IITA delegation visit KALRO Director General to strengthen strategic partnership

24 March 2026

A high-level delegation from IITA Kenya paid a courtesy visit to the newly appointed Director General of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), Dr Patrick Ketiem, at KALRO Headquarters, as part of efforts to reaffirm institutional collaboration and discuss new areas of strategic partnership.

IITA's Deputy Director General for Research for Development (DDG-R4D), Dr Bernard Vanlauwe, led the visit. He was accompanied by the Director of the Eastern Africa Hub, Dr Leena Tripathi, and the Country Representative for Kenya, Rachel Zozo. Dr Ketiem, the Deputy DG, Dr Alice Murage, and the Head of Legal, Patriciah Ngutu, welcomed them.

The engagement provided an opportunity to congratulate Dr Ketiem on his appointment and to reflect on the long-standing collaboration between IITA and KALRO. In his remarks, the KALRO Director General highlighted key milestones achieved through the partnership, including the successful construction and equipping of the state-of-the-art Aflasafe Manufacturing Plant at KALRO-Katumani in Machakos County, and the licensing of KALRO by IITA to produce Aflasafe™ KE01 for the Kenyan market and the wider region. He also highlighted the importance of continued collaboration in biotechnology capacity building, particularly in banana and cassava improvement. He challenged both institutions to strengthen efforts in scaling improved varieties, quality seed systems, and aflatoxin mitigation technologies to reach millions of farmers.

Discussions further identified priority areas for deepening collaboration, including scaling the sustainable deployment of Aflasafe™ KE01, capacity building on Biotechnology, data sharing and digital advisory tools, soil and plant health, and seed system development through integrated platforms such as Seed Tracker, Nuru App, and leveraging the TAAT work through the TEJATI initiative. These thematic areas were agreed as key pillars for enhancing the existing partnership between the two institutions.

The visit also provided a platform to discuss IITA-CGIAR 's legal status, including IITA's Host Country Agreement (HCA) in Kenya. IITA's leadership highlighted operational challenges arising from the absence of a formal HCA and requested KALRO's support in facilitating engagement with relevant government authorities to help fast-track the process, enabling IITA to operate more effectively as an established and recognized entity within the country.

The courtesy visit reaffirmed the strong institutional relationship between IITA and KALRO and set a clear pathway for strengthened collaboration focused on scaling impact, building national research capacity, and delivering science-based solutions that support farmers' livelihoods and the sustainable development of Kenya's agrifood systems.

Contributed by Rose-Harriet Okech