THE FOOD PROCESSING HUB AT CAVS COMMISSIONED BY THE COLLEGE PRINCIPAL PROF. ROSE NYIKAL

The Food Processing Hub located at the Food Science Department was established through the ‘Strengthening Kenyan Small Scale Mango Processors to Access Market and Reduce Losses’ - SAP project. The SAP project is a collaborative initiative between the University of Nairobi and Purdue University (USA) supported by the Rockefeller Foundation’s Yield wise initiative. The project goal is to Increase Availability and Adoption of Improved and Modern Fruit Processing Technologies to Expand Markets, Reduce Food Losses, and Improve Nutrition in Kenya.

The project implementation will employ the “hub and spoke” Incubation Center concept, an innovative technology adoption model, developed and refined by Purdue University for use in dissemination of food technologies and establishment of food processing enterprises in developing countries. The hub will serve to develop/optimize food processing technologies, develop innovative food products and processes and train/incubate entrepreneurs in food processing. The spokes are the beneficiaries of the research and development at the Hub and are expected to apply the knowledge and technology gained from the Hub to develop/improve their processed products that meet market requirements.

The Hub at CAVS will work with selected farmers and processors (groups) as the spokes. These include the Karurumo Horticultural Farmers group and Masii Horticultural Cooperative. Other targeted spokes include private processors such as Azuri Health Limited, Association of Kenya Mango Traders (AKMT) among others. The Hub will also serve to train and incubate student entrepreneurs who are interested in food processing as a business.

The Hub was commissioned on 30th October by Prof. Rose Nyikal who cut the ribbon with help of Prof. Bruce Hamaker (Purdue University) and Amos Kioko (Rockefeller Foundation). The commissioning event was also attended by invited stakeholders drawn from partner institutions and the ministry of Agriculture.

For more details, contact the Project Principal Investigator, Prof. Jane Ambuko