University of Nairobi Team Participates at FSNET-Africa Research Symposium

The Food Systems Research Network for Africa (FSNET-Africa) research symposium was held between 29th March to 1st April 2022 at the Future Africa Campus of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The University of Nairobi (UON) was represented by a team of researchers working in food systems. The team members are either fellows or mentors in the FSNET-Africa project. The UON team included Dr. Juliana Cheboi, FSNET fellow (Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection); Dr. Phyllis Machio, FSNET Fellow (Department of Economics and Development Studies); Prof. Cecilia Onyango, FSNET Mentor (Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection); Prof. Joyce Maina, FSNET Mentor (Department of Animal Production); Dr. Stella Mikalitsa, FSNET Mentor (Department of Geography & Environmental Studies); Prof. Jane Ambuko, FSNET Mentor & FSNET Institutional Champion (Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection).

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 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 of the 20 fellows have two mentors drawn from one of the participating Africa 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.

The FSNet-Africa fellows’ research proposals are focusing on various food-systems-related topics, including food waste, climate-smart agriculture, food safety, indigenous crops, artificial intelligence, and gender equality. In line with principles of co-creation and stakeholder engagement, each fellow had an opportunity to present their proposal during the symposium and received feedback from experts and stakeholders. 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.

We wish all the fellows a fruitful research journey as they aspire to make their contribution to sustainable food systems and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in general.