Addressing Current and Emerging Threats to Crops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya: A Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Approach

Abstract

Maseno University was granted a sub-award by University of Maryland Eastern Shore to investigate the research titled “Addressing Current and Emerging Threats to Crops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya: A Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Approach.” The project has components in Kenya and the DRC. The DRC project is titled: “Addressing Current and Emerging Threats to Crops in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The Case of Cassava and Banana/Plantain” while the Kenyan project is titled: “Maize and Mango Postharvest Loss Reduction Strategies to Increase Food Security and Employment of Women and Youth in Kisumu, Siaya, and Kitui Counties of Kenya.” The Kenyan project is sub-awarded to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) investigating the mango component while Maseno University will investigate the maize component. An interesting component of the project is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to scout current and emerging threats to crops using smartphones. Therefore, Maseno University teamed up with PlantVillage to offer the training on PlantVillage Nuru App at Kisumu campus, Maseno University on 24th May, 2022. Participants included undergraduate and postgraduate students and their faculty at Maseno University as well as youth and women community leaders from Kisumu and Siaya Counties of Kenya. This report documents the proceedings of the training.