MMUST was privileged with visitors from Purdue UniversitySchool of Agriculture on 7th May, 2018. Among the visitors wereProf.GuriJohal - Molecular pathology and genetics and Prof Sue Loesch-Fries - plant virology.

The motive of the visit was to strengthen Research and Innovation within the two partner Universities, which came as a result of a collaborative research initiative by a Borlaug fellow Robert Leitich, whose sole purpose is to provide Kenyan students with an opportunity to end maize viruses by working on new ways of managing Maize lethal Necrotic Diseases in Kenya (MLND).

While addressing the visitors, MMUST team represented by Dr. Jackson Cheruiyot, Dr. John Muoma and Dr. VitalisOgema who is also the lead post-harvest researcher in MMUST, welcomed the move for the partnership of the two universities saying it will ameliorate agricultural practices along the farm produce chain, going by the fact that Purdue University’s School of Agriculture has globally been on the leading front in agricultural innovations, having recently invented chemical free low-cost storage bags that preserves food for a long time. They also applauded the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags which they said arereusable and can be used up to three times with effective control of pests, hence greatly reduces farmer’s post-harvest losses incurred every year.

The MMUST team, agreed to partner with the Purdue University team to come up with a platform that will enable an exchange program which will see MMUST students move to Purdue University for practical agricultural skills as those from Purdue University also visit Kenya, which will be aimed at improving food nutrition using modern breeding techniques. “Once this process comes in fruition, a well-structured program will be put in place to enable Kenyan students not only get practical training on agricultural practices but also travel to Purdue University for other agricultural related degree programs” said Dr.Muoma.

While receiving the Purdue University team on behalf of the Vice Chancellor, The Director International Linkages-MMUST, Dr. Catherine Aura commended the move to partner with Purdue University in matters Agriculture and assured MMUST’s commitment to fast track the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) once the proposal is in place, as this will help achieve the Kenya’s presidential big four agenda, as it addresses food security as one of the big presidential agendas.

We wish to thank the University management under the leadership of the Vice Chancellor Prof. Fred Otieno for the great commitment and effort it has put in place tofacilitate and enhance agricultural sector.

MMUST Chancellor, Dr. Peter Muthoka, accompanied by the Chair of Council, Dr. Jeremy Bundi and the Council members, Mr. Samson Muchelule and Mr. Don Riaro, visited the University Friday 18th to 19th May, 2018. 

MMUST hosted a Workshop on Mainstreaming International Multinational Environmental Agreements (MEA) on Chemicals of Concern, on 10th April 2018. This was a collaborative arrangement between the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry-MMUST, and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Government of Kenya. The ultimate intention of this workshop is to improve Kenya’s compliance with the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), and Dioxins and Furans in particular.

The guest speaker, who is an environmental expert from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Mr. Francis Kihunda, urged MMUST environmental researchers to take up the challenge, find a niche and contribute to the development of Environmental Management Policy in Kenya. “Based on the research and technological capacity of MMUST, this university should take a leading role in the monitoring and analysis of toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environmental” Mr. Kihunda said.

The Dean, School of Natural Sciences, Dr. Joseph Owino, affirmed the commitment of MMUST to promote quality environmental research, and align Masters and Doctorate activities to international programmes that address multilateral environmental agreements. 

MMUST has already been mandated to handle the assessment of pollutants such as mercury in gold mines like those in Ikolomani, as well as Dioxins and Furans from Webuye paper mills that may be polluting River Nzoia. This was revealed by the Chairman, Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Dr. Francis Orata Omoto, who is an established environmental chemist.

The workshop was attended by over thirty participants from across various sections of the university. The university management, led by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Fred Otieno, has committed to invest resources towards environmental research, as part of the mission to implement the Presidential Big Four Agenda, considering that environmental waste management remains a challenge in ensuring human health, food security, infrastructural development, and manufacturing of products.

It was yet another happy day for MMUST at the Kenya Universities Sports Association (KUSA) National tournaments, held at Kibabii University over the weekend. MMUST Scrabble Team was on top of other scrabble giants like Kenyatta University, Technical University of Kenya, and Mount Kenya University.

It was all jamboree as MMUST RFC was declared the 2018 Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) championship winners. This was after a comfortable 27:6 win against Kitale RFC in a match played on MMUST grounds over the weekend. Five tries; a brace each from skipper Samuel Mbeche, Elvis Amunya and Derick Oksai plus a conversion from Claus Masika delivered the title for MMUST. On the other hand, Kitale RFC managed 2 penalties.

MMUST men soccer team came top in the just concluded Kenya Universities Sports Association (KUSA) football championship, 2018. The finals, played at Kibabii University over the weekend saw MMUST player, Bramwel Bukono scored a winning brace against Machakos University in a match that ended 2:1.

Various Agricultural-based organizations had the opportunity to showcase to the farmers how to do appropriate farming during the farmer’s field day that was held at the University Farm on 11th May, 2018.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Fred Otieno, gracing the occasion welcomed exhibitors, donors, staff, farmers, other stakeholders and all the participants at the event. He appealed to the farmers to work towards eradicating poverty by producing surplus. He noted that the University intends to host the exhibitions annually and extend participance to the larger Western Region and the Rift Valley Region. He said that the University pledges its support to the County Government and farmers in offering expertise through volunteering and consultancy and emphasized on the need for the farmers to network and share ideas among themselves.
Through a speech read by the Chief Officer, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Cooperatives, Jeremiah Okello Namunyu, the Deputy Governor Kakamega County, Prof. Philip Museve Kutima urged the University to support the County Government in achieving its goal of sustainable development and food security in the region in line with the government Big Four Agenda. He noted that the Ministry of Agriculture recognizes the role played by the MMUST experts towards promoting Agriculture and urged farmers to adopt appropriate technologies derived from Agricultural Research. 
Prof. Hassan Were, the Dean, School of Agriculture and Veterinary Technology (SAVET), noted that this was an opportunity to display to farmers how farming is done. He further noted that a larger percentage of the Kenyan population live in rural areas and largely depend on agriculture as the main economic activity.He therefore called upon the County Government to invest heavily in Agriculture by strengthening Agricultural Research and Investment for enhanced productivity.
Other officials who graced the occasion include: the County Director, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Johnstone Imbira and the Vice Chair Agriculture Committee Kakamega County, Mr. Paul Ashichi, who noted that The County Government through the Ministry has put in place procedures of reaching the local community and measure to ensure that farmers were enlightened on methods of managing the destructive army worms invasion. 

MMUST played a vital role in hosting the first ever Annual Career and Job Expo 2018 that saw over 5000 youth in attendance, on 18th to 19th May 2018. This was part of collaborative efforts by the Office of the Kakamega Senator, Hon. Cleophas Malala, and MMUST management led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Fred Otieno. This was aimed at empowering the youth and ensuring that career knowledge is directly imparted on them for a better generation.