Professors and PhD students take time off to mentor pupils...
Transcript of Professors and PhD students take time off to mentor pupils...
Professors and PhD students take time off
to mentor pupils at Naigai Hosana
Academy in Bungoma County
Professor R.D Narla and Professor J. W.
Kimenju both from the Department of Plant
Science and Crop Protection, Faculty of
Agriculture, University of Nairobi were
recently involved in community service in
Bungoma County. The two dons were on a
field visit in mid-May 2014 to sites in
Western Kenya where two of their PhD
students, Ms. Luiza Munyua and Mr.
Samuel Were conducting their research.
Figure 1: Prof. Narla (left) and Prof. Kimenju in
discussion at trial farm in North Teso
Figure 2: Prof. Narla and PhD student Mr.
Samuel Were (in blue shirt) at a trial site in North
Teso
The research project is a joint collaboration
between the University of Nairobi, National
Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA),
USA and International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA). The students are
conducting on-farm bean trials on small-
holder farmer’s fields in North Teso,
Bungoma and Kakamega in Western Kenya
with a view to managing nematodes and root
rot causing pathogens with organic soil
amendments while improving low fertility
soils and increasing bean productivity.
2
Figure 3: Prof. Narla and PhD student Ms. Luiza
Munyua (in blue hat) at a farmer's field in N. Teso
The main activity involved assessment of
the bean crop which was a active flowering
stage, observing the crop for disease
symptoms caused by the two pathogens of
interest as well as making comparative
observations of experimental plots based on
the type of treatment applied as well as
making recommendations.
Figure 5: Bean crop in Bungoma with symptoms
of fungal infection
Figure 4: Bean crop in Bungoma with roots
infected by root-knot nematodes
The team began by visiting four farms in
North Teso before moving to Bungoma
where they visited two farms. One of the
farms in Bungoma County turned out to be
of great interest to both Prof. Narla and Prof.
Kimenju. The owner of the farm Mrs. Prisca
Muyande not only grows crops on her farm
and raises livestock – she also runs a fully
fledged primary school on her farm. After
assessing the crop on her farm and making
recommendations to the farmer, the two
dons took time off their schedule to interact
with the primary school children and with
Mrs. Muyande. The primary school was a
brainchild of Mrs. Muyande and her
husband who realized that there were a
number of needy children in their
neighbourhood. The school has classes
running from lower to upper primary.
3
Figure 6: Prof. Kimenju and Prof. Narla with
Mrs. Prisca Muyande, farmer and proprietor,
Naigai Hosana Academy, Bungoma
Mrs. Muyande provides lunches for the boys
and girls in the school but over and above
that, she houses close to thirty pupils in her
compound; whereas the majority of the
pupils go back home to their parents at the
end of the day, there are those who are from
very needy backgrounds or whose parents
are not alive. These are the ones whom Mrs.
Muyande provides food and shelter for
every evening, over the weekends as well as
during the school holidays. Prof. Narla, Prof.
Kimenju and the PhD students spent time
talking to and interacting with the very
excited and enthusiastic pupils. The pupils
were very excited to learn about whom their
unexpected guests were and mingled freely
with them as though eager to glean all they
could from them during this impromptu visit
to their school. The dons also took time to
discuss a number of matters with the
school’s proprietor and also paused to take a
number of photographs with them before
bidding the excited and jovial pupil’s good
bye. The two dons did indeed leave a lasting
mark and impression on the community of
pupils at Naigai Hosana Academy.
Figure 7: Prof. Kimenju and Prof. Narla pose with pupils of Naigai Hosana Academy in Bungoma