Jane Ambuko Lukhachi is an Associate Professor of Horticulture, Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection, University of Nairobi. She holds a BSc Agriculture and MSc Horticulture (University of Nairobi) and PhD Agricultural Sciences (Horticulture and Postharvest Major) from Tsukuba University, Japan. Her current duties and responsibilities at the University include teaching, research, student supervision and outreach activities.

Her area of specialization and focus in training, research and outreach activities is postharvest management – the science and practice. In this regard she is actively engaged in adaptive research, validating, and scaling up of postharvest technologies mainly targeting smallholder farmers.

She leads a multi-disciplinary research team (University of Nairobi Postharvest Projects Research Team) which is credited with various achievements in Postharvest Research and Outreach initiatives. Among the notable achievements include Conceptualization the All-Africa Postharvest Congress & Exhibition (AAPHCE) 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, polices, strategies for food loss and waste reduction in the African context.

Cascading marking of the United Nation’s International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) to the Country level in Kenya. Subsequently, in partnership with development partners and other agriculture sector actors including SNV-Kenya, FAO, SOCAA, KALRO, 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

3) To achieve this, Prof. Ambuko and her research team have spearhead 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

4) Training and Capacity building activities – 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 on postharvest management with the goal of addressing the problem of food loss and waste in food supply chains.