Prof Judi Wakhungu nominated to Kenya's new Cabinet

Congratulations are in order to Prof Judi Wakhungu on her nomination as Kenya's new Cabinet Secretary in charge of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.

President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled his new Cabinet earlier this week. The nominees now await vetting by a parliamentary committee on appointments.

Congrats Prof Wakhungu!

Prof Agnes Mwang'ombe new board member of consortium of international agriculture research centres

Prof Agnes Mwang'ombe

The CGIAR Consortium has appointed Prof Agnes Mwang'ombe to its Board of Trustees.

The Consortium works to "reduce poverty and hunger, improve human health and nutrition, and enhance ecosystem resilience through high-quality international agricultural research, partnership and leadership."

It was set up in April 2010, as part of a major reform of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), this year celebrating its 40th year.

Prof Mwang'ombe is currently the Principal of the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences of the University of Nairobi and has been previously profiled on this blog. Below is a more recent bio from the Consortium website:

Prof. Agnes W. Mwang’ombe joined the Consortium board in February 2011. She is a full professor of Plant Pathology and currently a Principal, at the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. In 2009, Prof. Mwang'ombe was awarded by the Africa Crop Science Society the Certificate for Outstanding Contribution to Crop Production in Africa as the Best Woman Researcher. The foci of her research work are: plant pathology, sustainable agriculture as influenced by climate change and economic empowerment/mentorship of women farmers. She is a professional mentor to women scientists and has been actively involved in the activities under the AWARD Initiative lead by the Gender and Diversity Programme (CGIAR). Prof. Mwang’ombe served on a number of national and international committees and boards in various capacities, such as President of African Crop Science Society, Advisory Board Member and Scientific Advisory Committee Member at the CTA (Ede, Netherlands), Technical Advisory Committee Member for BASIC (ICRAF), Technical Advisory Committee Member at the RUFORUM (Kampala, Uganda), Advisory Panel Committee Member at Farm Africa (Nairobi, Kenya), Chairperson at the Kenyan Institute for Public Policy, Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), etc. 

Congratulations, Prof Mwang'ombe!

Prof Judi Wakhungu nominated to global climate change advisory body

Congratulations to Prof Judi Wakhungu on her nomination to the global Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change.

Below is an excerpt from an article on Page 6 of the Business Daily of Monday 14 March 2011.

A Kenyan scientist, Judi Wakhungu, has been nominated to advise world leaders on how to tackle global climate change and food scarcity.

Prof Wakhungu is the current executive director of the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), an international inter-governmental science, technology and environmental policy think-tank based in Nairobi.

She will sit on the global Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change.

Prof Wakhungu's research interests include agriculture and food security, biodiversity and natural resources, and gender issues in science and technology.

She serves on several national and international boards, task forces, and committees including the African Conservation Centre, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), the GoDown Arts Centre, the Institute for Security Studies, the Lemelson Foundation, the Legatum Centre at MIT, the WorldFish Centre and the World Bioenergy Association.

She holds a PhD in energy resources management from Penn State University.

The United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Advisor, Prof Sir John Beddington will chair the Commission.

Source: "Kenyan picked as climate change adviser" by Steve Mbogo. Business Daily, 14 March 2011.