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RESEARCH AND CAPACITY BUILDING PRIORITIES-the case

for Kenya

Conference on Global Food Security Montreal, Canada

October, 2009

Dr. Ephraim A MukisiraDr. Ephraim A MukisiraDirector, KARIDirector, KARI

2Agricultural Biotechnology in Kenya

Kenya on World Map

Canada

Kenya

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Kenya – Key Facts

Area: 582,650 sq km •Popn: 38M (2008 est.) •G. Rate: 2.8% (2008 est.) •Land Use: Arable land: 8.01%

Peren. crops: 0.97%Others: 91.02%

•GDP (2007): $58.88 billion •GDP G. Rate: 7% (2007) •GDP by sector:

Agriculture: 23.8% Industry: 16.7% Services: 59.5%

•Labor force: 12M (2005) •Labor force - by occupation:

Agriculture: 75%Ind. & services: 25%

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Current Agriculture Research Status in Kenya

• 28 agencies engaged in agricultural research

• 833 full time equivalent researchers• KARI accounts for more than 68%• Universities account for 17%• Three other public organization

account for 14%• Private sector accounts for only 1%

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INTERCONNECTING SYSTEMS

AKIS

Agric.Research

•Education system

University Research

Research System

•Michelson et al (ISNAR 2003)

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Re-invigorated NARS Focus

• Increased responsiveness to clients needs• Empower various agricultural sector

stakeholders to demand, uptake and scale-up research products

• Brokerage of knowledge, information and technology

• Creating an effective M&E system for feedback and impact assessment

• Piloting enterprise incubators in rural market towns and centres in collaboration with the private sector

• Establishment of Science Parks

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KARI’s Roles and Core Functions

• Generating technologies, knowledge and information

• Catalysing and facilitating innovative processes• Creating and strengthening partnerships for

impact• Conducting strategic, adaptive and applied

research • In collaboration with partners, contribute to the

production of regional and international public goods.

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Value Chain Approach to Research

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KARI’s Broad Research Programme areas

Increased crop yield through adoption of KARI technologies

1. Food Crops research (cereals, root and tuber, legumes, pulses, etc)

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KARI’s Broad Research Programme areas

Napier Grass

Beef Production

Small Ruminant

3. Animal Production and range research (dairy, beef, pastures and folder, small ruminants, range ecology, etc)

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KARI’s Broad Research Programme areas 4. Animal health research (all animal diseases)

Livestock Vaccines produced by KARI

Improved (novel) Vaccines for Improved (novel) Vaccines for Livestock diseases are a Livestock diseases are a constraint to animal production constraint to animal production through deaths or reduced through deaths or reduced productivity, for example, productivity, for example, Rift Rift Valley Fever (RVF), CBPP, CCPP, Valley Fever (RVF), CBPP, CCPP, NSD, NCD, ECF, RinderpestNSD, NCD, ECF, Rinderpest

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KARI’s Broad Research Programme areas

5. Socio-economics and Biometrics (crop, livestock and Natural resources, impact assessment, priority setting, etc)

6. Land and water management (soil fertility, survey and conservation; vegetation survey; agroforestry; irrigation and drainage, GIS, etc)

7. Cross-cutting (Biotechnology, IDS, ATIRI, ARF, KSU)

Research activities range from strategic to adaptiveImplementing over 38 research programmes with more than 600projects and activities at centres

Drip irrigation technology

Some of KARI Partners and Stakeholders

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BiotechnologyTissue Culture, Molecular Marker, Transgenic Technologies, Diagnostic for Livestock and Plants and Vaccines against livestock Diseases

Quality planting materials, Virus elimination, Embryo rescue

Examples in KARI are:Commercial production of planting material of Pyrethrum, banana, potato, strawberry and flowers.Small scale production of planting material for sweet potato, cassava, Vanilla Protocol development (Macadamia, Vanilla, Oilpalm, flowers)

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Regeneration of GM-sweetpotato

Transformation with gene constructs

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Development of Insect Resistant Maize

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• Custodian of the largest Genebank in SSA with over 450,000 accessions

• Custodian of the international reference for simsim and sunflower

• Custodian of the international reference elite herd of Sahiwal and Boran

• World reference for Rinderpest vaccines• Dairy Centre of Excellence for the ECA• Regional reference on Biotechnology

Research

Some Strategic Functions

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Research scientist capacityNo. Programme Current No. of

Scientists

1 Food Crops 105

2 Horticultural and Industrial Crops 63

3 Animal Production and Range Management 61

4 Animal Health 65

5 Land and Water Management 68

6 Socio-economic and Biometrics 90

7 Adaptive Research 20

8 Information and Documentation and Knowledge Management

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9. Biotechnology 24

10 Others – Germplasm conservation and multiplication (11) Technology and Information dissemination (2); Agricultural Research Investment Services (2)

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Total 512

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Human Resource Scientific Capacity by Qualification

Year Total PhD MSc Other

2003 472 141 257 74

2008 512 160 232 120

Difference 40 19 -25 46

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KARI Headquarters – Administration and Research Coordination

20One of KARI’s analytical laboratories Level II Biosafety Laboratory at KARI-Kabete

KARI-Naivasha KARI Mtwapa

Modern InfrastructuresModern Infrastructures

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KARI KARI -- Biosafety InfrastructuresBiosafety Infrastructures• Containment facilities• Containment Laboratories

Level II• Containment Greenhouses/

screenhouse• Ultra-modern Greenhouse• Livestock containment

facility

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EMERGING CHALLENGES

• Climate Change – unpredictable weather patterns, extreme weather conditions, emerging pests & diseases etc.

• Environmental Concerns

• Food insecurity

• Biotechnology (Policy and Capacity)

• Sustainable funding for research

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KARI’s Approach to:

• Climate Change

– Mainstream climate change issues in all research programmes.

– Build capacity e.g Agro-meteorology.

– Establish linkages with National Regional and International Institutes in mapping likely local impacts of climate change.

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Addressing Food insecurity• Increased agricultural productivity• Increased support to agricultural research

and development• Empower farming communities through

increased adoption of technologies• Expansion of irrigated agriculture• Innovative agriculture and extension

services• Transformation of agriculture from

subsistence to a commercially profit oriented enterprise

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Sustainable funding for research

– Lobby for increased funding from Governments (Maputo Declarations-10% of total budget).

– Increase Internal revenue generation –commercial production.

– Establishment of Research and Development Trust Funds.

– Royalties from commercialized KARI technologies.

– Competitive Grants, Contract Research and consultancies.

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CAPACITY BUILDING: ROLE OF UNIVERSITIES AND NARS

IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

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Key Challenges to African Universities

• Addressing the Brain drain [Africa loses 23000 professionals each year through emigration (WB report, 1995)]

• Re-dressing the pressure to expand access to higher education

• Phasing out degrees that are not relevant to the labor market

• Bringing flexibility in their teaching methods• Improving the quality of university education • Establishing sustainable research funding

mechanisms.

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NARS and Dissemination of Research Findings

• NARIS and Universities have weak outreach programmes

• Exists also weak linkages between the Universities, NARIs, industry and farmers

• Thus there exists an opportunity for the NARS to try on innovative dissemination pathways (for example KARI’s Demand Innovation model)

• Need for NARS to engage the public and private extension providers in technology transfer

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Addressing the challenges: what needs to be done?

• Build Strong partnerships and linkages with Stakeholders in the agricultural sector

• Build linkages with faculty/college/university with local and international universities and research institutions

• Create research development, dissemination capacity, build strong partnerships with all stakeholders and enhance teamwork and participatory management of research and development

• Conducting strategic, adaptive and applied research

• Strengthen student professional organizations.

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Figure 2. Life–long learning is essential.

Exam

Knowledge

10 20 30 Years

ForgetsJob changes

New knowledge increases rapidly

Reduce knowledge gap• Self-learning & experience• Continuing education

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Approach Training the Trainers

… reaches a large number of studentsand also colleagues

Effective capacity building!

Each NARSscientist/teachertrained …

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African Women in African Women in Agricultural Research and Agricultural Research and

Development (AWARD)Development (AWARD)

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Kenya Agricultural Research Institute www.kari.org

AWARD• AWARD is a project of the CGIAR Gender &

Diversity Program hosted at the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi, Kenya

• AWARD is supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID

• AWARD offers a comprehensive career enhancement fellowship program for African women in agricultural R&D

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Kenya Agricultural Research Institute www.kari.org

AWARD: Essential Cornerstones

• Mentoring and passing it on

• Building scientific capacity

• Building leadership capacity

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•Agricultural economics•Agro forestry•Agronomy•Animal and livestock

sciences•Aquatic resources and

fisheries•Biodiversity

conservation•Crop sciences•Ecology

•Agricultural economics•Agro forestry•Agronomy•Animal and livestock

sciences•Aquatic resources and

fisheries•Biodiversity

conservation•Crop sciences•Ecology

•Entomology

•Extension education

•Food science and nutrition

•Molecular biology

•Natural resource

•Soil sciences

•Water and irrigation management

•Entomology

•Extension education

•Food science and nutrition

•Molecular biology

•Natural resource

•Soil sciences

•Water and irrigation management

AWARD Fellowships Disciplines

Kenya Agricultural Research Institutive www.kari.org

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Kenya Agricultural Research Institute www.kari.org

Secretary Hillary Clinton gives AWARD thumbs up!

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Key challenges to Agricultural Faculties

• Curriculum change to embrace cutting-edge science and shifts in the level of commercialization and intensification of agriculture. Considerations on biotechnology.

• Promoting agricultural courses to able students• Lowering the cost of post-graduate trainings• Improving the research and a teaching

infrastructure • Strengthening the linkages with the private sector• Inadequate funding

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Towards Sustainable Funding

• Establishment of the agricultural research trust funds for competitive grants

• Advisory and user service fee charges• Establishment of business enterprises• Commercialization of agricultural production• Contracts for private research• Increased competitive research grants by the

Governments• Research levies on commercial agric.

commodities. • IPR

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CONCLUSION

• An effective NARS is key to agricultural development

• NARS in developing countries should strategically position themselves to adapt to the changing demands by clients

• Universities and NARIS should forge closer collaboration for increased agricultural productivity

• University and agricultural training should become well integrated into national innovational systems

• Sustainable funding initiatives should be developed and promoted

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The World Bank

Development Partners

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End of PresentationEnd of Presentation

AHSANTE SANAAHSANTE SANA