Meet Dr Catherine Kilelu: Improving Milk Quality in East Africa

When asked about her inspiration to work in agriculture and rural development, Dr Kilelu shares, "I was passionate about sustainability and natural resource management issues more broadly. When I finished my master's research on the Greenbelt Movement of Kenya, I landed a job as an intern with the Cities Feeding People Program of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, and that is how I started working on agriculture (including urban agriculture) and the link with sustainable natural resource management and rural development."

As a social scientist with a PhD in Agricultural Extension Systems, Dr. Kilelu's research has been focused on the dairy sector in Kenya. She has worked on numerous projects, including the 3R Kenya project, which collaborated with SNV’s Kenya Market-led Dairy Program in generating research insights on a pilot on quality-based milk payment systems (QBMPS) in Kenya. Dr. Kilelu highlights that "the project also convened high-level policy dialogues on the issue of milk quality.”

Dr. Kilelu acknowledges that the dairy development sector in Kenya faces several challenges, including seasonality of production and the feed gap linked to climate change effects, high cost of production, and concerns with the safety of milk, among others. However, she remains optimistic and believes that there is a lot of potential for innovative solutions in the sector.

In her current role at NEADAP, Dr. Kilelu's responsibilities include mapping and scouting potential candidate dairy processors and linked cooperatives in Kenya who would be interested in scaling the QBMPS as part of their business operations. She emphasizes the importance of working collaboratively with local stakeholders to ensure the success of the project. "For NEADAP, the QBMPS aspect is expected to be driven by processors and cooperatives as key stakeholders in the industry. Working collaboratively with these stakeholders to customize a QBMPS that works for them is what will drive success."

For young professionals interested in pursuing a career in agricultural development, Dr. Kilelu offers this advice, "It's an exciting and fulfilling field as you can be part of a transformational change, especially in the continent where the majority of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. There is a lot of space for innovative solutions, so there is space for young people to bring in out-of-the-box thinking to drive agrifood systems transformation. We need to feed ourselves and end food and nutrition insecurity and make the agrifood sector competitive and sustainable."

Dr. Kilelu's passion and dedication to improving Quality Milk in Africa is an inspiration to many, and her work is a testament to the transformative power of agriculture in improving the lives of people in rural communities.