Adapting to climate-resilient farming systems in Western Kenya: the sustainable path by embedding agroecology in research, education and outreach(ADCLIM)

ADCLIM envisages the co-creation of agroecology-based strategies for climate change adaptation, using the UoE’s Outreach Centre as the entry point. Exploratory studies using modelling and data from long-term field experiments will identify promising technology options which will be refined, tested and validated in on-farm field trials. The long-term experiments were designed between 17 and 20 years ago, to explore the sustainability of several Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) options including the combination of organic and inorganic inputs, improved germplasm and local adaptation, all geared towards improving efficiency of inputs, risk spreading and preserving biodiversity. These options mirror several elements of agroecology.
The co-created knowledge will be the cornerstone for capacity building with relevant stakeholders within the community, especially targeting youth in agriculture. This involves short courses for farmers, scientists of various disciplines, and agricultural extension officers. They will be organised and implemented by the UoE Outreach Centre to ensure a continuous engagement of the UoE in the communities. Teaching & research at the UoE will be strengthened by (i) an enriched hands-on approach and by (ii) incorporating topics of agroecology and climate change in the curricula.
We envisage that this will not only attract students to the agriculture-based BSc but will also enhance the relevance of MSc and PhD Programmes. As an integrative exercise, a two-week field course will be embedded in selected MSc programs. In this course students have to resort to a multidisciplinary approach allowing them to tackle the interconnected societal challenges imposed by climate change. We are confident that the multidisciplinary approach,coupled with hands-on training will exert a direct impact on the sector since UoE graduates are commonly absorbed in extension services, agricultural research institutions, academia, outreach programmes and policy