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Research products yielded from the program have contributed to the effort towards post harvest loss reduction.
The team is actively involved in community outreach programs through on-farm research and training initiatives to bridge the gap between researchers and end users.
UON Post Harvest team is actively involved in adaptive research on various aspects of postharvest management.
Student training has been a major sector of the UON Post-harvest program as they are the future food/agriculture practitioners
University of Nairobi Postharvest Program portal is a one-stop resource platform hosting information on training, research, and outreach activities in postharvest management. The portal highlights the activities of the multi-disciplinary University of Nairobi Postharvest Research Team.
The team is actively engaged in basic and applied research to find context-specific solutions for postharvest loss reduction in sustainable food systems. Apart from research, the team is also involved in capacity building and training of agricultural/food sector practitioners including farmers, processors, traders, transporters, extension agents among others. This is in addition to training of students who constitute the next generation of food and agriculture sector practitioners.
The team’s outreach initiatives have seen them engage with farmers and other practitioners in a bid to bridge the gap between researchers and the end users of the research outputs – ‘lab to land’. This has contributed to scaling up and increased adoption of technologies and innovations for postharvest loss reduction.
Outreach and Community Engagements
In the effort to bridge the gap between researchers and end users the team is actively involved in community outreach programs through on-farm research and training initiatives.
Research and Innovations
University of Nairobi Postharvest Research Team is actively involved in adaptive research validating and scaling up on various aspects of postharvest management.
Training and Capacity Building Initiatives
Students have been prepared to become the next generation of food/agriculture sector practitioners, with the practical knowledge and skills necessary to overcome the barriers to long-term food security.
Call for papers: AAPHCE 2023: Special Issue on: "Innovative Solutions for Food Loss and Waste Reduction in Africa"
Call for Papers, 4th all Africa postharvest congress and exhibition
as a biennial convening for stakeholders to share information and showcase innovations for food loss and waste reduction in the African Context. The AAPHCE has now been adopted by the African Union Commission as a biennial pan-African convening to showcase technologies, innovations, policies, and strategies for food loss and waste reduction in the African context.
to the Country level in Kenya. Subsequently, in partnership with development partners and other agriculture sector actors including SNV-Kenya, FAO, SOCAA, KALRO, and ASNET, Prof. Ambuko has organized national forums to mark the IDAFLW in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The IDAFLW serves to create awareness about FLW and a call to action for various stakeholders. Kenya’s national event is officially recognized by the international IDAFLW team at FAO, Rome
this has been achieved through various community engagement and outreach activities guided by the ‘lab to land’ initiative. To achieve this, Prof. Ambuko and her research team have spearheaded training, demonstration, and practical application of postharvest technologies including low-cost cold storage technologies and small-scale processing technologies. With support from development partners including the Rockefeller Foundation, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, World Food Program and the National Research Fund, NRF-Kenya, Prof Ambuko, and her research team have established smallholder aggregation and/or processing centers for smallholder farmers and traders in Embu, Machakos, Vihiga, Wajir, Turkana, and Marsabit Counties. These centers are equipped with simple cooling technologies and/or small-scale processing equipment for fruits and vegetables. The centers have helped the farmers/traders to preserve the food, reduce losses, and have better market access for their produce
apart from student training, Prof. Ambuko has organized and facilitated various capacity-building activities for various practitioners in the agriculture/horticulture sector in Kenya and beyond. These activities are aimed at building a critical mass of experts with adequate knowledge of postharvest management with the goal of addressing the problem of food loss and waste in food supply chains.
