Following icipe’s Push-pull programme launch of the UPSCALE Multi-Actor Community (MAC) meetings in Kenya in May 2021 a second MAC was held on 5th of November. UPSCALE includes partners from research, government, and agricultural extension who participate directly in developing, evaluating, and facilitating sustainable intensification including Push-Pull in East Africa. Through a transdisciplinary approach, the Multi-Actor Communities of practice (MACs) are building knowledge and Push-Pull innovations ‘from the ground up’ and across the value chain of agricultural products.
The MAC is supporting implementation of push-pull market integration, dissemination, and policy regulation through detailed value chain analysis from input (agro-stockists) to output (traders, processors) and consumer markets, and through multi-actor exchange. It is addressing identified constraints through multi-actor knowledge building and involvement.
Objectives of the second MAC meeting in Kenya
- To elect Kenya national MAC Chairperson.
- To nominate the two MAC Management Committee members to represent Government agencies and agro-processors.
- To review the mandate of MAC Management Team, their roles/Terms of
Reference (TORs). - To deliberate on the Project Reporting for National MAC and way forward.
Review of the MAC mandate
The review session was chaired by Dr. Frederick Aila from Maseno University. Aims of the session were to start the discussion on how to raise/conduct campaign awareness for stakeholders to better understand PPT and its benefits; to upscale PPT in Kenya starting with the specific study region; to participate in UPSCALE activities (Dissemination, farmer trainings, research knowledge building, policy, and advocacy) jointly with other stakeholders; to determine roles and responsibilities as well as levels of engagement with UPSCALE partners and other networks in sustainable agricultural intensification; to participate in identification and promotion of effective marketing channels by linking producers to input and output markets; to organize national MAC workshops and other meetings (set agenda, propose logistics and invite participants).
During this meeting MAC Kenya Management Committee members participated in the election of their chairperson. New chairperson of the Multi-Actor Community of Practice in Kenya is Khalif Ochieng. After the handover of the duties and knowledge transfer, new team and chairperson will focus on development of the framer training engaging stakeholder from the entire value chain from production all the way to media.
If you wish to know more and join UPSCALE activities, write to info [at] upscale-h2020.eu and we will put you in contact with local coordinators from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, or Tanzania!
