DEVELOPMENT AND
DEMONSTRATION OF UTILIZATION
PRODUCTS IN KENYA
PRESENTED DURING THE FINGER MILLET MID YEAR
REVIEW MEETING IN ETHIOPIA 2013
By: Rhoda Nungo
INTRODUCTION
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Kenya’s agricultural sector is
dominated with:
Primary production,
Limited information in,
Postharvest handling,
Product development and
Utilization of staple foods
like finger millet.
INTRODUCTION CONT,
The limitations translate into:
High postharvest losses,
 Few diversified & nutritious
products,
 Poor health
 Few job opportunities,
 Low incomes and high levels of
poverty.
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TRADITIONAL UTILIZATION
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Finger millet traditionally limited to a
narrow base of products in the form of flour
used for:

Thin paste (uji) mainly used by children and
the sick.

Thick paste (ugali) consumed as staple with
fish, meat or fermented milk.

Cultural alcoholic beverages.
NUTRITION EDUCATION
Finger millet has 7.4 to 14% protein,
 Has Methionine which is lacking in starchy
staples such as cassava, plantain, polished rice
or maize meal.
 Methionine helps in the proper function of
vital body organs, (heart, brain, liver) and
strengthens the body.
 Finger millet has 0.33% calcium, 5-30 times
more than in most cereals. Calcium is required
for bone formation and maintaince.
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 High in minerals like iron required for red
blood cells production, transportation of oxygen
and functioning of the immune system.
NUTRI EDU CONTINUED
Has excellent storability & ideal for food
security, income and Climate Change
 Excellent diet for weaning children,
diabetics and invalids due to its ease of
digestion.
 Finger millet flour can be blended with
soya bean flour, orange fleshed
sweetpotatoe (OFSP) mash/flour and
wheat for making value added special
purpose products for home use and
income generation.
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DEVELOPMENT OF NEW
PRODUCT
FIMSWEET MEAL
 Developed and Taste tested by 20
stakeholders at Busia ATC. Males
preferred product > than F (4.2:3.7)
means compared. Product sample
tasted by 120 farmers in Mombasa
at KARI Mtwapa field day.
 Acceptable but needs some
improvement
DEMONSTRATION OF VALUE
ADDED PRODUCTS
Six training/demonstrations in six new
districts to 161 rural people (97 women and
64 men).
 Bungoma East 20 farmers (8F, 2M),
 Bungoma North 25 farmers (17F, 8M),
 Mt. Elgon 45 farmers (21F, 24M),
 Mumias 42 farmers (24F, 18M),
 Nambale
 Products promotion in 11 Farmer Field days
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DEMONSTRATION OF VALUE
ADDED PRODUCTS
DEMONSTRATION OF VALUE
ADDED PRODUCTS cont
School children enjoy FM Cake
Open fire Cake baking and ready
Cake in Mt. Elgon
DEMONSTRATION OF VALUE
ADDED PRODUCTS cont
DAO in North Teso practicing Crackies
dough preparation at group training
Bungoma North group pose with
products before evaluation
OTHER FORUMS
SUN Symposium, Nairobi
Display of Products: Tamuu,
Composite flour, Crackies and
Nutrition Education.
POSTER:
Enhancing Nutrition of
Communities in Western Kenya
through the Finger Millet
(Eleusine coracana L) Value Chain
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OTHER FORUMS cont
GAIN Marketplace for Nutritious Foods Launch in Nairobi
OTHER FORUMS cont
KARI Kakamga created FM Value addition at UoN/RUFORAM
Workshop in Machakos to farmer groups and UoN students
OTHER FORUMS CONT
Products display and Nutrition
Education during:

PALWECO Launch in Busia County
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DRR Symposium in Eldoret
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Biodiversity International Kenya, KARI HQ,
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Field Days & Agricultural Shows
PALWECO SUPPORT FOR
CRACKIES SCALLING OUT
Busibwabo W/O, for improvement in
packaging,
 Equipment
 Marketing & Promotion
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Baba Foundation Composite flour
nutrient analysis and to train in
Crackies production in Bunyala.
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TOT VAD TRAINING
30 Female farmers trained at Busia ATC 5th
– 10th February 2012
 From: Bungoma East, Teso North, Teso
South, Nambale, Matungu and Butere districts.
 Topics Covered:
 Post-harvest handling
 Processing technologies,
 Utilization and storage.
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TOT VAD TRAINING
SMALL SCALE BUSINESS
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EAST COM, Composite flour in SPMKT,
Tamuu in Siaya county
Busibwabo W/O and Wamama Tuamue,
Crackies, seed Busia County
Mayoni Expert Caterers, Cakes and Buns,
Kakamega County
Baba Foundation composite flour, Busia
TOT GROUPS in Teso District Crackies and
composite flour.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Composite flour KEBs Certified
 Crackies scaled up for
commercialization
 Tamuu, product for improving Child
Health, working on standards with
KEBs
 More Interested Partners in VAPs
(PALWECO, GAIN, FAO, DRR, UoN,
MNI)
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CONSUMER PERCEPTION
From
all the forums products were
acceptable for home use and income
generation.
Some products like Tamuu, Crackies
and Fimsweet Meal are on very high
demand for commercialization.
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Nutrition Education embraced as a
high promotion tool and requests for
replication to other food crops.

BRAVO WIMBI
LET US FIGHT
 HUNGER

POVERTY
 MALNUTRITION
AND

CLIMATE CHANGE
ASANTENI SANA