Small holder farmers will be able to access more efficient and cost effective farming tools and skills once the Agricultural Technology and Innovation Centre (ATIC), being set up at the University of Nairobi, Upper Kabete Campus, is complete.
The facility, currently in the design stage, will accelerate the development of cost effective and easy to use innovations such as drip irrigation, drones and combined harvesters, which could potentially help improve farmers’ yields. It will be developed by agri-based company, Elgon Kenya Limited.
At the center, innovators will be trained on how to translate scientific discoveries into products for economic development. Further, innovators will be trained on how to incorporate technology into agricultural value chains therefore increase chances of commercial success.
“Despite agriculture being the backbone of the country’s economy, the sector has not been backed by research, leaving farmers at the mercy of cultural and traditional practices, leading to low yields affecting food security. Seventy percent of Africans are farmers, thus the establishment will incentivise farmers by enhancing their productivity and efficiency,” noted UoN Vice Chancellor Prof. Stephen Kiama.
Prof Kiama was speaking during the 6th edition of the Nairobi Innovation Week held at the University of Nairobi between 26th and 28th of April. Kiama observed that universities need to partner with more like-minded institutions to provide opportunities where innovators can develop the skills needed in the job market. He also called on innovators and entrepreneurs to develop their digital skills to stand a better chance of succeeding in the current job market.
University of Nairobi Vice Chancellor, Prof Stephen Kiama (seated left), and Elgon Kenya Managing Director, Dr Bimal Kantaria, (seated right) during the signing of the collaborative agreement between the two institutions.
“Today, we are seeing so many jobless graduates yet there are so many available job opportunities. We need to make sure our lawyers, doctors and accountants are trained to think of incorporating digital skills in their practices,” noted the VC.
He said this is even more important now that large multinational corporations such as Google and Microsoft are setting up base in Kenya, creating a vacuum of positions needing to be filled.
“We need to develop talent from Kenya to fill these opportunities created through these centres. There is no way we can have all these great minds coming from our local universities but then we are forced to give all the opportunities to outsiders because our scholars lack the required skillset,” he said, noting that such skills can be developed through partnerships with the private sector that lead to the creation of more incubation hubs or even exhibition events such as the Nairobi Innovation Week where scholars can network and showcase their innovations.
The Nairobi Innovation Week was introduced in 2015 to accelerate the innovation ecosystem in Kenya and the region. The event entails entrepreneurship summits, hackathons, pitching and Intellectual Property commercialisation seminars.
The event brought together over 40 University of Nairobi and external innovation exhibitors, 22 corporate partners, government, foreign missions and several scholars.
During the event, innovators were also urged to leverage on opportunities set up by government to bring their goals to fruition. These include The Kenya Youth Employment and Opportunities programme, which awards business plans which have an innovate element to them.
“This programme was set up to offer innovators who cannot access bank loans funding of up to Sh3 million to run their business. Innovators should also leverage the youth empowerment/ajira digital centres to develop solutions to the problems that affect society,” noted Charles Sunkuli, Principal Secretary in the State Department for Youth Affairs.
During the event, innovators were also urged to not only develop innovations focusing on large corporate organisations, but also on small businesses which have lots of potential.
“A big challenge with young people is thinking the only people who can employ them or give them business are large corporates, but there is a significant opportunity in SMEs and the whole world of tech is creating these opportunities. Individuals are setting up start-ups that are revolutionary,” noted Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom. BY DAILY NATION