China is funding the a lab building project at Kenya’s Egerton University. The lab will enhance agricultural research and innovation, and in a long run, benefit the farmers in the East African nation, said a Kenyan scholar.
Prof. Richard Mulwa from Egerton University told Xinhua in a recent interview that the crop molecular laboratory, which is under construction in his university in collaboration with China’s Nanjing Agricultural University, will solve problems of low crop productivity among the small and large scale farmers in Kenya through innovation.
“China has great experience in agricultural technology, which we can borrow to train small scale farmers on how to improve crop production,” said Mulwa, adding that a team of five experienced Chinese scholars will join their Kenyan counterparts in the managing the facility’s tutorial and research activities once it becomes operational next year.
The lab, which is backed with a 1 million U.S. dollars funding from the Chinese government, will be used for learning and conducting research on molecular genetics of various crops, formulation and improvement of tissue culture as well as gene cloning, according to Mulwa, who is in charge of the establishment of the facility.
“The lab can be used for developing genetically modified foods once we start the operations and receive clearance from National Biosafety Authority,” he noted. “Our interest is to do applied research which will benefit the society.”
