Scott is Co-Director of Mind the Gap. He is a trusted international facilitator, researcher and evaluator for governments, the UN, European Union, central banks, corporations, research institutes, local authorities, and community groups. He has worked with many international development projects worldwide.

Sorghum bread has excited bread consumers in Nakuru town following the introduction of the product in the market. The bread is baked using composite flour of sorghum and wheat at some ideal ratios. It is not just any sorghum but some special cultivar developed and evaluated at Egerton University by a team of scientists led by Prof. Erick Cheruiyot. It is a product of a concept developed by the team and supported by the then Kenya Agricultural and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP), financed by the World Bank in 2011.

Prof. Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at theUniversity of Gastronomic Sciences and convenor of the undergraduate program in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures. Michele holds aBachelor of Arts in History (2005) and a Master of Arts in Italian Language and Culture (2007) from the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy. Thereafter he continued with his education in Poland, USA, and UK. 

The Principal Secretary, State Department for University Education and Research Amb. Simon Nabukwesi, on Friday 4 February 2022 toured Egerton University’s Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture and Agribusiness Management (CESAAM). The tour was part of the African Centres of Excellence (ACE) Steering Committee meeting chaired by the PS Amb. Nabukwesi at Main Campus in Njoro.

Amb. Nabukwesi first paid a courtesy call to the Vice-Chancellor Prof. Isaac Kibwage. During the meeting, the PS commended the three ACE II participating universities comprising Egerton University, Moi University, and Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology for their prudent management of the project.

“The ACE II project is one of the projects that have been handled well. Universities are tasked to deliver high-quality training and research. The three universities are principal producers of knowledge in the region and they have had a good focus on their specific ACE II projects,” said PS Amb. Nabukwesi.

Egerton University’s Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture and Agribusiness Management (CESAAM) leader Prof. George Owuor delivering his presentation on the CESAAM progress report during the African Centres of Excellence (ACE) Steering Committee meeting held on 4 February 2022 at Main Campus in Njoro

The ACE II project is a World Bank-sponsored project to strengthen selected Eastern and Southern African universities to deliver quality postgraduate education and build collaborative research capacity in priority areas.

In 2016 the World Bank selected Egerton University to host CESAAM, JOOUST has sustainable use of insects as food and feed (INSEFOODS) and Moi University has the centre of excellence in phytochemicals textiles and renewable energy (PTRE). Each university received a grant of 6 million USD.

The Principal Secretary, State Department for University Education and Research Amb. Simon Nabukwesi officially opens the CESAAM Complex on 4 February 2022. Amb. Nabukwesi toured various CESAAM Project activities immediately after chairing the African Centres of Excellence (ACE) Steering Committee meeting at Main Campus in Njoro.Amb. Nabukwesi noted that the three universities demonstrated improvement in productivity and management of their projects, with visible achievements in postgraduate training and support for research and innovations. He called upon integrating the projects into the respective university governance structure to ensure sustainability in the long run.

During the meeting chaired by Amb. Nabukwesi, each university gave a detailed presentation of their progress in their respective projects. After the meeting the ACE II Steering Committee toured the Dairy & Food Science Lab, Agric-engineering students and staff research and innovations works, Animal Sciences students research site, and the CESAAM female students hostel.

In his presentation, CESAAM Centre Leader Prof. George Owuor outlined its vision and mission as well as its specific objectives and these are capacity development along the agricultural value chain in the Eastern and Southern Africa region; to undertake innovative research, including use of biotechnology and climate-smart agriculture for increased crop and livestock productivity; enhance the capacity of the University’s Agro-Science Park to assist partner universities establish a similar model for incubation of technological innovations, and develop evidence-based agricultural policy briefs and disseminate best practices through Agricultural Knowledge Centers in CESAAM and partner universities.

As of 2022, CESAAM has 240 graduate students (168 Masters and 72 PhD) with female students at 52%. It has fully achieved national accreditation and has submitted four programmes (Msc Agribusiness, Crop Protection, Food Science and Animal Nutrition) for international accreditation.

CESAAM has published 214 articles in internationally refereed journals and is looking to publish 20 publications for this quarter. 

The Vice-Chancellor, JOOUST Prof. Stephen G. Agong, during the meeting, said that there was a need for the second phase of the ACE II project to make it more sustainable in the future.

Egerton’s VC Prof. Kibwage noted that the three universities are producing innovations that are addressing current economic challenges, and there was an opportunity for the Kenya National Innovation Agency to work with researchers to commercialize these innovations.

He called upon the Principal Secretary to advocate on behalf of universities to address the gaps in funding towards research and human capital areas.

Amb. Nabukwesi on the same day officially opened the CESAAM Complet at Main Campus in Njoro. The Complex will serve as CESAAM’s main offices.

Co-lecture on Heritage and Utilization of Indigenous African Foods

Prof. Michele Filippo Fontefrancesco is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Gastronomic Sciences and convenor of the undergraduate program in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures. Michele holds a Bachelor of Arts in History (2005) and a Master of Arts in Italian Language and Culture (2007) from the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy. Thereafter he continued with his education in Poland, the USA, and the UK. He completed his Doctoral thesis titled “Crisis in the city of gold: Emplacement, industry and economic downturn in Valenza, Italy” and graduated in 2013 from Durham University, UK. His Ph.D. study focused on “The impact of the 2008 global economic crisis on the development of artisanship in Italy”.

Since the mid-2000s, his research has focused on local development, with particular attention on Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development, and the Construction of Local Know-How. In recent times, Prof Fontefrancesco’s active research in Southern Europe and East Africa (Kenya) has been on the Role of Food Tourism in the development of rural areas and the processes concerning the discovery and use of food heritage for tourism development.

He has published over 60 scientific articles, monographs, chapters, and reviews internationally; among them The End of the City of Gold?: Industrial and Economic Crisis in an Italian Jewellery Town (Cambridge Scholars, 2013) and Food Festivals and Local Development in Italy: A Viewpoint from Economic Anthropology (Palgrave, 2020). His research in Kenya has been published in international journals such as Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, the International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Sciences, and the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. He is currently leading national and international projects concerning the development of the food and tourism sectors, such as "Food Drug-Free" (European Regional Development Fund) and "The European Network for the Promotion of Culinary and Proximity Tourism in Rural Areas" (funded by the European Erasmus+ Fund).

Prof Fontefrancesco uses his research expertise to enrich the delivery of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching responsibilities. In his classes, he introduces students to the main themes of anthropology and supports them in their projects concerning socio-economic innovation and food heritage valorization. Among his modules: are Anthropology of Food (Bachelor’s program in Gastronomic Sciences and Cultures), Applied Anthropology for Sustainable Food Systems (Master’s program in Food Innovation & Management), and Creating High-Quality Products (Master’s program in Food Culture, Communication & Marketing).

Finally, Michele has had diverse work exposure that has seen him serve as an Adjunct Professor of Italian at the University of Mary Washington (USA), a Teaching Assistant at Durham University (UK), and currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology, at the University of Gastronomic Sciences (Italy). He is quite passionate about collaborations with international institutions and to this end, he is currently a Fellow of the Department of Anthropology at Durham University (UK) and an Associate Fellow of the City Diplomacy Lab at Columbia Global Centers in Paris (France).

Dr. Stellamaris Muthoka is a Lecturer in Applied Human Nutrition and currently Chairperson of the Department of Human Nutrition, at Egerton University. Dr. Muthoka holds a Doctoral degree in Nutritional Sciences from Egerton University (2011),  Diploma in Food and Nutrition Security from Wageningen University (2009), a Master of Science in Applied Human Nutrition from the University of Nairobi, Kenya (1998), and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Home Economics from Egerton University, Kenya (1991).

Dr. Muthoka has wealth of experience in participatory research and community mobilization and development and consultancy services focusing on enhanced livelihoods, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, food and nutrition security, rights to Food, and Maternal and Child Health. Over the past decade, Dr. Muthoka has widened her research and consultancy domain in the health and water areas in multi-sectoral research including the rehabilitation of the Njoro River towards meeting Vision 2030. 

Dr. Muthoka has published in peer-reviewed scientific publications and made contributions to numerous scholarly conferences, workshops, and community outreach. She has and is currently supervising several postgraduate (Masters's and Doctoral) students both in Kenya and internationally. Currently, she is supervising a Ph.D. student, whose thesis focuses on “Assessing the contribution of sweet potato leaves on iron and nutritional status in women”.  

Dr. Muthoka is currently a member of the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Fat and Oils Technical Committee; an External examiner for the graduate programme,  Department of  Food and Human Sciences, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Malawi;  Member of the Nutrition Security Technical Working Group (MOH) and Nutrition Linkages Technical Working Group (MOA); She is a registered member of the Kenya Nutritionist and Dietetics Institute, Scaling Up Nutrition –Academia Committee and has also served as Project Management Committee member of CDF project in Lanet and Bahati, Nakuru County.

The Circular Economy for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production (CESAAM) has recently been awarded a grant to set up a living lab for the circular economy. This is a significant achievement for CESAAM and for the promotion of sustainable agriculture and food production.

The circular economy is a concept that aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible and to extract the maximum value from them before they are eventually recovered or recycled. This is in contrast to the traditional linear economy, where resources are extracted, used, and then discarded. The circular economy is an important concept for sustainable agriculture and food production because it can help to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and promote the use of renewable resources.

The living lab that CESAAM is setting up will be a space where the community can access information and resources about the circular economy. It will also be a place where capacity building can take place, with training and education programs for the youth and small business start-ups. This is important because it will give young people the skills and knowledge they need to start and grow sustainable businesses that contribute to the circular economy.

The living lab will also be a place where small business start-ups can test their ideas and products in a real-world setting. This is crucial for the development of sustainable agricultural and food production practices, as it will allow small businesses to identify and address any challenges or issues that arise before they are scaled up.