Willis Owino

For years, pastoralists in Laikipia watched helplessly as cactus spread across rangelands, contributing to a complex socio-ecological crisis marked by livestock injuries and deaths, food insecurity, banditry, human-wildlife conflict, and deepening vulnerability during recurring droughts. Led by JKUAT researcher Prof. Willis Owino, the project is now turning this challenge into an opportunity, leveraging the invasive cactus to improve livelihoods for 30 beneficiary households through biodigesters, water tanks, and solar lighting. Watch the full documentary on YouTube: bit.ly/JKUATCactusPro… ^DP

It was an honor & privilege to be invited speaker at JSOL2025  in Utsunomiya City.  Grateful for opportunity  to share insights on 'African' Solanaceae vegetables. Great to reconnect with familiar colleagues and forge valuable new professional networks. A truly inspiring event.

I am thrilled to escort Drs. Luana Queiroz and Kenneth Oduor in their PhD commencement! They have a bright future ahead! Go Gators 🐊 🐊 🐊 ⁦@UF_IFAS⁩ ⁦@UFIFASAgronomy⁩ ⁦@ufifasnfrec⁩

Congratulations to Kenneth Oduor for successfully defending his PhD today! He demonstrated the possibility to use an invasive cactus to generate biogas, produce animal feed, and to conserve natural resources and sequester carbon! Great job, Dr. Oduor! @UF_IFAS @UF_IFAS_GFSI

Honored to host Prof. A. Adesogan (UF Global Food SI) in Laikipia- Showcased impacts of UF/IFAS-JKUAT Cactus Project on local households, thanks to Prof. Dubeux & K. Oduor. Exciting discussions on future Sustainable Food collaborations @dubeux @tembeken

ICRISAT at #CGIARScienceWeek – Day 4! Our side event, Fostering South-South Learning for Building Resilience and Income Opportunities in Smallholder Systems: Entrepreneurship and Innovations in Agri-Food Value Chains, offered a dynamic platform for exchange and collaboration between startups and researchers. Focusing on the vital role of startups and entrepreneurs in driving agri-food value chain transformation, the session—curated by Dr. Martin Moyo and Mr. Srinivas Bollam—brought together entrepreneurs, incubatees, and agri-business experts to share insights and forge new partnerships. Dr ML Jat, Global Research Program Director – Resilient Farm and Food Systems; Dr Jean Claude Bidogeza, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Ms. Vandana Thottoli; Dr Pushpam Kumar from the UN Environment Programme, Dr Willis Owino, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)and Dr. Patrick Ketiem, Director of the Agricultural Mechanization Research Institute at KALRO, also shared valuable perspectives on scaling resilience and innovation in smallholder systems. A big thank you to our incubatees and panelists for adding their voices to this important discussion: Dr. Alok B. Mukherjee – LeadsConnect Services Pvt. Ltd. Trivikram Kumar – Flic Farm Pvt. Ltd. (XMACHINES) Jiva Waters and Mr. C.S. Jadhav – Nutricircle Limited, India Cherotich Rutto – Tawi Fresh, Kenya

Five JKUAT scholars, Dr. Eunice Njeri, Dr. Paul Kinoti Ng’ang’a, Dr.-Ing. Wamai Mwangi, Prof. Willis Owino and Dr. John Kagira, have been honored with the Vice Chancellor’s Research Merit Award. The recognition, rolled out for the first time in the history of JKUAT, is one of the pathways through which the university aims to hone research impact excellence among the university’s faculty. Get to know the awards won by each Don here: jkuat.ac.ke/inaugural-winn… ^DP

Wrapping up our visit to UF campus today we met Drs. Lynn Sollenberger, Jay Ferrell (Agronomy Chair), and Chang Zhao, besides meeting with Drs. Juan and Janette Andrade from Food Science and Human Nutrition! Thanks everyone for the warm welcome to Prof. Owino. ⁦@UF_IFAS⁩

It is a great pleasure to host Prof. Willis Owino at the University of Florida. Prof. Owino is our collaborator in Kenya where we have developed research projects on cactus! Welcome to the Gator Nation, Prof. Owino 🐊 @UF_IFAS @UFIFASAgronomy @ufifasnfrec

A warm welcome at Research and Graduate Pro-Rectorate of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE). We shared areas of synergy between JKUAT and UFRPE that can leverage our collective strengths, to build collaborative initiatives. @DiscoverJKUAT @UFRPEOnline @dubeux

It has been a great week to see our work shared on different media Platforms Prof. @2012Willis, Prof. @dubeux

Faida ya dungusi kakati: Ni mmea ambao umeanza kufaidi wakaazi Laikipia Utafiti wafanywa kutumia magugu kwa lishe ya mifugo Utafiti wafanywa kwa ushirikiano wa vyuo vya ufundi #SemaNaCitizen @swalehmdoe

Scientists turn Laikipia's invasive cactus into superfood for livestock nation.africa/kenya/health/s…

Great team effort! Go Gators! nation.africa/kenya/health/s…

Glad to see our work on cactus in Laikipia covered at @ntvkenya. We aim to contribute to the sustainable management of the invasive cactus species in the region by finding its alternative uses to benefit the community. @dubeux @2012Willis youtu.be/70mExfaefxo?si…

Together with Dr. Ezura from JIRCAS,Tsukuba, we were privileged to be hosted by Dr. Rugalema, Associate DG World Veg, Africa. We discussed multi-omics-based approaches to enhance key specific traits of selected AIVs @RugalemaGabriel @WorldVegCenter @jircas_direct @WinnieNyonje

We developed a cactus-based pellet using the invasive cactus species in Kenya in collaboration between University of Florida and JKUAT! The results of our feeding trial with goats are amazing! This will be a game changer for the local community!

Starting Now! ICRISAT, as part of the @CGIAR Initiative on National Policies and Strategies for Food, Land, and Water Systems Transformation (NPS), is organizing: Workshop on Harnessing the Policy Environment to Promote the Utilization of High-Value Traditional Crops in Kenya We are pleased to welcome representatives from the Government of #Kenya, @IFPRI, @CIMMYT, @MastercardFdn, and the Kenya Agroprocessors Association for this day-long discussion at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya.

@dryGrow_Found @dubeux @2012Willis @tembeken Great work everyone!

📖If you love mangoes 🥭 then you've probably noticed that "mango season" is not consistent anymore. In this article by the JKUAT research team, as part of their @HortInnovLab East Africa Regional Hub-managed project, they explore why & what it could mean: iced-eval.org/news/mango-har…