On the 15th of November 2023, SIANI is hosting a regional hybrid network meeting in Nairobi. The theme of the meeting is Partnerships and collaborations for food system transformation.
SIANI invites all network members and partners in the region to be part of this event to connect, network, share ideas and exchange experiences on how we together can collaborate to transform our food system. It is also an opportunity to contribute to shaping the dialogue around rights-based and sustainable food systems and the role of the SIANI network as we enter a new programme phase.
SIANI looks forward to gathering a variety of actors within the SIANI network for a day of fruitful conversations and new insights!
Programme
Times in Nairobi time, UTC+3
8.00 Registration and coffee (served from 8.30)
8.50 Introduction and presentation of SIANI 4
Madeleine Fogde, Director of SIANI
09.10 Addressing challenges of the food system through multisector collaboration Part 1
John Mugonya, Regional Program Manager, Agripreneurship Alliance
Naol Adugna Oli, Co-founder, Beta Blockers LTD
Diana Njihia, PMERL and Business Development Programme Officer, Vi Agroforestry
Patrick Muiruri, Director, Food system Department, Nairobi City County
Panel with the speakers
10.10 Break
10.15 Addressing challenges of the food system through multisector collaboration Part 2
Stephen Muchiri, CEO, East African Farmers Federation
Jane Mutune, Lecturer, University of Nairobi
Courtney Bennett, RBN Food Systems Process Manager & External Partnerships and
Caroline Bird, Global Head of Partnerships Lab, World Food Programme (WFP)
Panel with the speakers
11.15 Coffee/tea
11.40 Looking back and looking forward: The role of researchers in agricultural development
Ingrid Öborn, Professor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Charles Niwagaba, Professor, Makerere University
Allen Mueke, Lecturer, Mount Kenya University
Dennis Mulupi, PhD, Maseno University
12.30 Lunch
13.30 Roundtable discussions
15.00 Closing remarks
Madeleine Fogde, Director of SIANI
15.15 Mingle, networking and exhibition
Speakers
John Mugonya
Regional Program Manager, Agripreneurship Alliance
John Mugonya is the Regional Program Manager at Agripreneurship Alliance in Uganda with a rich experience in agribusiness programs and research. Through partnerships with universities Agripreneurship Alliance is educating young agripreneurs by providing training on business development.
Diana Njihia
PMERL and Business Development Programme Officer, Vi Agroforestry
Diana Njihia works as the Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Learning and Business Development Programme Officer at Vi Agroforestry. She is working to build capacity to fight climate change and poverty among farmer organisations and their members. She has broad experience in the private sector and civil society. She is passionate in climate change adaptation, smallholder farmer empowerment, gender and social inclusion, sustainable agriculture land management based on agroforestry, climate and economic justice.
Patrick Muiruri
Director, Food system Department, Nairobi City County
Patrick Muiruri is the Director at the Food System Department at Nairobi City County. He is currently implementing the Nairobi Food System Strategy where the food system is approached with stakeholder involvement from the four nodes of production, distribution, utilization, and consumer awareness while processing and recycling waste.
Stephen Muchiri
CEO, Eastern Africa Farmers Federation
Stephen Muchiri is the CEO of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), a regional farmers’ association with members from ten East African countries. Stephen has experience with promoting agribusiness and building strategic partnerships across agricultural value chains.
Jane Mutune
Lecturer, University of Nairobi
Jane is a lecturer at the University of Nairobi with over ten years of experience and research interests in forest governance, Climate Smart Agriculture, green growth and sustainable livelihoods. She is a member of the AgriFoSe2030 programme with a project supporting pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to increase agricultural production and enhance ecosystem functions.
Ingrid Öborn
Professor, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Ingrid is Professor of Agricultural Cropping System at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala, Sweden, and a Senior Research Fellow of World Agroforestry (ICRAF). She is also a member of the AgriFoSe2030 Steering committee as well as the SIANI Steering Committee.
Charles Niwagaba
Professor, Makerere University
Dr. Charles Niwagaba is a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Makere University, Uganda. His research is focused around innovations for safe plant nutrient recycling through the processing of sewage to fertilizer. He is currently investigating the potential of dried urine fertilizers.
Allan Mueke
Lecturer, Mount Kenya University
Allan is a Lecturer at the department of Animal Health and Production, Mount Kenya University. He is a specialist in Crop protection, plant health and phytosanitary regulations and standards. His research focuses on the development of biopesticides, integrated pest management, agroecology and sustainable crop production.
Dennis Mulupi
PhD student, Maseno University
Dennis Mulupi is a PhD student in Agricultural Economics at Maseno University whose research is on sustainable agriculture.
Naol Adugna Oli
Co-founder, Beta Blockers PLC
Naol Adugna Oli is a young entrepreneur from Ethiopia with a passion for fighting malnutrition. He is the co-founder of Beta Blockers PLC, a startup with a dedicated mission to create affordable, nutritious, and sustainable food solutions using locally grown crops and pulses, with a special emphasis on combating malnutrition, especially in children. He is also a pharmacy graduate from Addis Ababa University.
Courtney Bennett
Lead regional Food Systems Partnerships East Africa, WFP
Courtney Bennett is WFP’s regional Food Systems Partnerships lead for the eastern Africa region, providing internal guidance on identifying strategic links between technical units, building on existing activities for enhanced thematic outcomes. Externally, Courtney maps and liaises with complementary partners, including foundations, academia, and research institutions, to create leverage points in WFP’s humanitarian-development programmes, specifically, those contributing to transforming local food systems.