The government is stepping up efforts to harness science, technology and innovation (STI) to boost food security and strengthen resilience against climate change.
Principal Secretary (PS) for Science, Research and Innovation Prof. Abdulrazak Shaukat said that the government had unveiled five key shifts to drive progress, including focusing on national agricultural missions, ensuring research delivers practical solutions, building strong talent pipelines, strengthening partnerships, and blending public and private financing to commercialize innovations.
The PS cited innovation in renewable energy solutions such as solar, wind, biofuel, hydropower, and geothermal energy, which he said together with community-based initiatives for reforestation and innovative waste management systems could greatly help to protect the land, water, and vegetation.
These, he added, could ensure a better environment that is the basis for agri-foods systems transformation.
He observed that before and when natural disasters strike, technology and innovation facilitates anticipatory and response actions, building resilience and realizing rural transformation, guaranteeing a better life for smallholders and vulnerable communities.
Prof. Shaukat, who was speaking during the Kenya National Research Festival (KNRF) held at Egerton University in Njoro, said agriculture sector remained a key employer, with the potential for youth engagement through innovative technologies and practices such as digital farming, agro-processing, and sustainable agriculture.
Exhibitions and research presentations made during the Kenya National Research Festival (KNRF), revolved around ways and means of addressing food security and nutrition, climate change challenges, affordable housing, health, economic resilience, and technological adoption in the country.
Prof. Shaukat urged stakeholders participating in the research festival to move beyond “projects” and instead focus on bold missions that could turn research into real-world solutions.
He said Food security was not only about avoiding hunger, but was about dignity, competitiveness, and creating opportunities for all farmers and innovators.
“When a farmer in Makueni doubles yields with drought-tolerant seeds, or when youth use solar cold-chains to cut post-harvest losses, that is research with impact,” he stated.
The PS added that youth-led initiatives, such as mobile apps for agricultural advice, precision farming using drones and sensors, and e-commerce platforms for agricultural products, were reshaping farming and offering new pathways to economic empowerment.
Top scholars who led the Second Edition of the five-day festival, hailed the role of Scientific research and innovations in offering solutions to cotemporally and global challenges, including food security, nutrition, waste management and climate change.
Experts from different fields who delivered research papers at the event concurred that despite agriculture’s key role in addressing the food security problem, the sector faces myriad challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, diminishing arable land, soil degradation and rural-urban migration.
To deal with the issue of food security, the scholars highlighted the importance of looking beyond policy actions to innovation.
In his presentation, National Research Fund (NRF) Chief Executive Officer Prof. Dickson Andala, indicated that for Kenya to realize its ambitions on food security, a deliberate investment in technology, which facilitates access to relevant data, markets and financial services, was critical.
Prof. Andala said if properly harnessed research and innovation would enable agriculture to meet the United Nations’ SDG number two of ending hunger, achieving food security and improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture.
This in turn could be the engine that fuels rural development, improves resilience to climate change, grows employment opportunities, and ultimately grows the economy, added the don.
Prof. Andala pointed out climate change, today, was the single biggest threat to finding a solution to food security in Africa, adding that it will only be through an integrated approach, harnessing local innovations and technology to build resilience to the impact of climate change, that African countries would develop a sustainable green revolution.
Reports released in 2024 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations show that an estimated 10.7 per cent of the global population, that is 864 million people, were food insecure.
Africa shouldered 58 per cent of these people. In Eastern Africa, the number is even higher as the number of food-insecure people has increased by 50 million since 2019, the Report further indicated.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Regional Focus of the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises reveals that about 63 million people, or 25 per cent of the population in seven IGAD countries, are experiencing acute food insecurity in 2024.
The Sub-region is home to more than 50 per cent of Africa’s chronically hungry, yet its population share in Africa is barely 25 per cent.
Amidst these challenges, the NRF Chief Executive Officer said technology and innovation harbored tools that could accelerate the transformation of agri-food systems in the Sub-region, by making them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, leading to better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all.
“The role of technology and innovation in revitalizing agriculture is emerging as a beacon of hope, offering new solutions to build resilience, improve productivity, and ensure food security and nutrition,” he stated.
Professor Andala elaborated that from drought-resistant seeds to smart irrigation systems, data-driven decision-making tools, drones, and satellite imagery, technological advancements could unlock new possibilities for farmers, herders, and food processors to achieve better production in both terrestrial and marine resources, without compromising nature.
He indicated that with technology and innovation, improved production and processing systems enhance diversification, where healthy, nutritious, and safe foods could be more accessible to communities, ensuring better nutrition.
The Second Edition of Kenya National Research Festival (KNRF), was organized by the NRF with support from Egerton University and the County Government of Nakuru.
The annual event aims to encourage collaboration on both domestic and international fronts, stressing the importance of interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research. It also seeks to foster robust leadership in research and enhance the overall research culture in Kenya.
The inaugural event, hosted by NRF from August 19th to August 23, 2024 was held at Edge Convention Centre, located at the College of Insurance, at South B in Nairobi.
The National Research Fund (NRF) was established under the Science, Technology and Innovation Act No. 28 of 2013, mandated to mobilize, allocate and manage financial resources to facilitate research for advancing science, technology, and innovation.
The 2025 festival themed: Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, Empowering Communities through Research, Science, Technology and Innovation,” also featured panel discussions, technical workshops, and policy makers and farmer engagement forums.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), technology enables agricultural stakeholders to make more informed decisions, which in turn makes farming more modern and profitable. Similarly, agriculture benefits from the concept of e-agriculture.
Mobile phones, for instance, have become an indispensable tool for disseminating information.
This has given rise to applications that collect and share agricultural information, where farmers can use mobile phones to receive text messages with market information on prices, supply and demand.
Meanwhile, increased access to correct and timely information and data enhances the capacity of agricultural stakeholders to make decisions that improve their mainstay, thereby playing a major role in ensuring food security.
By Esther Mwangi
