The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture – also known as Horticulture Innovation Lab – gathered its International Advisory Board, consortium partners, regional hub managers, management entity team from University of California, Davis, and Principal Investigators (PI) in Nairobi, Kenya, for its 2023 annual meeting. The meeting was hosted by the International Center for Evaluation and Development (ICED), the host organization for the East Africa Horticulture Regional Hub.
Monday & Tuesday, May 22-23rd, were internal meeting days dedicated to learning about newly funded research projects and finding synergies between the projects. The group also visited the Food Processing Hub and Innovative Cold Storage Technologies at the University of Nairobi, Upper Kabete Campus as well as the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Kabete Station.
Wednesday, May 24th, was a public conference day with more than 120 participants in attendance, including key stakeholders and experts from academic, government, non-profit, and private sectors of horticulture, nutrition, gender equity, youth engagement, and agri-entrepreneurship. The conference theme was Resilient Fruit and Vegetable Value Chains: Nourishing Our Lives, Empowering Local Communities and Cottage Industries. The Public Conference Day program is available here.
The chief guest was the Principal Secretary from the State Department for Crop Development, Honorable Phillip Kello Harsama. Find his opening speech here.
Thursday, May 25th, was dedicated to onboarding the PIs of the newly funded projects and discussion on collaborative project development among PIs. A parallel International Advisory Board meeting was held and follow-up from the meeting will be delivered directly to board members.
Friday, May 26th, focused on capacity strengthening of the internal team on Evidence Informed Policy and Practices (EIPP) and GenderUp.
