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Dr. David Jakinda, an agricultural economist and a lecturer in the department of Agricultural Economics amongst other speakers was today hosting a webinar discussion on "understanding the effects of the covid -19 pandemic on food security in Kenya and globally".The webinar dug into issues on finance and food security during and after the COVID-19 pandemic to determine what steps governments can take to reduce the impact of the food crises that are bound.

Prof. John Mburu, Chairman of the Department, was excited because of the good performance of the University of Nairobi. The overall University of Nairobi was number one (1) but last year was number three (3) showing very great improvement. Joyce Waithira Kamau was the second (2) candidate who performed very well and made our Department very proud. First-year students were told to keep up the standard in the coming academic year 2020/2021.

He was her supervisor on the thesis entitled “Impact of Agricultural Training programs on Youth Agripreneurship Performance and Empowerment in Nigeria.” She worked very hard and managed to attain a degree within two years. She narrates that it was very challenging because she had to go to Nigeria, collect the data, came to Kenya to do the analysis.

Due to the challenges faced in potato subsector for instance poor quality planting material as well as pests and diseases, leading to low potato productivity. This has eventually led to high levels of food insecurity in the country. It is against the aforementioned background that CIP implemented a project with an aim of strengthening root and tuber crops contribution to food security. This was done through provision of quality planting materials and training.

The study is guided by the random utility theory and will employ a choice experiment design. Data will be collected using semi structured questionnaires from a random sample of 450 orange-fleshed sweet potato consumers in Homa Bay and Nairobi counties. The analysis will involve a Random Parameter Logit model for the choice experiment and a double bounded logit to assess the consumers’ WTP for a‘sweet potato chapati.’The output of the study will be disseminated as an MSc.

Kalehe Territory in South-Kivu Province of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)suffers from food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty because of many factors including climate change. Of the 26 Provinces in the DRC, South-Kivu Province leads with the highest proportion of stunted children under five at 53%. Within South-Kivu Province, Kalehe Territory leads in the prevalence of chronic malnutrition prevalence at 66%, far exceeding the provincial average of 53%.

The growing food demand occasioned by the rising global population is emerging a major issue of global concern. This implies that food production needs to increase in order to meet global food demand. Studies show that more than one-third of the global food production is lost through post harvest operations along food supply chain.

Stephen Waitugi says tomato farming is of a significant economic importance in Kenya as it is one of the key enterprises among small-holder farmers. However, despite the economic importance, the sector still faces numerous challenges. This includes agronomic challenges such as pests and diseases and physiological disorders, poor post-harvest technologies and institutional constraints such as lack of access to credit and poorly organized rural and urban market infrastructures that permit unpredictable price fluctuation.