Foreword [Volume 15 No. 4 (2015)]

I wish to welcome all our readers, both traditional patronisers and newly joined friends to receive and enjoy Issue 71 of AJFAND. We have carried 13 peer reviewed scholarly articles, amazing commentaries and great profiles.

A lot has happened since our last issue in June 2015. We have been making some changes which we hope will increase our efficiency and thus increase the Happiness Index of both staff and those who work with us.

Let me start with the secretariat. Firstly, we have had to move office again, but this time to a bigger space to be able to accommodate both the journal and NGO ( Rural Outreach Africa) operations. Please find the new address at the bottom of this FOREWORD.

Secondly on staff development, Emily Kaveza ( Editorial Assistant) is being supported by the journal and a good friend of the journal to start to pursue her degree work. I like it when people address Emily as Dr, or Professor. She too gets tickled but our dream is that one day she officially attains that title. Emily is one of the hardest working individuals I have had a chance to work with and I wish to assure her of my support 100% as she starts on this journey. As a journal we do not generate enough funds to afford her full sponsorship; however, I believe with so many friends around, we shall manage. If you would like to support Emily’s tuition please do not hesitate to contact me. She is enrolled at the University of Nairobi’s School of Communications. Then our intern Consolata whom I had introduced earlier, has been admitted to pursue MSc in Food Science and Postharvest Management at the University of Nairobi. We do not have a scholarship in hand yet, but again, we are positive that one will come up. Consolata graduated Fist Class in 2012 from Kenyatta University in Kenya and is an all rounded brilliant young lady. Then we have Njeri Karanu whom I am grooming and is currently deputizing me. So, for friends and potential donors to the journal, you need not worry about succession as I am managing it and have been doing so for a while now.

Indexing and Partnerships: Please look up here for the latest news, which we are quite excited about.

We continue to fundraise to be able to sustain the journal. Should you have fresh ideas on how to do this please contact us. We delight in working on special issues. These afford institutions great visibility.

If you are interested, let us please discuss the cost. We have a wide reach and so you can use us to advertise job vacancies and upcoming events for you.

Events:
September 28 to October 2, 2015 AGRF, organized by AGRA in Lusaka Zambia….I am attending
October 13 to 18, 2015, World Food Prize Forum, in Des Moines Iowa…I am attending
October 14, 2015, 730PM to 930 PM, Sasakawa Event, telling the story, for the first time in Des Moines, of how SAA was started by Dr Norman Borlaug, Mr Ryoichi Sasakawa and President Jimmy Carter, way back in 1986 following the Ethiopia famine which killed more than one million Ethiopians. We shall highlight what the organization has done since then, the approaches we use and invite you to partner with us as we continue on this journey of trying to secure a food and nutrition secure Africa. The work of SAFE (Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education) which we undertake in partnership with Winrock International (USA) will also be shared. Please come and join us if you are in Des Moines on October 14.

Let me invite you to enjoy this issue.

Ruth Khasaya Oniang’o
Editor-in-Chief, AJFAND

Office location:
Rural Outreach Program
9 Planets Apartments - Saturn #6
Kabarnet Gardens
Off Kabarnet Road
[Off Ngong Road]
Nairobi, Kenya