 

KARI Muguga North look into the feasibility of setting 

up an info kiosk for sharing livestock health knowledge, 

enable farmers generate researchable issues and sustain 

partnerships. 

“Bangladesh system”: Participants envisioned a time 

when indigenous poultry farmers in Kenya would be 

organized and adapt a village system specifically for 

rearing and growing poultry and to produce and sell eggs. 

During the closing ceremony, Dr Mugambi presented 

certificates of attendance to participants. 

Dr J. Mugambi, Centre Director Muguga North 

presents a certificate to a participant 

KARI finalises the first Budgets and Workplans for the Fourth Medium Term Plan 

By Koinange T. Mukundi, KARI Headquarters 

The KARI Director, Dr. Ephraim Mukisira challenged 

scientists to take research as a business with clients 

whose demands must be met. He emphasized the 

need to remain focused to the work plan and budgets 

throughout the implementation period. Dr. Mukisira said 

this when opening a three-day Budget and Work plan 

meeting at KARI Headquarters on 7 th June, 2008. 

Speaking to over 70 Programme Coordinators drawn 

from all KARI programmes, Dr. Mukisira asked officers to 

go out of their way to ensure that the activities they were 

involved in succeeded. He advised them to plan well in 

order to make the annual event realize organized and 

effective budgets and work plans. He noted that the annual 

activity had worked well for KARI in the past. 

He asked researchers to demonstrate commitment and 

embrace sound communication and keeping of functional 

records that would assist them account for research funds. 

These, he noted, were characteristic of good fiscal 

discipline and good practices and would assist KARI in 

annual reporting. He further noted that these would assist 

in improving donor confidence in collaborative activities 

with KARI. He encouraged scientists to balance travel 

and accommodation expenses with serious research 

engagements that would impact positively on the 

livelihoods of mostly the rural poor. 

Noting that it was necessary to strengthen the capacity 

for effective budgeting and formulation of work plans, 

the Director observed that the Planning Monitoring & 

Evaluation Unit, which is a quality assurance unit, will 

help KARI realize this goal. He challenged coordinators 

to master their disciplines in order to provide the required 

leadership. He asked scientists to continue building 

effective networks, which in return would foster effective 

partnerships. He paid tribute to the Chief Accountant, 

Mr. Andrew Otolo who had worked for KARI for a long 

time. The Chief Accountant would be retiring in June after 

serving KARI for a period of almost 20 years. 

This years’ budget and work plan activity was inclusive 

and involved more participants in order to cater for 

programmes such as Adaptive Research and ARIS, among 

others, which had been left out in 2007. ARIS was 

established to facilitate commercial activities aimed at 

financing 20% of KARI’s research activities in 

appropriations in aid (A in A). Most ARIS work is subcentres 

where most of the commercial activities are carried 

out . 

The Director asked all to plan the programmes activities 

as guided by KARI’s policy documents the Strategic Plan 

and fourth Medium Term Plan. This, he said, would greatly 

assist the Institute pursue its mission and vision to the 

letter. 

The Director seized the opportunity to inform the 

participants that the Institute had developed new “Terms 

and Conditions of Service” that would be applied to 

improve the welfare of staff in a number of areas. He 

further said that performance contracts is here to stay 

and asked participants to take it seriously to reward staff 

that are performing and place sanctions to those that are 

not. The participants also learnt that the KARI Pension 

Scheme was registered in March this year and contributors 

to the scheme will get periodical updates on the status of 

their pension accounts. This will be done through 

newsletters and the annual general meetings (AGMS). 

Speaking to the coordinators during the meeting, Dr. 

Joseph G. Mureithi, Research and Technology Deputy 

Director, pointed out that the work plan would take 

consideration of the end phase of KAPP and the onset of 

the 4 th Medium Term Plan. He emphasized the need to 

budget for funding for communicating the research finding 

to stakeholders in order to enhance effective uptake and 

adoption of new KARI technologies. He noted that 

coordinators were best placed to keep track of KARI 

technologies and asked them to assist in developing an 

inventory of these technologies. 

The Chairman of the Budget Committee, Dr. David 

Mwangi Miano, stressed the need to efficiently utilise 

the resources available for research, including the human 

resources. He advised the programme coordinators to have 

projected indicators reflected in their budgets and work plan 

so that they can run in tandem with each other. 

Briefing the participants, Mr. George Karanja told the 

participants that KARI, through the Board of Management, 

had made specific performance targets to Government of 

Kenya. He asked the groups to be guided by these targets 

in planning because they form the basis of assessing 

KARI’s performance. 


6

Media Open Day for Smallholder Flower Growers:-A USAID-KHDP/KARI/MOA Initiative 

By Alice Nakhumicha Muriithi and Charles Waturu, KARI-Thika 

Fresh flowers ready for harvesting and export 

KARI Thika in partnership with Kenya Horticultural 

Development Programme- USAID funded (KHDP) 

carried out a project to create a niche market, new 

product opportunities and improved production systems 

for the smallholder farmer. The goal was to provide yearround 

income from the supply of high quality products to 

domestic, regional and international markets. The KARI 

and KHDP missions have similarities in that they aspire 

to financially empower smallholder farmers through crop 

diversification, improvements in production and postharvest 

technologies, and market linkages in collaboration 

with their stakeholders. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) 

extension staff monitor the farmer’s adoption of 

technologies. The partnership between KARI-Thika and 

KHDP started in September 2004. 

KHDP hosted an open day for the media on 14 th 

February 2008 to show the impact of the USAID-KHDP/ 

KARI/MOA Project on smallholder flower farmers. The 

field day included visits to KARI-Thika, Githunguri 

Sapewe Self Help group located at Githunguri sub-location, 

Kandara Division. The media team was led by Lydia 

Njuguna the technical manager from USAID-KHDP to 

trace the flower value chain. The tour at the Centre began 

with a courtesy call on the Centre Director, Dr. C.N. Waturu. 

The link between research and the growers was explained. 

The value chain for cut flower production begins with 

research on the new introduced crops to develop 

production and post harvest packages. At the experimental 

fields, the ornamental plants in production were observed 

and details given of the trials being carried out or 

achievements made with the particular crop. The flower 

crops included those under shade (50%) were leatherleaf 

fern which generates income as cut foliage for the fresh 

flower local market yearround. The team saw buyers come 

and harvest the foliage. Hydrangea was also another 

flower crop under the shade. Nutrition and spacing trials 

had been completed and recommendations made available 

to the farmers. Hydrangea is a popular processing flower 

for the Rosavie factory(Nairobi). Celosia was one of the 

flowers growing in the open field. Currently local and export 

market performance is being evaluated. Stachys is a new 

foliage plant grown in the open and disease problems 

have been observed. Control options for the fusarium and 

verticillum wilt are being investigated as this problem 

seems to develop during the second year of the crop when 

the splits from the existing crop are required for 

propagation. Pigeon peas are among the foliage plants 

for the processing industry. Current new varieties with 

the required characteristics for processing are being 

bulked for distribution to the farmers. 

Githunguri Sapewe Self Help group begun in 2005 at 

Githunguri Sub-Location of Kandara Division. The group 

was introduced to flower production by KARI through 

USAID/KHDP in March 2005. Mobydick was the first 

flower crop whose technology was disseminated through 

Farmer Field School (FFS) approach. Consequently, the 

farmers purchased and planted 3 kg of Mobydick seeds 

in their individual farms. The group was linked to a flower 

exporting agent for marketing of their flowers. By the end 

of 2005, flowers worth KES 348,000 were produced and 

sold. In 2006, the number of farmers in the area growing 

Mobydick increased tremendously. By the end of 2006, 

four flower companies were operating in the area and 

purchased flowers worth KES 620,000 due to improved 

farm gate prices (from KES 3 to 6). In January 2006 the 

group trained in nursery management, transplanting, crop 

protection and top-dressing of Zinnia flower crop. 1000 

plants of Zinnia were planted in the group’s demonstration 

plot. The group harvested and delivered 22,280 stems of 

Zinnia from the demonstration farm between March and 

May 2006, 9,677 stems were accepted at the market. 

Seedling selection emphasized as rejections were due to 

off types. Other crops that were introduced to the group 

through the USAID KHDP/KARI partnership include 

scabiosa, tagetes, gomphrena stachys and arabicum. The 

group has bulked enough seeds of zinnia, scabiosa and 

tagetes to grow in their individual farms. This group is 

indeed flowering the landscape and has reduced 

vulnerability to food insecurity in the village! 

The farmers in the SAPEWE group currently sell their 

fresh cut flowers to Wilmar (Thika). The flowers for 

processing are delivered directly to Rosavie in Nairobi. 

Dr. Waturu explains a point to Media at a Smallholder 

Flower Farm in Githunguri Sapewe 


7

The team visited Wilmar to see how the flowers were 

handled before export. Rosavie provided some finished 

flower products for viewing. The media team saw various 

stages of handling Mobydick after the flowers (bolls) were 

harvested. The farmer harvests and sorts the flowers for 

pest damage, length and colour among other quality 

attributes. The cut flowers are then taken to the buying 

centre nearby where they are graded into 1 st , 2 nd and other 

grades depending on the flower type. During the visit, 

the rate of rejection was high. Farmers were informed why 

the flowers were rejected and suggestions of nutritional 

or crop protective remedy were given by the buyer. Cut 

flowers are taken to the godown for various treatments 

before export. Mr. Kamami the CEO of Wilmar, conducted 

the media team around the premises. The main market 

destination for the cut flowers is the Allsmeer Auction in 

the Netherlands. 

The project has demonstrated that indeed flower 

farming is profitable to the smallholder growers. Field 

grown flowers require low financial and technological 

Farmers inspect flowers grown by Githunguri Sapewe Self 

Help Group 

input but are labour intensive. The labour intensive nature 

of horticulture makes both the old and young people 

gainfully occupied. Cut-flowers do not require a large area 

and in some areas this should be seen as a solution to the 

shrinking land sizes. The project should be up scaled to 

other areas where flower growing has a potential. 

KARI Packages Dissemination Materials for New Technologies 

By Koinange T. Mukundi and Geoffrey M. Kamau, KARI Headquarters 

... Just like the Safari Rally which tests car durability and provides manufacturers with feedback, technology brochures need 

pre-testing … (Dr E. Mukisira) 

The above were the words of the Director KARI when 

opening a four-day write-shop for KARI scientists 

on 6 th May, 2008 at the Agriculture Information 

Resource Centre, Kabete. He challenged the 31 

participating scientists from ten KARI centres to develop 

information packages for released agricultural 

technologies in order to catalyze uptake and adoption by 

the farming communities. The Director noted that 

scientists must strive to move the country forward by 

responding to demands of the farmers and other 

stakeholders. He observed that extension materials are 

vital because they help technology users to understand 

and use them as prescribed. He indicated that KARI would 

like the researchers on the ground to prescribe the 

specifications involved in particular technologies that 

make them work best for the farmer and the country. The 

Director advised the organsers to ensure that user 

feedback is captured appropriately during the pretesting 

process. Besides catalysing the adoption process, the 

scientists will also benefit from points awarded in the 

scientists’ evaluation, the Director added on these 

publications. 

Dr Mukisira noted that such information would assist 

to backstop technologies as take-away information for 

Farmer field schools, Farmer Research groups, Agricultural 

Shows and is an important pathway of enhancing 

technology transfer and adoption. He recalled that KARI 

had successfully used Agricultural Technology and 

Information Response Initiative (ATIRI), with and now 

DSU (KAPP) as pathways of delivering information to 

farmers. He said KARI plans to establish a strong outreach 

division to proactively possess technology information 

to the public and challenged the participants to embrace 


a culture of communicating technology information as 

soon as it is available. The Director pledged continued 

support to researchers to ensure full production of these 

vital information materials. 

Speaking in the same function, the Director of AIRC, 

Ms. Grace Agili, welcomed researchers and added that 

developers of technologies were best placed to advise 

on how they should be used for maximum benefit. She 

further emphasized the vital place of Agriculture in the 

development of the country. She cited a few of the 

constraints the sector was experiencing as moisture stress 

occasioned by low and unpredictable rainfall and 

welcomed the researchers to feel free to contribute to 

dissemination of information. 

The second write shop held from 9 th to 13 th June 

attended by 32 scientists from 12 research centres at the 

same venue was opened by the Deputy Director Dr. J.G 

Mureithi who reiterated the Directors opening words. He 

stressed on the importance of clarity of the communication 

between the researchers and farmers. He pointed out that 

the write-shop was an important event that would go 

towards adding onto the past efforts in making the 

institute visible to the users and the taxpayers who are 

thirsty for this information. He emphasized on the 

importance of acquiring continuous feedback not only 

through pre-testing but also during the technology 

utilization stage. He also commended the task force 

members for their tireless efforts in the organization of 

the write shops. 

A total of 80 brochures covering technologies 

produced and packaged by most KARI programmes were 

developed. Pretesting has already started in various KARI 

centres pending final printing. 

8

Land Use Policies and Sustainable Developent (LUPIS) National 

Forum held at KARI-Kabete 

By Jane Wamuongo, KARI Headquarters 

Dr Jane Wamuongo, Assistant Director Land and 

Water Management opened the National Policy 

Forum held under the auspices of the LUPIS 

project at KARI-Kabete on 13 th March 2008. In attendance 

from KARI were Dr. Patrick Gicheru, Dr. Stella Makokha, 

Mr. Louis Gachimbi and Mr. Daniel Kilambya who are 

implementing the project. The objectives of the forum were 

to: (i) inform the national partners about the project on 

Land Use Policies and Sustainable Development (ii) present 

and discuss the main sectoral policies related to land use, 

and (iii) explore future collaboration opportunities. Apart 

from these objectives, the forum provided a unique 

platform for sectoral policy debate which rarely happens 

since each ministry operates independently. 

A total of 32 participants/stakeholders representing 

different sectors especially the ones dealing with the 

selected policies touching on land issue had been invited. 

A total of 21 participants attended representing the 

Ministries of Land, Agriculture, Livestock Development 

and Fisheries, Water, and Tourism and Wildlife. Other 

participants were drawn from the Office of the President 

(Special Programmes, Local Authorities, Ewaso Nyiro 

Development Authority, Kenya Institute of Public policy 

(KIPPRA), KARI scientists and University representative. 

The KARI LUPIS team gave an introduction of the project, 

its objectives and criteria for selecting Narok District. The 

Ministry of Lands gave an overview New National Land 

Policy while the Ministry of Agriculture discussed 

development and land use in the district and impacts of 

national soil conservation on the sustainable 

development. The participants commended KARI for 

selecting Narok district for the study since the district 

has multiple land uses due to its diverse potential 

emanating from varied climatic conditions. The district is 

a very good case study for impacts of change in land use 

as the area was initially used by pastoral communities as 

a dry season grazing area but has now been converted 

into a settlement in an area. 

The new Land policy generated a lot of interest and it 

was agreed that KARI and National Land Policy 

formulation team that is charged with implementation of 

the Land Policy should collaborate further. At the end of 

the one-day forum, it was also agreed that another national 

forum should be held after one year of the project to share 

findings of the study. It was also agreed the project would 

facilitate production of policy briefs showing impacts of 

different policies on sustainable development. 

A section of the seminar participants follow the proceedings of the LUPIS seminar 


9

Soil Health Program of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) 

By Jane Wamuongo, KARI Headquarters 

It is estimated that there are over 69 million smallholder 

farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa who do not have access 

to effective and affordable farm inputs, appropriate 

technology and information, and functioning markets. The 

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), a 

partnership that works with African governments, donors, 

NGOs, the private sector and farmers in Africa to improve 

productivity and incomes of resource-poor farmers in 

Africa, aims at improving seed systems, soil fertility, input 

and output markets. 

Through the Program for Africa’s Seed Systems (PASS) 

started over a year ago, AGRA has been working with 

farmers with the aim to increase income, improve food 

security, and reduce poverty by promoting the 

development of an efficient, equitable, and sustainable 

seed delivery system. AGRA has now proposed a fiveyear 

set of investment strategies to be implemented under 

the Soil Health Program to a tune of $198 million. 

The vision of success of the SHP in the first five years: 

• 6,300,000 ha of farmland is cultivated with the 

best practices for soil management and improved . 

• Cereal and/or legume varieties. An additional 

187,000 tons of appropriate fertilizer, a 23% 

increase, are reaching farmers through a network 

of wholesalers and retailers at a 15% price 

reduction. 

• 4,100,000 additional smallholder farmers are 

utilizing fertilizer through integrated soil fertility 

management (ISFM) practices to increase their 

crop yields by 50 to 100%; 

• AGRA and its partners have developed national 

and regional policy agendas that will be 

implemented in 5-8 countries to encourage 

farmers to adopt ISFM practices and fertilizer; 

• AGRA has a set of ‘scaling partners’ who can 

expand effective soil health interventions on a 

regional basis, a future policy agenda, and a 

financing alliance and mechanism to achieve 

continued expansion of ISFM in years six to ten. 

Dr. Jane W. Wamuongo, KARI Assistant Director for 

Land & Water Management, Dr. Anthony Esilaba, Program 

Officer L&WM and Dr. Elkana Nyambati of KARI-Kitale 

attended a workshop 16-18 June 2008 at the Windsor 

Country Club that deliberated on the proposed soil health 

program of AGRA. The objectives of the workshop were 

to: 

• inform participants about AGRA in general and 

Soil Health Program (SHP) 

• get feed back from country representatives on 

the proposed SHP 

• refine the terms of reference for the development 

of the business plan. 

Dr. Wamuongo presented the country report at the meeting 

that highlighted various aspects of the fertilizer industry 

in the country as follows: 

Profitability of fertilizer use in Kenya 

Profitability of fertilizer use has been demostrated through 

results of the Fertilizer Use Recommendation Project 

(FURP) conducted in various sites and with different crops 

in the country in the 1980s. The 32 year old long term trial 

Participants of the workshop at the Windsor Country Club most of whom will run the proposed soil health program of AGRA 


10

(LTT) at KARI-Kabete has also continued to demonstrate 

yield responses to inorganic, organic fertilizers and their 

integration. The LTT further offers a range of soil 

management options that smallholder farmers can choose 

from depending on their availability and socio-economic 

factors associated with the different inputs which are likely 

to differ from one site to the other. 

Fertilizer demand and supply 

Food production and soil fertility management in Kenya 

is mainly undertaken by the small-scale farmers who 

represent about 85 % of the population and live in the 

rural areas. However, Kenya’s growth in fertilizer 

consumption covers both food and cash crops such as 

tea, coffee, and sugarcane. Fertilizer use rose by 35% over 

a 10-year period (from 1995 to 2004) while the total 

consumption rose from a mean of 180,000 in the 1980s to 

250,000 t yr -1 in the 1990s and to over 350,000 t yr -1 in the 

2004/5 period. The proportion of small farmers using 

fertilizer varied considerably but generally increased from 

10% in the dry lowlands to over 85% in central Province 

and high rainfall potential zones of the North Rift valley 

Province. This expanded fertilizer growth is mainly 

attributed to several factors including: 

• A relatively stable fertilizer policy since 1990 which 

has attracted over 10 importers, 500 wholesalers and 

7,000 retailers; 

• A greatly increased network of fertilizer retailers in 

rural areas that expanded smallholders’ access to 

fertilizer, reduced transaction costs, and increased the 

profitability of using fertilizer; 

• Intense competition in importing and wholesaling; 

• Relative profitability of the horticulture market (96% 

of horticultural sales is for the domestic market) 

thereby raising farmers’ incentives to fertilize maize 

intercropped with horticultural crops. 

Potential for local/regional manufacturing and bulk 

blending 

Most of fertilizers used in the country are imported with 

the exception of single super phosphate (SSP) which is 

manufactured in the country by KEL Chemicals in Thika. 

The type and quantity of fertilizers used is dictated by the 

importers who determine what to import based on their 

own assessment of demand, weather conditions, credit 

availability and policy environment. There is noted 

interest in the marketing of raw Minjingu phosphate rock 

from Tanzania. Potassium has also been noted as an 

emerging limiting nutrient under continuous cropping. 

Potassium studies in western Kenya created a need for 

NPK fertilizers leading one company to produce a NPK 

blended fertilizer for sale specifically in Kenya (Kanyajua). 

Role of agro-dealers/private sector 

To improve food security and achieve desired growth, 

there is need to put in a public-private partnership 

framework that will raise awareness of technologies and 

inputs; improve their use efficiency; lower transactions 

of supplying inputs; improve linkages between importers, 

wholesalers and retailers and improve economies of scale 

in marketing of inputs at wholesale and retail levels. A 

survey conducted in Kenya indicated that when average 

distances to nearest fertilizer dealer declined from 8 to 4 

kms between 1997 and 2004, the volume, quality and 

agricultural inputs increased significantly. Sales rose from 

125,000 USD in April 2003 to 676,000 in April 2004. The 

study further showed that the agro-dealers have become 

important conduits connecting the rural poor with local 

and multi-national seed, fertilizer and agro-chemical 

companies. Thus the development of the agro-dealers is 

critical in accelerating the access of quality inputs to the 

rural poor 

Status of fertilizer information 

There is scarcity of data on the fertilizer use and demand 

by smallholders, which makes it difficult to assess how 

much fertilizer is used by small scale farmers compared to 

commercial farmers. Kenya is currently using an average 

of 31 kg of fertilizer, which may appear better than most of 

the other SSA countries. However, it is not clear as to how 

this amount is partitioned between smallholders and 

commercial farmers. However, national surveys indicate 

that fertilizer use by smallholder farmers is on the decline 

while most have stopped using fertilizers altogether or 

supplemented them with organic inputs. Evidence indicate 

that where fertilizers are still in use, the rates of applications 

are far below those recommended. 

Human capacity available and needs for research and 

development 

The national human capacity involved in soil health is 

about 500 who are at different levels of education starting 

from diploma to postgraduate level in agriculture. Most 

of these are limited to the Kenya Agricultural Research 

Institute (KARI) and the local Universities with few NGOs 

focusing on soil health. This number is supplemented by 

others in the development sector from the Ministries of 

Agriculture and Environment as well as locally based 

international Centres (CGIARs). 

Available soil fertility restoration technologies ready for 

scaling-up 

Various technologies/strategies can be drawn from the 

Long Term Trial (LTT) at KARI-Kabete conducted for the 

last 32 years in addition to various other findings from 

experimental plots. 

Government policy on soil fertility management 

A draft fertilizers policy that identified causes of soil 

fertility decline and emerging challenges which were 

transferred into policy objectives was prepared and 

presented to the Government in 2006. It is also designed 

to encourage stakeholders to perform their roles in 

collaboration and enable them access factors of production 

and apply best management practices. Once passed by 

Parliament, the policy document will provide guidelines 

on the way forward for the restoration and maintenance 

of soil fertility to achieve sustained agricultural production. 

The Way Forward on the SHP of AGRA 

AGRA has contracted a team of international consultants 

to assist in developing a soil health program for Africa. 

Drs. Esilaba and Nyambati are working with that team to 

develop the program for Kenya. 


11

Corporate Social Responsibility… KARI goes a notch higher 

By Benjamin G. Onyancha, KARI Headquarters 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept 

whereby organisations consider the interests of 

society by taking responsibility for the impact of 

their activities on customers, suppliers, employees, 

communities and other stakeholders, as well as the 

environment. It is a voluntary undertaking that further 

steps in to improve the quality life for employees and 

their families, the local community and society at large, 

without necessarily benefiting out of it. This is an 

obligation that an Institution extends beyond the statutory 

obligations. 

Since the beginning of 2008, KARI has made good of 

its Corporate Social Responsibility in several ways. In 

March 2008, the Director KARI, through the Welfare 

Officer, Mr. Benjamin Onyancha, donated foodstuff and 

other essential commodities to Shangilia Mtoto wa Africa 

an orphanage home situated in Kangemi. 

Mr. B. Onyancha(left), Mrs J. Ciira (third right), Mr. T. 

Subano (second right) and Mr. Nkoroi (right) on behalf 

of KARI handing over donations to a representative of 

Shangilia Mtoto wa Africa, Kangemi 

Shangilia Mtoto wa Africa was founded and registered in 

1994, and has proven through performing arts, to be a 

unique means to change the attitudes and practices of 

street children mostly orphans. Through their 

performances, the children have created an impact on the 

KARI staff in the last two end of year parties at KARI 

Headquarters thus the generous donation. Their shows 

are designed to expose and sensitize society to the rising 

predicament of those young lives lost on the street, sniffing 

glue, picking pockets and prostitution. 

As the Institute continues to view social responsibility 

as a commitment to contributing towards economic 

development and improving the quality of life of our local 

communities, on 10 th May 2008, KARI partnered with 

UUNET in co-sponsoring a 10 km walk dubbed “the 

UUNET Ear walk”. Funds raised from this walk are meant 

for improving the hearing health and lives of the less 

privileged children of Kenya through ear operations for 

the needy. The walk was flagged of by the former Vice 

President, Hon. Moody Awori. 

In another development, KARI’s participation in this 

year’s Freedom from Hunger Walk whose theme was 

“together let’s stamp out hunger” was evident. The event, 

which was flagged off by Agriculture Minister Hon. William 

Ruto at Nyayo National Stadium on May 17th, 2008, was 

sponsored by the Nation Media Group, Brookside Dairy 

among others. Over the years, KARI has religiously and 

generously contributed towards this noble annual event. 

Contributions to UTAFITI Primary School, Muguga, 

KCAA East African School of Aviation, Bishop Kigen 

Orphanage Home, National Humanitarian Trust are among 

the contributions the Institute has made towards the spirit 

of good neighborliness and keeping the spirit of Corporate 

Social Responsibility alive. 

Foodstuff donated by KARI to needy children of Shangilia Mtoto wa Africa, Kangemi 


12

National Genebank of Kenya Hosts National Stakeholders’ Workshop 

on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) 

By P.W. Wambugu and Z.K. Muthamia, National Genebank of Kenya 

Farming throughout the world is underpinned by 

the vast genetic diversity of agricultural 

plants. This diversity, if well managed and conserved, 

has long been viewed as an important vehicle towards 

achieving food security. These resources are also a core 

to livelihoods and every effort should be made to 

sustainably use and conserve them. This therefore calls 

not only for well planned conservation and management 

strategies but also for well formulated policies. In an effort 

to achieve this objective, FAO commissioned several 

studies dealing with PGRFA in the country. In order to 

share results and experiences from the various projects, 

the National Genebank of Kenya hosted a national 

stakeholders’ workshop held in Nakuru from 11 th – 14 th 

June 2008. 

The workshop was officially opened by Agriculture 

Secretary, Dr. W. Songa on behalf of the Permanent 

Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture. While noting the 

importance of PGRFA, he underscored the need for plant 

genetic resources to be properly conserved and shared. 

He noted that PGRFA provide the biological basis for food 

security and supports the livelihoods of the nation’s 

population. At the same time, he noted that PGR serve as 

the plant breeders most important raw materials and the 

farmers most essential input into agriculture. While 

recognizing and appreciating the efforts played by KARI 

in conserving germplasm, he regretted that the country 

had lost important germplasm. 

The Agriculture Secretary recognised the importance 

of the workshop as its discussions and deliberations are 

important in fighting poverty and hunger. He informed 

the participants that in order to fight hunger and 

economically empower the populace, the government had 

put in place several strategies. Currently, Dr. Songa noted 

that the Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture (2004 – 2014) 

was the most important as it feeds into Vision 2030 which 

The Agriculture Secretary, Dr. W. Songa (left) chats with 

some of the workshop participants 

has 3 pillars: Economic, social and governance. He 

observed that in spite of the importance played by PGR in 

the process of agricultural production, insufficient and 

poor documentation of data on the same has hampered 

optimal conservation, access and use. 

The workshop agenda revolved around 5 key issues 

namely: 

• Access to Seeds in Rural Livelihoods 

• Strategic assessment on the state of PGRFA in Kenya 

• Role of markets in promoting sustainable utilization 

of plant genetic resources 

• National Information Sharing Mechanism on PGRFA 

• Mainstreaming gender consideration into National 

Seed Programmes and Policies in Kenya 

The workshop drew attendance of a total of 40 

participants representing about 25 stakeholder institutes 

among them public universities, national and international 

research institutes, ministry of agriculture, extension 

service providers and NGOs. 

The workshop noted that over 90% of the seed of 

especially traditional, neglected and under utilised. 

crops is sourced from the informal seed sector. Ironically, 

while the informal seed sector is the greatest source of 

seeds, farmers in some regions considered the quality of 

these seeds as FAIR while those from the formal sector as 

GOOD. Other gaps identified as being a hindrance to 

small scale farmers accessing seeds include limited 

collection and conservation of traditional/indigenous 

crops and plant species which play important role in food 

security and nutrition in rural areas, weak linkages 

between conservation and utilization of PGR and lack of 

capacity by current generation of rural poor small scale 

farmers to characterise, conserve, evaluate and 

sustainably use PGR to increase food security and 

agricultural production. Additionally, despite women 

playing a key role in the informal seed sector, their 

involvement in national seed policy and programs is very 

limited. Seed regulations do not also support the 

development of informal seed sector in areas of 

production, processing, maintenance, exchange and 

marketing. 

During its deliberations, the workshop identified some 

policy issues that need to be addressed key among them: 

• Establishing a national biodiversity centre to 

coordinate PGR activities in the country 

• Promoting traditional/ under utilised/ emerging crops 

• Streamline access and benefit sharing of PGR through 

a multi-institution/discipline effort 

• Policy highlighting possibility of giving incentives to 

farmers in order to conserve PGR. 

• Implement seed relief policy 

• Amendment of Seed and Plant Variety Act CAP 326 

• Implementing amended seed regulations 

• Strengthening KARI Seed Unit and other public 

institutions to produce basic seed for orphan crops 

• Need to initiate and encourage some type of quality 

standards in the informal seed sector. 


13

Highlighter Pictorial 

Photographs by Tom Mwangi and Fabian Khamusali 

Hon. W. Ruto, Minister of Agriculture gets a first hand experience 

of the drip irrigation at the KARI Irrigation field by KARI- 

Kabete Centre Director, accompanied by KARI Managers 

A rice farmer in Mwea showing her bounty crop of rice 

Dr. Ochieng, Assistant Director in-charge of Crops Research 

with participants at a rice field in Mwea 

Future young farmers interested in reading the organic 

magazine in Maragua District 

A KARI animal scientist, Mr. Solomon Mwendia explains a 

point to participants during the Public Service Week at the 

KICC Conference 

KARI exhibits its innovative technologies held at the 

FAO Conference, United Nations Office, Gigiri, Nairobi 


14

Highlighter Pictorial 

Photographs by Tom Mwangi and Fabian Khamusali 

A KARI scientist explain to the Minister of Agriculture 

how KARI’s innovative technology works in one of 

KARI’s laboratories 

Water collection point where livestock are watered 

Hon. W. Ruto, Minister of Agriculture plants a tree at 

KARI-Kabete during one of his visits to KARI 

Director KARI, Dr. E. Mukisira in discussion with 

others at the Africa Harvest Dinner 

Foodstuffs donated by KARI to orphans of Shangilia 

Mtoto wa Africa, Kangemi 

A farmers’ group in Maragua District pick Napier grass 

for planting after a field school 


15

KARI Displays at the International Day for Biological Diversity 

By G.A Keya, KARI Headquarters 

Opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio 

de Janeiro in 1992, the Convention on 

Biological Diversity is an international treaty for 

the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and 

the equitable sharing of the benefits from utilization of 

genetic resources. With 191 Parties, the CBD has nearuniversal 

participation among countries committed to 

preserving life on Earth. The CBD seeks to address all 

threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including 

threats from climate change, through scientific 

assessments, the development of tools, incentives and 

processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices 

and the full and active involvement of relevant 

stakeholders including indigenous and local communities, 

youth, NGOs, women and the business community. The 

headquarters of the Secretariat of the Convention are 

located in Montreal. The United Nations proclaimed 22 

May the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) 

to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity. 

This year, the IBD celebrations were held at the National 

Museums of Kenya. The theme of this year’s celebration 

was Biodiversity and agriculture- safeguarding 

Biodiversity and securing food security for the world. 

The IBD celebrations in Nairobi went on well. Hon. 

William Ruto, Minister for Agriculture was represented 

by Hon. Japhet Kareke Mbiuki, the Assistant Minister of 

Agriculture in charge of Crop Production. The event was 

attended by some 400 participants from the Universities, 

Ministries of Environment and Mineral Resources, 

Ministry of Agriculture, Wildlife clubs of Kenya, 

Agribusiness Companies, a few Nairobi schools, non 

Governmental organisations, and members of the public. 

Heads of participating organisations who attended the 

event included: Dr. Mzalendo Kibunjia, Director Sites and 

Monuments National Museums of Kenya; Dr. Castro P. 

Camarada, FAO Country Representative; Dr. Brent 

Swallow, Dr. Brent Swallow; Global Project Leader and 

coordinator of the ASB Partnerships for Tropical Forest 

Margins representative CGIAR; Dr. Joseph Jojo Baidu- 

Forson, Regional Director sub-Saharan Africa, Bioversity 

International; Mr. John McDermott, Deputy Director 

General, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 

and Prof. Christian Borgemeister, Director General, ICIPE, 

and Directors of Government Agricultural Institutions 

such as Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Senior 

officers of the Ministries of Environment and also the 

Ministry of Agriculture. 

Dr. E. Mukisira, Director KARI in a jovial mood at IBD 

with the Director of the Biodiversity International incharge 

of the African Region, Dr.Joseph Jojo Baidu- 

Forson 

Mr Kilaparti Ramakrishna (UNEP/DELC) and Mr Nehemiah 

Rotich (UNEP/Regional Office for Africa) represented 

UNEP. Kilaparti Ramakrishna (UNEP/DELC) read the 

message of the UN Secretary General and gave a vote of 

thanks at the end of the celebrations. Nehemiah Rotich 

read the message of the Executive Secretary of CBD and 

presented the key - theme messages for the 2008 IBD. 

The Heads of participating organisations. 

Seedlings of six popular indigenous Fruit trees were 

planted in the Botanic Gardens of the National Museums 

of Kenya, both the literature and food exhibitions were 

suitably laid out. The Poem by the young School girl, the 

drama Skit by “Chanuka Group”, and speeches in the 

Museum Lecture theatre also proceeded well. A large 

number of reading material were taken by the audience. 

The Assistant Minister of Agriculture and Livestock 

launched the Kiswahili Version of the 2008 Publication of 

the International Biodiversity Day, and also launched the 

Kenyan portion of diversity for Life, the global 

communication initiative. 

KARI displayed various outputs. KARI Katumani 

displayed the orphaned crops seeds and utilisation of 

indigenous drought adapted crops. KARI Kakamega 

displayed the fireless cooker and also utilisation of 

indigenous crops. KARI Kabete exhibited the various 

weeds and their management. Genebank also displayed 

their work on biodiversity. The Director, KARI Dr. Mukisira 

conducted the invited guests through the displays. A lot 

of interest was shown in these displays. It was clear that 

KARI is well placed to respond the threat of climate change 

on biodiversity through its research activities that target 

many components of adaptation to climate change e.g 

breeding of drought tolerant crops among others. 


16

Tips On Water Conservation - Every Drop Counts 

By Fabian Kaburu and Sijali Isaya V., KARI-Kabete 

Kenya is classified as a water-stressed country with 

an available renewable per capita water 

consumption of 650,000 litres per litre per year, 

which is way below the world average of 1,700,000 litres. 

With the country’s population growing at 2.3% per 

annum and socio-economic pursuits including 

urbanization, industrialisation, agricultural activity among 

others also growing, the demand for water has increased 

tremendously. Kenya experiences both extremes of 

weather vagaries. During the wet season, floods ravage 

many parts of the country, while in the dry season people 

experience famine due to drought. The latter is rapidly 

becoming a perennial problem. 

The graph shows the trend in discharge of the Ewaso 

Ngiro North river over the years – this trend is the same in 

other rivers. 

Every drop counts and should be conserved everywhere, 

at all times and by all to ensure efficient water use. 

Here are some recommended water saving practices: 

Indoors 

General 

Never pour water down the drain when there may be 

another use for it. Use it to water your indoor plants or 

garden. 

Make sure your home taps and pipes are leak-free. When 

you are certain that no water is being used in your home, 

take a reading of the water meter. Wait for 30 minutes and 

then take a second reading. If the meter reading changes, 

you have a leak!Repair dripping taps by replacing 

washers. One drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons 

(110,000 litres) of water per year! 

Bathroom 

• Check for toilet leaks by adding food colouring to the 

tank. If you have a leak, the colour will appear in the 

bowl within 30 minutes. (Flush immediately to avoid 

stains.) 

• If the toilet handle frequently sticks in the flush 

position letting water run constantly, replace or adjust 

it. 

• Leaky toilets usually can be fixed inexpensively by 

replacing the flapper. 

• Install a toilet displacement device to cut down on the 

amount of water needed for each flush. (Contrary to 

popular opinion, a brick should not be used because it 

can dissolve and the loose pieces can cause damage 

to the internal parts. Instead, place a one-gallon plastic 

jug of water into the tank to displace toilet flow or 

purchase a device available at most hardware and home 

centres designed for this purpose.) Be sure installation 

does not interfere with the operating parts. 

• Consider purchasing a low-volume toilet that uses less 

than half the water of older models. 

• Take shorter showers. 

• Replace your shower-head with an ultra-low-flow 

version. 

• Place a bucket in the shower to catch excess water for 

watering plants. 

• In the shower, turn the water on to get wet; turn off to 

lather up; then turn the water back on to rinse. Repeat 

when washing your hair. 

• Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth, 

washing your face or shaving. 

• Avoid flushing the toilet unnecessarily. Dispose of 

tissues, insects, and other similar waste in the trash 

rather than the toilet. 

Kitchen 

• When hand washing dishes, save water by filling two 

containers - one with soapy water and the other with 

rinse water containing a small amount of chlorine 

bleach. 

• Most dishwashers can clean soiled dishes very well, 

so dishes do not have to be rinsed before washing. 

Just remove large particles of food, and put the soiled 

dishes in the dishwasher. 

• Store drinking water in the refrigerator. Don’t let the 

tap run while you are waiting for water to cool. 

• Clean vegetables in a pan filled with water rather than 

running water from the tap. Re-use the water that 

vegetables are washed in for cleaning or watering 

plants. 

• Kitchen sink disposals require lots of water to operate 

properly. Start a compost pit as an alternate method of 

disposing of food waste, or simply dispose of food in 

the garbage. 

Long Term Indoor Water Conservation 

• Consider installing an instant hot water heater on your 

sink 

• When purchasing a new appliance, choose one that is 

more energy and water efficient. 

Outdoors 

If you have a well or a borehole at home, check your pump 

periodically. If the pump turns on and off while water is 

not being used, you have a leak. 

Car Washing 

• If you wash your own car, park on the grass so that 

you will be watering it at the same time. 

Lawn Care 

• Don’t over water your lawn. Lawns only need to be 

watered every five to seven days in the dry season, 

and every 10 to 14 days in the wet season, if need be. 

A heavy rain eliminates the need for watering for up to 

two weeks. Most of the year, lawns only need one 

inch of water per week. Buy a rain gauge so that you 

can better determine when to water. 


17

• Water in several short sessions rather than one long 

one in order for your lawn to better absorb moisture. 

For example, water in ten-minute sessions spaced 30 

minutes apart, rather than one straight 30-minute 

session. 

• Water lawns during the designated hours. 

• Position sprinklers so water lands on the lawn and 

shrubs and not on paved areas. 

• Avoid sprinklers that spray a fine mist; most of the 

mist evaporates before it reaches the lawn. Check 

sprinkler systems and timing devices regularly to be 

sure they operate properly. Raise the lawn mower blade 

to at least three inches, or to its highest level. A higher 

cut encourages grass roots to grow deeper, shades 

the root system, and holds soil moisture. 

• Avoid over fertilizing your lawn. Applying fertilizer 

increases the need for water. Apply fertilizers that 

contain slow-release, water-insoluble forms of 

nitrogen. 

• Do not leave sprinklers or hoses unattended. A garden 

hose can pour out 600 gallons or more in only a few 

hours. 

Garden irrigation 

Irrigate with the most efficient method. If you cannot use 

drip irrigation method then consider buying your 

vegetables. However you have an advantage in 

establishing your own family vegetable garden. Grow high 

value crops and buy cheaply from the market what is 

available in plenty. Mulch your garden to save water. 

Water Harvesting and Storage 

Always harvest the roof water and store in storage tanks. 

As a minimum, target to harvest all the roof water and use 

it for irrigation, laundry, bathing, cooking and drinking. 

Prepare your land and garden in a way to encourage water 

to infiltrate in to the soil. Aim not to see water running on 

the surface. Use modified ‘Fanya Juu’ and ‘Fanya chini’ 

techniques to landscape your gardens. 

Swimming Pool 

• If you have a swimming pool, consider installing a 

new water-saving pool filter. A single back flushing 

with a traditional filter uses 180 to 250 gallons of water. 

• Cover pools to reduce evaporation of water. 

Long Term Outdoor water Conservation 

• Plant native and/or drought-tolerant grasses, food 

crops, fodder, shrubs and trees. Once established, they 

do not need water as frequently and usually will 

survive a dry period without watering. They also 

require less fertilizer or herbicides. Landscape with 

plants that are heat and drought tolerant and that do 

not require much water to live. Small plants require 

less water to become established. Group plants 

together based on similar water needs. 

• Install irrigation devices that are the most water efficient 

for each use. Micro and drip irrigation are examples of 

efficient devices. 

• Use mulch to retain moisture in the soil. 

• Mulch also helps control weeds (smother) that compete 

with crops and landscape plants for water. 

• Avoid purchasing recreational water toys that require 

a constant stream of water. 

• Avoid installing ornamental water features (such as 

fountains) unless they use recycled water. 

• Construction of water storage structures like dams and 

water pans to mitigate flood waters. 

• Adoption of water harvesting technologies and storing 

the harvested water for domestic, livestock and 

irrigation use. 

Healthy garden of irrigated crop of green pepper 


18

Within the Community 

• Participate in public water conservation meetings 

conducted by your local government, water 

management ministries and other stakeholders. 

• Follow water conservation and water shortage rules 

in effect. You are included in the restrictions even if 

your water comes from a private well and borehole. 

• Encourage your employer to promote water 

conservation in the workplace. 

• Patronize businesses that practice water conservation, 

such as restaurants that only serve water upon request. 

• Report water losses (broken pipes, open hydrants, 

errant sprinklers, abandoned free-flowing wells, etc.) 

to the property owner, local authorities or your water 

management agencies. 

• Encourage your school system and local government 

to help develop and promote a water conservation 

ethic. 

• Support projects that will lead to an increased use of 

reclaimed wastewater for irrigation and other uses. 

• Support efforts that create a concern for water 

conservation among tourists. 

• Promote water conservation in community/work place/ 

learning institutions newsletters, magazines, 

newspapers, pamphlets and brochures, bulletin 

boards, and by example. Encourage your friends, 

neighbours, and co-workers to “be water smart.” 

• Conserve water because it is the right thing to do - 

even when someone else is footing the bill, such as 

when you are staying at a hotel. 

• Try to do one thing each day that will result in saving 

water.. Every drop counts! 

Water Restrictions 

In some communities where drought conditions persist, 

officials may recommend measures to ration use of water. 

These recommendations may include such procedures as 

domestic use, watering livestock, irrigation of crops, 

watering lawns and washing cars on odd or even days of 

the week, at night, or on weekends. The restrictions may 

limit hours or prohibit use of water, or require use of hand 

watering instead of using sprinkler systems that use much 

more water. You should check with your local authorities 

for information on water restrictions that may be imposed 

for your area. 

KARI Pension Scheme Registered 

By Josephine Kahiga, KARI Headquarters 

Board members of the KARI Staff Retirement Benefit Scheme pose 

with the Registration Certificate 

The winds of change have been blowing at the 

KARI Staff Retirement Scheme. The Director 

KARI, Dr. Ephraim Mukisira, has been committed 

to making the KARI pension scheme operate efficiently. 

Thanks to his vision and the dutiful work of other Trustees 

of the scheme, the scheme was recently registered by the 

Retirement Benefits Authority. This is no small feat as 

stringent regulations had to be followed so that the 

scheme could be legally recognized by the Retirement 

Benefits Authority. 

One of the agenda items in the 2 nd quarter of 2008 

Board of trustee meeting held on 21 st July 2008 at 

KARI headquarters ROOM 307 was the presentation 

of the RBA registration certificate. All schemes must 

be registered by RBA.The scheme now has to 

follow, to the letter, the laid down laws and 

regulations in the Retirement Benefits Industry or 

face serious consequences for non compliance. The 

scheme members also get to benefit from various 

tax exemptions by saving for retirement through the 

pension scheme. All these are definitely bonuses to 

the scheme members. 

The service delivery by the Pension Administration 

Office has also greatly improved. The payment of monthly 

pensions is now done through the members bank 

accounts. This cuts down on administrative costs as well 

as being convenient for the scheme members. Long 

standing dues to pensioners and dependants of deceased 

members are also being paid in an organized way. These 

are only initial improvements and the Trustees are keen 

on further improvements. 

We congratulate the Board of Trustees for a job well done. 


19

Director KARI Meets Senior Staff 

By George Karanja, KARI Headquarters 

The Director held meetings with senior staff of the 

Institute noting that a new year is often looked 

upon with enthusiasm and renewed hope. It offers 

us an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the 

previous year and chart the way forward for the new year. 

In the meetings, he regretted the New Year, started with 

post-election violence that continued way into February. 

The period experienced loss of life and mass destruction 

of public and private property. KARI was not spared either. 

Indeed, KARI centres in Muguga, the Rift Valley and 

Western Kenya were affected to varying degrees. The 

remarks made by the Director to the Senior Management 

Staff on April 7 and to the Senior Staff (including Centre 

Directors and Officers-incharge of Sub-centres) on April 

10-11, 2008 were therefore very re-assuring and could not 

have come at a better time. 

The Senior Management meeting was attended 

primarily by the Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, 

Chiefs of Divisions, Programme Coordinators and 

Programme Officers based at KARI HQ, while the Senior 

Staff meeting included the Centre Directors and Officers 

in charge of Sub-centres, as well. Coming within two days 

of each other, the Director’s new year message was firm 

and clear – we must internalize “DR GRAC” principle, 

that is: 

• Articulate Desired Results 

• Stick to Guidelines required to attain results 

• Specify Resources required 

• Ensure Accountability 

• Focus on Consequences (Impact)concerted efforts 

towards achieving institutional targets, within the quarter, 

in spite of the relatively volatile political and social 

environment. He cited returns in performance-based 

annual evaluation, revision of the KARI Strategic Plan, 

development of the 4 th Medium Term Plan, KARI Scheme 

of Service, Terms and Conditions of Service, 

implementation of KARI Pension Scheme, establishment 

of various management-oriented committees, planning and 

Dr Mukisira flanked by his deputies sets the ball rolling 

Some senior KARI Managers follow the proceedings 

budgeting, increased partnership portfolio, formation of 

the Small Grants Committee, publication of a special KARI 

Highlighter covering July-December 2007 period and the 

launching of the KARI InFocus magazine to facilitate 

information sharing. 

In spite of these achievements, however, the Director cited 

some areas that needed improvement. They included: 

• Response to requests – there was need to embrace an 

“Action today attitude”. Embrace the now embraced Rapid 

Results Initiative 

• Timeliness in reporting and leaving duty, and zero 

tolerance to idleness and pep talk 

• Coordination of programme planning, implementation, 

monitoring and evaluation and reporting 

• Regularity of Departmental meetings – preferably at the 

beginning and end of every quarter 

• Quality work – there was need to embrace quality and 

excellence at all levels and in all disciplines, particularly in 

documentation. 

On the way forward, the Director emphasized the need 

for financial sustainability through resource mobilization 

and commercialization of research products. Noting the 

need for a partnership strategy, he encouraged staff to go 

for win-win partnerships. On the balance of strategic visa-vis 

adaptive research, he suggested that the MTP 

taskforce should hold more consultations on the same 

and provide a clear guideline on the same. He further said 

that the Management is considering some options on this 

balance and will provide guidance on the same at the 

finalization of the fourth Medium Term Plan. He emphasized 

that new areas of research such as climatic change, biofuel 

and ecosystem health, among others should be embraced 

since a lot was expected from KARI. 

The meetings were a refreshing morale booster. 

Members undertook to participate in peace initiatives and 

social responsibilities in an effort to make KARI more 

visible and valued by the local communities. 


20

Rwanda Ambassador to Kenya Visits KARI-Thika 

By Monicah Waiganjo and Charles Waturu, KARI Thika 

The Ambassador of Rwanda to Kenya His 

excellency George W. Kayonga visited 

KARI-Thika on 21 st April, 2008. He was welcomed 

on arrival by the Centre Director, Dr. C.N. Waturu who 

also introduced him to the Research Scientists gathered 

to wait for him. The Ambassador thanked KARI Thika 

staff for the warm reception and expressed his personal 

interest in Agriculture emphasizing the need to explore 

areas of collaboration between Kenya and Rwanda. He 

reminded the group that the Centre had in the past received 

visitors from his country including the Minister 

for Agriculture and Animal Resources and a group of farmers 

who were trained on macadamia production. The ambassador 

had a group photograph with the research scientists 

and the Centre Director. 

The Ambassador was taken through KARI-Thika 

posters to familiarize himself with the Centre mandates. 

Accompanied by the Centre Director and the Research 

scientists he visited the Tissue Culture Laboratory, 

Entomopathogenic Nematode (EPN) laboratory, Banana 

hardening nursery, macadamia, vanilla, fruit tree nursery 

and the passion fruit screen house. At the Tissue Culture 

laboratory, Mr. Francis Wambugu (Officer in Charge of 

laboratory facilities) took the Ambassador through the 

banana tissue culture propagation explaining the materials 

and methods involved for the rapid multiplication of clean 

plantlets to the attentive guest. At the Entomopathogenic 

nematode (EPN) laboratory, Dr. Waturu explained 

production of EPNs emphasizing their host specificity to 

insect pests that makes them a safe alternative to chemical 

pesticides in pest control. The Economically important 

pests of horticultural crops that have been experimented 

on include the banana weevil, diamondback moth and 

cutworms. He further explained how the 

entomopathogenic nematodes are reared using the wax 

moth and informed the Ambassador that he described a 

new species Steinernema karii that formed a part of his 

Ph.D studies. 

They say “Seeing is believing” and the Ambassador 

had a feel of EPN laboratory activities as he viewed the 

‘This is what we do’, Mr. Kiuru seems to be telling the 

diplomat 

wriggling eelworms through a stereo-microscope. 

Macadamia production is a newly introduced 

Agribusiness in Rwanda. The enthusiastic Ambassador 

showed a special interest in Macadamia production 

as he listened to the whole production cycle 

as explained by Mr. Paul Kiuru. 

Finally, the Ambassador capped his visit by 

planting a tree outside the upcoming Ultramodern 

Laboratory/ Office Complex where he also 

addressed the members of staff. In his address, the 

Ambassador reiterated the importance of 

collaboration and welcomed the Scientists to visit 

Rwanda and explore possible areas of strengthening 

the partnership. He expressed his appreciation and 

wished to pay the centre another visit in the near 

future. The Centre Director requested Dr. Monicah 

Waiganjo (Deputy Centre Director) to give a vote 

of thanks in which she thanked the guest for choosing 

to visit KARI-Thika and wished him a safe journey 

back to Nairobi. 

Dr Waturu (foreground) explains a point to an attentive 

guest (with microscope) on the use of EPN lab. test 

Dr M. Waiganjo leads the diplomat through a poster 


21

KARI Participates in the 1st National Conference and Exhibition 

for Dissemination of Research Results and Review of Innovations 

By JK Sitawa Ogutu, KARI Headquarters 

Dr Mukisira presents the keynote address 

The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and 

Technology convened its first ever national 

conference and exhibition for dissemination of 

research results and review of innovations. The 

conference was held at the Kenyatta International 

Conference Centre (KICC) from Monday 28th April to 

Wednesday 30th April 2008. The inaugural 

event attracted over 50 plenary presentations 

on diverse topics on aspects of research from 

research institutes, institutions of higher 

learning and non-governmental 

organisations. Seventeen exhibitors drawn 

from the IARCS, professional organisations, 

service providers, community-based 

organisations non governmental 

organisations and the consumers society 

were represented. 

The Director KARI, Dr. Ephraim 

Mukisira graced the occasion and delivered 

a keynote address entitled “Demanding 

innovations by farmers: KARI’s experience” 

. The Director’s paper focused on the subject 

of demand-driven development of 

technologies for the Kenyan farmer and was 

the crowing glory for participants who had 

just been engaged by KARI staff at the institute’s 

exhibition stand. Here, the focus was on innovations 

created by KARI’s own scientists. The rodent holding 

device invented by Mr. Kariuki Ndungu of KARI TRC 

was the star attraction of the day for many visitors who 

were impressed by the ingenuity. 

The Director KARI (fourth right) poses for a photograph with staff manning the KARI stand. Left to right; Kariuki Ndungu 

(KARI TRC), Arina Odek (KARI VVPC), Christopher Obote (HQT), T Mungalla (HQT), James Kinyua (KARI Lanet), JK 

Sitawa Ogutu (HQT), JN Gatei (KARI Muguga South), Samuel ole Sinkeet (HQT), Phillip Kibet (HQT), Catherine 

Olang’o (HQT). Squatting left, Solomon Mwendia (KARI Muguga South) and right, Douglas Indetie (KARI Lanet) 


22

SUCAPRI E-Platform Workshop 

By JM Ndubi, KARI Headquarters 

The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in conjunction 

with Strengthening of University Capacity for 

Promoting, Facilitating and Teaching Rural 

Innovation processes (SUCAPRI) organised a three-day 

workshop at the University of Nairobi, College of 

Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences (CAVS), 13-15 

February 2008 to deliberate on the selection of an e- 

platform for the SUCAPRI project. 

The objectives of this workshop were to collectively 

agree upon the main purposes and functions of an e- 

platform and to jointly select an appropriate e- 

communication platform after evaluating existing platforms 

and agree on the modalities of operation of the e-platform. 

Five of the eight SUCAPRI members and associates 

namely: University of Nairobi (UoN), Makerere University 

(MAK), Kenyatta University (KU), Kenya Agricultural 

Research Institute (KARI), and Jomo Kenyatta University 

of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) were represented 

in this workshop. 

Discussions on the concept of Open Educational 

Resources (OER’s) were facilitated by the COL’s 

consultant. OERs were defined (including the critical role 

they play in Africa). It was noted that though the concept 

of sharing was acceptable, issues of inadequate manpower 

and infrastructure could hinder the sharing of these 

resources. However, this should not be seen as a 

stumbling block as the issues of access are being 

addressed through various national, regional and 

international interventions. 

The discussions were followed by the identification 

of the SUCAPRI needs, which constitute both 

communication and e-platform requirements. The 

communication platform would facilitate the transfer and 

sharing of information and knowledge related to SUCAPRI 

members and stakeholders. This communication platform 

will have the following: 

• Support for emails and exchange of files (audio, video, 

text, graphics and documents) 

• Incorporate Voice Over IP (VoIP) support including 

short message service (sms) and internet telephony 

• Support discussion forum, chats and internal emails 

• Support group collaboration and project planning 

• Help in the development and implementation of a 

communication strategy 

The e-platform that will be used to implement the Learning 

Management System and Content Development platform 

should support: 

• Collaborative Content Development 

• Reach a larger number of stakeholders while being 

able to support rigorous quality assurance before 

hosting for learners use 

• Learners’ activities and address pedagogical issues 

Key features of the various learning management 

systems (Moodle and Atutor) were discussed highlighting 

their main features in course and learning management, 

learners’ activities and facilitation. The focus was placed 

on two content management systems (Joomla and Drupal) 

to complement the existing mailing list as a communication 

platform and also cater for the website. All the platforms 

were subjected to a common criterion of evaluation and 

ranked. 

Joomla was selected as the communication platform 

while WikiEducator and Moodle were selected as the e- 

platforms to be used by the project. 

KARI Seed Unit 

Certified Seeds from KARI Seed Unit for maize, cowpeas, 

green grams among others. Seeds are available in each of 

the KARI Centres and Companies listed below: 

Crop 

Variet 

y 

Centre/Area/Compan y 

Soya 

bean wheat 

Variou 

s 

KARI-Njoro 

Maize, beans, cowpeas, green 

grams, pigeon pea and Dolichos 

Katumani and DLC 

Maize 

KARI-Katumani 

Cassava/Sweet 

potatoes 

Variou s 

Katumani, Mtwapa, Kakamega 

and Embu 

Fruit 

tree seedlings 

Variou s 

Katumani, Embu, 

and Matuga 

Thika, Perkerra 

Hybrid Maize 

Hybrid 

Maize 

KH600-11D and 

KH600-14E 

KH600-15A 

Freshco Seed Company 

East African Seed Company 

Certified Seed 

Varieties 

Hybrid 

Maize 

EMCO 

KARI-Emb u 

Hybrid 

Maize 

KSTP94 

KARI-Kakameg a 


23

New Research now focus on Water efficient Maize for the African region 

James Gethi, KARI Katumani 

Anew partnership involving Kenya Agricultural 

Research Institute (KARI), AAFT, CIMMYT, and 

Monsanto Company has been formed with the 

objective of developing maize varieties that are drought 

tolerant. This was revealed by the Agriculture Secretary, 

Dr. Wilson Songa, while speaking to partners in the project 

and other stakeholders attending a two-day planning 

meeting (28 th -29 th April, 2008) for the project in KARI 

Headquarters. The partnership, in a project known as 

Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) plans to make 

use of the vast experience of the key players to develop 

varieties which will not attract royalties and hence will be 

freely made available to the participating African countries. 

According to Dr. Wilson Songa, this project will go a long 

way in enhancing food security. He noted that WEMA 

project is welcome because it is tackling an important 

problem and asked that it be restructured to involve farmers 

from the beginning. He said this public–private partnership 

should allow for equal say in the administration of the 

project with a clear focus on the major priority of the 

project. The leadership of the project is crucial, and AAFT 

should ensure that all key partners are involved right from 

the start. He however, observed that the royalty free 

technologies will be very useful to the small scale farmers. 

Dr. Songa was speaking during that launch of the Kenya 

part of the project at the KARI headquarters. 

While welcoming guests the Director KARI, Dr. 

Ephraim Mukisira, told the participants that KARI values 

new initiatives aimed at addressing food problems in 

Kenya. He emphasized that food crisis being witnessed 

currently can have far reaching effects, since maize is 

Kenya’s stable food crop. He noted that through 

partnerships and collaboration KARI had embraced 

projects like Insect Resistant Maize for Africa (IRMA), 

Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa (DTMA) which had 

developed technologies that addressed the problems 

faced by Kenyan farmers. He welcomed Water Efficient 

Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project and advised the project 

team to work together to make headway in addressing 

food security in Kenya. 

The Director noted that maize is cultivated on 

estimated 100,000 hectares in the semi-arid lands, which 

have less potential for growing maize. These areas receive 

an annual rainfall of 300-400mm and suggested that every 

drop should be used for production. Varieties released for 

these areas are early maturing varieties and drought 

escaping but even with these efforts, there is a gap of two 

tons per hectare, with over 200,000 tons lost per annum 

due to drought alone. Posed Dr. Mukisira, if 80% of this 

loss is saved, then food sufficiency will be enhanced. He 

challenged the participants to work hard, and reminded 

them to consider other challenges bedevilling this vital 

crop such as the larger grain borer, climatic change and 

expensive inputs. 

WEMA maize varieties will be royalty-free 

In his speech Dr Mugo of CIMMYT noted that WEMA 

has come when there is increased demand for maize in 

the sub Saharan Africa. He said CIMMYT is charged 

with the responsibility of improving maize and wheat 

in the world has 60–70% of the resources available 

maize in SSA. He pledge his organisations’ support to 

the WEMA project. WEMA will work hand in hand 

with DTMA utilising technologies developed by 

DTMA. DTMA uses mostly conventional breeding to 

address drought tolerance, while WEMA will combine 

both biotechnology and conventional breeding to 

improve drought tolerance in maize. 

Dr Cook of Mosanto Company praised the 

partnership of the various institutions. She said WEMA 

is setting standards for the future, and acknowledged 

Monsanto’s willingness to share their technology with 

the public institutions in order to address food security. 

The purpose of this meeting was to introduce the 

Kenya Project Team to the project partners, develop 

workplans and project activities and budget for WEMA- 

Kenya in addition to internalising the objectives of 

WEMA project. The project will be coordinated by Dr. 

James Gethi of KARI Katumani under the auspices of 

AATF. During the meeting three committees were 

formed to handle various issues. These are: Regulatory 

Team comprising Dr. Simon Gichuki and Ms Jane 

Otadoh; Communications Team comprising Ms Grace 

Agili, Ms Rachael Rege and Ms Josephine Mogere and 

the Product Development Team comprising Ms Regina 

Tende, Mr. Murenga Mwimali and Mr. Isaac Mzera 

Uzel. 


24

KARI Initiates Performance Based Evaluation 

of Research Scientists for 2008 Promotions 

By Festus M. Murithi and Mercy W. Kamau, KARI Headquarters 

Performance based evaluation is considered the best 

and most objective method of evaluating staff in an 

organisation for purposes of rewarding good 

performers and sanctioning the poor ones. The KARI 

Human Resources Strategy and the Scheme of Service 

recommends the institutionalisation and regularisation of 

performance based evaluation for all cadre of staff in the 

Institute. Towards this end, KARI has adopted the annual 

appraisal for all staff, the mandatory signing of a 

Performance Contracts (PC) for all staff in Job group “J” 

and above, and the Performance based Evaluation of the 

research scientists. 

Since research scientists play a critical role in 

accomplishing the mission of a research organisation such 

as KARI, their evaluation should be elaborate, objective 

and impartial. Any rewards or sanctions for research 

scientists should therefore be based on an objective 

performance based evaluation. 

The KARI Management initiated performance based 

evaluation of its research scientists in 1997 and 

implemented the first performance based promotions in 

2001. The second evaluation exercise was carried out in 

2002 but the results were not implemented. The Institute 

has however continued to promote scientists upon 

attainment of higher degree qualifications. The 

management plans to evaluate and promote research 

scientists based on their performance this year. 

The management considers that qualitative attributes 

are important when considering staff for higher levels of 

management/leadership responsibilities. The Institute is 

therefore in the process of institutionalising the annual 

appraisal of its entire staff through some qualitative 

assessment criteria. The appraisal considers 10 qualitative 

attributes which the immediate supervisor uses to assess 

staff working under him/her on a scale of 1-5. The ten 

criteria considered are: quality of work; quantity of work; 

cooperation; knowledge of the job; dependability; 

attendance and punctuality to duty; knowledge of the 

Institute’s policy and objectives; initiative and judgment; 

KARI scientists in a planning session in one of the programmes 

supervisory, leadership and technical potential; and work 

ethics. The annual appraisal will be considered as part of 

the overall evaluation and will contribute 20% of the final 

score. 

All officers designated as research scientists in their 

letter of appointments, including those on approved leave 

of absence and study leave, will be expected to complete 

the evaluation forms and provide scores for the various 

outputs as given in the criteria form and then return to the 

Centre Director within a specified period. Scores for the 

Annual Appraisal will be obtained from the Centres and 

appended to the scientist’s evaluation form. Officers in 

managerial positions (Centre Directors and Programme 

Officers) have the option to be evaluated as research 

scientists if they so wish or wait to be evaluated as 

managers. 

Each Centre Director will constitute a Centre Scientists’ 

Evaluation Committee (CSEC) of five members (Centre 

Director, Deputy Centre Director, Centre Personnel officer 

and two senior scientists) to verify the outputs and scores 

for each scientist in their respective Centres. The verified 

forms will be sent to KARI Headquarters to be further 

verified by the Headquarters Research Scientists 

Evaluation Committee (RSEC). 

The scores from the quantitative evaluation form and 

the annual appraisal will be weighted appropriately (i.e. 

multiplying by 0.80, and 0.20, respectively) and a final 

score for each scientist will be determined. Those 

scientists to be considered for promotion will be identified 

using the cut-off score for each Job Grade and then 

recommended for promotion. 

It is planned that the promotions would be effected 

soon after the evaluation is completed. Each Research 

Programme will be allocated a certain number of the senior 

positions of Chief Research Officers (CROs - RI 14) and 

Senior Principal Research Officers (SPRO – RI 13) after 

the establishment for each programme is determined. 

Those who meet the minimum qualifications for the senior 

positions in every programme will be interviewed by the 

Board of Management. This will ensure that each of the 

major programmes will have some officers in the senior 

positions of CROs and/or SPROs and those positions 

will be filled only when there is a vacancy in the particular 

programme. Scientists will continue to be promoted to the 

other grades (below SPRO) as they qualify. 

Since the last evaluation was conducted sometimes 

back (about seven years ago), the current evaluation will 

be taken to be a baseline upon which subsequent 

evaluations will build on. This implies that in the 

subsequent evaluations, researchers will only be required 

to indicate the incremental outputs generated after this 

evaluation. It is anticipated that the evaluation will be 

institutionalised to be conducted regularly at an interval 

of three years. 


25

In Transition 

By PM Mulli, KARI Headquarters 

The list below is a summary of staff members who transited through retirement and natural attrition: 

Deceased 

Muriuki, Eutychus T. 

Wafula, Patrick O. 

Kipyegon, Moses M. 

Otunga, Patrick M. 

Njenga, Patrick Kakami 

William, Isabella Karegei 

Munyao, Emmaculate M. 

Khisa, Hudson W. 

Kihara, Eunice N. 

Arimi, Hellen K. 

Lekeso, Lenkuluya 

Kamande, Godffrey Karuiru 

Nthinga, jemimah Muthanje 

Rono, Walterson K. 

Chebor, Kipkulei 

Kisaka, Nicodemus 

Kahiga, Elizabeth M. 

Dismissed 

Ngale, Samuel P.M. 

Early Retirement 

Kitilit, Jackson 

Expiry of Contract 

Gitau, Wilfred K. 

Kimani, Nyambura Grace 

Wokabi, Stanley M. 

Lilian, W. Kimani 

Asiachi, Edward 

Righa, Stephen c. 

Wambugu, F.M. 

Matata, James B.W. 

Wabule, Mary Namarome 

Wainaina, Peter Kamau 

Otolo, Andrew J. Demba 

Resigned 

Murugu, L. Kendi 

Mitugo, Simon K. 

Njubi, David Macharia 

Seroney, Dickens Kipkosgei 

Assanga, Silvano Ocheya 

Ngige, Serah W. 

Njihia, Paul M. 

Retired 

Ndugu, Margaret N. 

Muchuku, David M. 

Macharia, Stanley N. 

Kamau, Charles P. 

Marete, Gilford M. 

Fundi, Dickson Muli 

Migika, Julius Obae 

Njagi, Symon M. 

Ngugi, Apolyn Njeri 

Khasiani, George 

Magana, Pascal M. 

Kibiro, Joseph T. 

Okwemwa, Fred O. 

Nganga, Simon K. 

Wanjala, Lucas 

Njuguna, Wilson N. 

Kazungu, Joseph A. 

Katenya, Wilson 

Mbaga, Wilson D. 

Mbogo, Beatrice W. 

Muhonja, Hellen 

Odhiambo, Cannan E.O. 

Kibinge, Stephen Pecos 

Mununu, Peter K. 

Kilonzo, Wilson 

Gichovi, Njagi 

Katisya, Rose Mwikali 

Kiriuki, Clement M. 

Juma, Tom Miyawa 

Gathiaka, Gabriel N. 

Ochieng, Perez O. 


26

Keny 

enya Agricultur 

ricultural Resear 

esearch Institute (KARI) 

11th KARI Biennial Scientific ic Confer 

erence 

ence 

& 

3rd Agricultur 

ricultural For 

orum 

Date: 10 - 14 November 2008 

Venue: : KARI Headquarter 

ters Complex, Kapta 

ptagat t road, 

Loresho 

esho, , Nairobi, Keny 

enya 

Theme 

“Demand-driven en Agricultur 

ricultural Tec 

echnologies for Sustainable 

Production” 

Objectives 

1. To share current agricultural research findings along agricultural product value 

chains with stakeholders 

2. To enhance partnerships and strengthen linkages amongst stakeholders along 

agricultural product value chains 

3. To share progress towards an integrated National Agricultural Research System 

(NARS) 

4. To share current strategies and opportunities for coping with environmental 

degradation 

5. To interactively create awareness of agricultural technologies, information, 

knowledge and products 

Deadline for Submission of First Drafts of Papers: 30th June 2008 

Registration Deadline: 31 August 2008 

Agricultural Technologies for Wealth Creation 

For further information contact 

The Secretariat KARI 11th Biennial Scientific Conference 

KARI Headquarters 

P.O. Box 57811, Nairobi, Kenya 

Tel: 254-02-4183301-20, Fax: 254-02-4183344 

e-mail: secretariat@kari.org 


27

Calling for contributions 

We at the Highlighter remind you that this is your newsletter. To keep KARI staff informed of activities across the 

breadth of KARI, we need information from you. Send us your stories – on events that have taken place; visits to 

your centre; workshops, conferences and seminars; training and of course, breakthroughs in research and upcoming 

activities. 

For those at Headquarters on the Local Area Network (LAN), those at centres on e-mail and other readers, you can 

now read the Highlighter on our website (www.kari.org) 

Editors 

Mwangi Mwariri, Koinange T. Mukundi and J. K. Sitawa Ogutu 

Layout and design 

Rosemary Aloo 

Photographs 

Tom Mwangi and Fabian Khamusali 

The Highlighter is a newsletter mainly for KARI staff. Communication from interested parties in response to 

this newsletter or communications for subsequent issues are welcome. These should be sent to: 

Assistant Director, 

Information and Documentation Services 

KARI Headquarters 

P.O. Box 57811-002000, Nairobi, Kenya 

Tel: +252 20 413301-20 

Fax: +254 20 4183344 

Safaricom: 0722 206 988, 0722 206 986 

Zain: 0733 333 223, 0733 333 224 

E-mail: resource.centre@kari.org 

Website: www.kari.org 


28

January - June 2008 - Kenya Agricultural Research Institute

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