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Kenya’s Meat Training Institute benefits from meat processing equipment

Dr Franklin Amakove signs the transfer papers to formally receive the meat processing equipment delivered by Gatsby Africa and GIZ’s Business Scouts for Development programme.

“We have always trained students on food processing and packaging, but this learning has been largely delivered from a theoretical point of view. From the support that GA and GIZ have provided us today, we can now offer practical classes to our students, which will go a long way in imparting practical skills to our trainees,”

– Dr Franklin Amakove

On 03 March 2023, we had the privilege of handing over about KES 500,000 worth of meat processing equipment to the Meat Training Institute, Athi River. Trainers from our recently concluded Meat Processing project used this equipment to train Kenyan meat processors on value addition and packaging skills. The German Cooperation funded the project through the  Business Scouts for Development programme.

Staff from the Meat Training Institute joyously received the equipment, led by Dr Franklin Amakove, the Senior Principal Lecturer at the Meat Training Institute.

“We have always trained students on food processing and packaging, but this learning has been largely delivered from a theoretical point of view. We had access to a couple of meat processing plants in earlier years, but this is not the case anymore. We have not had a way for the students to learn practically for several years. From the support that GA and GIZ have provided us today, we can now offer practical classes to our students, which will go a long way in imparting practical skills to our trainees,” said Dr Amakove.

The Meat Training Institute is a Kenyan government middle-level training Institution within the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in the State Department of Livestock. The institute’s mandate is to formulate and provide training programmes for the veterinary public health livestock sub-sector to promote trade and industrial development in a sustainable environment. It trains the workforce responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of foods meant for human consumption, especially those of animal origins such as meat, milk, eggs, honey and their products, contributing towards a healthy population.

At Gatsby Africa, we see MTI as the best-placed institution to benefit from this equipment since it will be used for many years to equip future professionals.