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Kenya

CABI has a regional centre for Africa in Nairobi. Agriculture is essential for sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth and yet average crop yields in Africa are among the lowest in the world. Over 80% rely on it but many face challenges in growing sufficient good quality produce.

About

CABI has worked in Africa for many years, but in 1995 it formally established a regional centre in Nairobi. In Africa over 80% of people living in rural areas rely on the crops they grow for food and for income. They face many challenges in growing sufficient good quality produce, such as changing climatic conditions, threats from pests and diseases, lack of access to markets, and limited access to current agricultural information. Agriculture is essential for sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth and yet average crop yields in Africa are among the lowest in the world.

CABI’s centre in Kenya strives to improve livelihoods, working with the communities that it serves to address the problems they face using sustainable approaches.

A key element of the centre’s work is helping smallholder commodity growers to produce for and compete in local and global markets. The centre also encourages rural innovation and helps local users access global information and knowledge. Plant health is safeguarded through a range of initiatives, which include the management of invasive species, work to reduce the transmission of harmful pests and diseases through traded goods, the development of safe and effective biological controls, and Plantwise, CABI’s global project to reduce crop losses. CABI’s Good Seed Initiative, which seeks to improve the quality of seed that farmers plant, and thus improve crop yields, is also championed.

The centre works in partnership with many organizations in both the public and private sector, to enable work to be achieved in the most effective and cost efficient way. It collaborates on a national and regional level, working with agricultural extension departments, research centres, producer organisations, NGOs and regulatory agencies. International partners include international research organisations and private sector institutions such as the Rabobank and Illycafè.

The centre’s work has significant social and economic impact. Improved productivity, improved quality, and conformity to market standards enable the region’s farmers to achieve a better income from their produce. The centre also positively impacts the environment, through its promotion of sustainable agriculture, its work to reduce pesticide use and its management of invasive species.

Looking to the future the centre will continue its work in support of CABI’s overarching strategy, and plans to improve its monitoring and evaluation systems, in order to more clearly document its learning and impact.

Contact us

Morris Akiri

Senior Regional Director, Africa

CABI, Canary Bird, 673 Limuru Road, Muthaiga, PO Box 633-00621, Nairobi, Kenya

T: +254 20 2271000

E: africa@cabi.org

CABI - Kenya

Canary Bird, 673 Limuru Road, Muthaiga, PO Box 633-00621, Nairobi, Kenya

T: +254 (0) 20 2271000 / 20

Centre staff

David Onyango

Communications Specialist

Flora Okidia

Executive Support Officer

Naphis Bitange

Postdoctoral Fellow-Systems Agronomist

Dennis Rangi

Director General, Development

Lucy Karanja

Content Manager

Roger Day

Global Advisor, Plant Health

Makaiko Khonje

Socio-Economist

Edith Kouko

Project Development Officer

Peter Karanja

Assistant Training Officer - Plantwise

Negussie Efa Gurmessa

Scientist and Country Programmes Manager

Charles Wendo

Training Coordinator, SciDev.Net

Plantwise Blog

Ukulima True – a Kenyan farming campaign to help reduce the risk of pesticides

24th August 2023
Plantwise Blog

How young people are bringing nature-based solutions to farmers

24th July 2023
Plantwise Blog

Training Kenya’s young farmers and women to help ensure greater food security

21st July 2023
CABI Blog

Enabling smallholder farmers' easy access to agro-inputs: A CABI success story in Luweero District, Uganda

19th July 2023

Documents

CABI in Africa Newsletter - July 2023

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
CABI in Africa Newsletter - November 2022

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
CABI in Africa Newsletter - June 2022

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
CABI in Africa Newsletter - November 2021

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
CABI in Africa Newsletter - June 2021

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
CABI in Africa Newsletter - November 2020

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
CABI in Africa Newsletter - July 2020

News and stories from CABI in Africa

Download PDF Type: Document
Africa Coffee Facility (ACF) Donors Forum programme

Africa Coffee Facility (ACF) Donors Forum programme

Download PDF Type: Document
Africa Coffee Facility (ACF) Donors Forum report (French)

Africa Coffee Facility (ACF) Donors Forum report (French)

Download PDF Type: Report
Africa Coffee Facility (ACF) Donors Forum report (English)

Africa Coffee Facility (ACF) Donors Forum report (English)

Download PDF Type: Report

Related projects

CABI Project
Promoting domestic coffee consumption in Africa

Coffee is a primary source of income for more than 12 million households in Africa, and, in particular for rural-based populations. Over 38% of the total population of Burundi, 23% Tanzania, 22% Uganda, 17% Côte d’Ivoire and 14% Ethiopia, for example, depend on coffee farming. Production of the crop has, for over two decades, been on a downward spiral in the continent, Ethiopia and Uganda excluded, driven by low and volatile international coffee prices. Increasing domestic coffee consumption is, therefore, seen as a viable avenue for cushioning coffee smallholders in Africa against price decline and volatility. CABI is undertaking this study to identify the factors underpinning domestic coffee consumption, the potential market size and possible paths for facilitating its growth. The study will provide statistical evidence on the existing market landscape and the concomitant investment opportunities.

Start:01/09/19 -End:31/05/20