University of Nairobi Team Participates at FSNET-Africa Research Symposium
A team of 6 Scholars from the University of Nairobi participated in the Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNET-Africa) research symposium held at the Future Africa Campus -the University of Pretoria, South Africa from Tuesday 29th March to Friday 1st April 2022. The 6 researchers comprised of 2 fellows and 4 mentors, the fellows are; Dr. Juliana Cheboi from the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection and Dr. Phyllis Machio from the Department of Economics and Development Studies. The 4 mentors are; Prof. Cecilia Onyango, from the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection; Prof. Joyce Maina from the Department of Animal Production; Dr. Stella Mikalitsa from the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies and Prof. Jane Ambuko FSNET Mentor & FSNET Institutional Champion (Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection).
During the Symposium, a total of 18 fellows from six African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia had an opportunity to present their proposals and receive feedback from experts and stakeholders. The research proposals focused on various food systems-related topics including; food waste, climate-smart agriculture, food safety, indigenous crops, artificial intelligence, and gender equality. The fellows will now incorporate the feedback and finalize their proposals. Each of the fellows will receive a total of GBP 20,000 from FSNET to implement their research ideas.
About FSNet-Africa
FSNet-Africa is a Research Excellence Project funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) under the partnership between the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA). The project aims to strengthen researchers' capacities to conduct food systems research and translate evidence into implementable policy solutions and practical interventions to support the SDG targets for Africa.
Towards this goal, a group of 20 fellows (early career researchers) and a pool of mentors were competitively selected in 2020 to participate in the program. The fellows and mentors are drawn from participating Universities including the University of Nairobi, University of Pretoria, University of Western Cape, University of Ghana, Kwame Nkurumah University of Science & Technology, Malawi University of Science and Technology, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Dar Es Salaam and Sokoine University of Agriculture. Each fellow has two mentors drawn from one of the participating African Universities and Leeds University UK. They also have a dedicated host from the University of Pretoria. Guided by their mentors and hosts, the fellows have developed research proposals that will result in research projects aimed at providing climate-smart, nutrition-sensitive, and poverty-reducing African food systems solutions designed and implemented in collaboration with relevant food systems stakeholders.
We wish all the fellows a fruitful research journey as they aspire to make their contribution to sustainable food systems and sustainable development goals (SDGs) in general.
