UNESCO-ICHEI Conducts AI+Agritech Field Visit to Kenya
From 28 July to 1 August 2026, Mr. CAO Zian, Chief of the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Management Centre at the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (Shenzhen, China) (hereinafter referred to as "UNESCO-ICHEI"), and Ms. YUAN Xin, Senior Programme Officer of the Global Partnership and Programme Office, travelled to Kenya to conduct a field visit for the "AI+AgriTech" micro-certification project. Over the course of the visit, they met with partner universities, research institutions, government bodies and local enterprises, exchanging views on the project's localized rollout and on multi-stakeholder cooperation.
The "AI+AgriTech" micro-certification project is one of the IIOE's "AI+Industry" series of training programmes. Jointly developed by UNESCO-ICHEI and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), it aims to empower agricultural education through digital technologies and AI, cultivate local talent, and support sustainable agricultural development. The project follows a progressive three-tier pathway of "Foundation–Integration–Application", comprising seven courses and one capstone project: the Foundation tier focuses on hybrid-flexible (HyFlex) learning design, principles of agritechnology and frontier technologies in agriculture; the Integration tier covers agritechnology management and entrepreneurship, agricultural data analysis, and programme development and evaluation; and the Application tier centres on the practical application of agritechnology education, concluding with the "AI+AgriTech" capstone project.
IIOE AI + AgriTech Micro-Certification Programme
Visiting Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to Discuss the Pilot at the Core Partner University Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is the potential pilot university for the "AI+AgriTech" project in Kenya. During the visit, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation held talks with the university's leadership. JKUAT attached great importance to cooperation on the "AI+AgriTech" project, noting that it aligns closely with both the university's positioning and the country's national strategy. The university expressed its intention to make "AI+AgriTech" talent development one of the priority initiatives of the UN-supported AI Centre of Excellence for Capacity Building in Africa hosted at JKUAT. The project is planned to be jointly led by the university's School of Computing and Information Technology and its School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences through cross-school collaboration, drawing fully on the strengths of interdisciplinary integration to help cultivate talent suited to the needs of smart agriculture.
UNESCO-ICHEI in talks with JKUAT
Engaging Research Institutions, Government and Enterprises to Explore Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration To advance the project's implementation in Kenya, the UNESCO-ICHEI delegation also visited a range of partners across the research, government and enterprise sectors. At the Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre (SAJOREC), the delegation held talks with Prof. Robert Gituru, the Centre's Kenyan Director, and his colleagues. The two sides exchanged views on participating in the "AI+AgriTech" project and on jointly advancing talent development in agriculture. Drawing on its long-standing experience in research and training in modern agriculture and related fields, SAJOREC will explore providing support for the project's practical training component.
UNESCO-ICHEI visits SAJOREC
At the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), a national-level research institution, the delegation met with Mr. Simon Mulwa, Director of ICT and Digital Agriculture, and his team, learning about KALRO's work in digital agriculture and agricultural talent development. KALRO has built a systematic training framework serving agricultural practitioners at all levels; it plans to introduce IIOE "AI+AgriTech" micro-certification courses to further enrich its existing training offerings, and to advance the exploration of a joint certification mechanism among UNESCO-ICHEI, JKUAT and KALRO.
UNESCO-ICHEI in talks with KALRO
At Real IPM, a leading biopesticide enterprise in Kenya, the delegation examined its farmer-facing training system. The company has long provided crop protection and safe-use training for smallholder farmers and large-scale farms, and has begun exploring in-house research and development in agritechnology; it looks forward to enhancing the quality of its training with the help of AI and the IIOE "AI+AgriTech" micro-certification project.
UNESCO-ICHEI in talks with Real IPM
As UNESCO-ICHEI's first field visit in Africa dedicated to the "AI+AgriTech" micro-certification project, this trip featured extensive exchanges with Kenyan partner universities, research institutions, government bodies and local enterprises on the project's localized rollout. Going forward, UNESCO-ICHEI will continue to promote multi-stakeholder collaboration, empowering agricultural talent development and higher education across Africa.
