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{
    "id": 1498582,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1498582/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 176,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr Julius Migos Ogamba",
    "speaker_title": "The Cabinet Secretary for Education",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. I wish to confirm that the University of Nairobi has ownership of the 12,000 acres of land at Kisayani, Kibwezi West Constituency under Land Reference Number 25060. That land was allocated to the University by the Government of Kenya in 1988, following a comprehensive process of relocation and compensation of the original occupants. The primary purpose of the allocation of the land was to establish a specialist research and training institute focusing on range management and dryland natural resources. Despite the lack of funding that has hindered the development of large-scale physical infrastructure, the university has actively utilised the land at Kisayani for research, training and community outreach. The strategies that it has employed to use the land are as follows: 1. Between 1988 and 1992, it developed essential infrastructure to support both short-term and long-term academic programmes, alongside research facilities and training infrastructure. 2. Through international collaboration, particularly with Mashav University from Israel and supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding, the University implemented a state-of-the-art irrigation demonstration centre. This project, which operated from 1992 to 2004, successfully cultivated Asian vegetables, tropical crops and fruits, providing significant employment opportunities and enhancing food security for the local community. During that period, the University established the Institute of Dryland Research, Development and Utilisation which has been instrumental in conducting research on dryland resource utilisation. It actively engages with local communities through workshops and seminars, focusing on livestock husbandry, dryland crops, forestry and land rehabilitation. The University actively uses infrastructure on the land for departmental research, training and community support. The Institute of Dryland Research, Development and Utilisation operates as a fully-fledged unit of the University of Nairobi. The facility serves as an integral dryland research academic centre of excellence, supporting various departments across the University as follows: 1. The Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology conducts research in the rangeland ecology and biodiversity conservation. 2. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine utilises the facility for animal health research and community outreach services. 3. The Department of Geospatial and Space Technology conducts experiential, learning, inland surveys and remote sensing. 4. In collaboration with the Kenya Meteorological Services and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Department of Geology has established a seismology centre for monitoring seismic activities. 5. The Department of Chemistry conducts significant research on ethnomedicinal plants and herbs. The Institute maintains a comprehensive demonstration field where the university promotes livestock management, agriculture, dryland pasture production and horticultural"
}