Prof. Jacob K. Kibwage- Project Leader

Current Address
South Eastern University College
(A Constituent College of the University Of Nairobi)
P. O. Box 170-90200, Kitui, Kenya
Tel. 020-2413859 (Kitui), 020-2531395 (Nairobi)

I hold masters and doctorate degrees in the area of Environment Planning and Management with special research interest in environment and livelihoods. I am currently a Professor at South Eastern University College (A Constituent College of the University of Nairobi) in Kenya. I created research interest in Tobacco in 2003 after being touched with the adverse environmental,socio-economic and health implications of tobacco farming in the country. That is the time I had a dream about how bamboo production, processing and utilization may address most of the problems associated with tobacco farming. I am currently the Project Leader of the IDRC-funded 6-year (2006-2012) research project on Bamboo as an Alternative Crop and Livelihood Strategy to Smallholder Tobacco Farming in South Nyanza Region, Kenya. I have developed the website www.tobaccotobamboo.org to promote tobacco control research and help in changing policy and livelihoods of tobacco farmers in my country. Majority of the tobacco farmers in the project are in the process of completely shifting to bamboo production and processing. I have published four papers on tobacco control in international journals and several technical reports that can be accessed through the website.View CV and Other Commitments

Personal Profile
I hold a PhD (Maseno University), MSc and  BSc. (University of Nairobi) and presently am an associate professor of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry at Maseno University, Kenya. I teach several courses to both undergraduate and graduate students including; Plant Structure and Function, Plant Growth and Development, Plant Physiological Ecology, Photosynthesis Plant Mineral Nutrition, Community Structure and Function among other related courses. I am a prolific researcher who has published fifteen papers in refereed journals and supervised several graduate students at Masters and PhD levels, won several research fund awards and scholarships. 
Research Interests:

• Salt tolerance in plants with special reference to sorghum
• Effects of commercial farming on biodiversity
• Ecophysiology of bambara groundnuts

On-going research

• Cultivation and utilization of Bamboo as an alternative livelihood to tobacco farming in South Nyanza and Western Kenya.
• Effects of sugarcane production on environmental quality and community livelihoods in Lake Victoria basin.

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Dr. Fu Jinhe Ph. D.

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), China, Training collaborator.

Personal Profile

I hold a Bachelor of Forestry, Master of Forest Ecology and, Ph. D for Tropical and subtropical Silviculture(bamboo). I have 46 scientific publications and about 20 articles on bamboo. Currently, I am a Senior Program Officer of International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, Regional Coordinator of East Africa (East Asia before), Project Manager of EC funded Bamboo Biomass Project in Africa and the Coordinator of IUFRO bamboo and rattan group, I have worked in forestry sector for 26 years including 21 years in bamboo sector around the world and have traveled to 23 countries in Asia, Africa, America and Australia. Since 2005 I have organized annual INBAR bamboo tour to China. Now I am coordinating its design, construction and exposition of INBAR garden in 2011 Xi’an World Horticultural Exhibition. Below are some achievements and activities I have involved in or contributed to:-

Collaborator of IDRC project Transfer tobacco to bamboo in South Nyanza of Kenya, Bamboo environmental database, Bamboo species to site matching on global level, bamboo inventory, Bamboo biodiversity conservation, Bamboo environmental functions, Bamboo biomass for biofuel, Panda habitation restoration and community development of WWF Qinling project, Bamboo and Panda Protection, Bamboo charcoal and Nano-charcoal, new bamboo products and lots of consultancy on bamboo development for UNIDO in Indonesia 2005, ICRAF for East Africa 2006 and GTZ in China as well answer of many questions from Info INBAR, bamboo growers and companies in the world; Invited expert for CCTV bamboo programs, and many others

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PETER OMARI MAGATI - Research Assistant to The Tobacco-to-Bamboo Project

Current address
P.O. Box 75673 - 00200,
Nairobi.
Telephone Office: +254 0725-683577
Email: magatipeter@yahoo.com

Personal Profile
I am a holder of a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Nairobi and also hold an undergraduate degree in Economics from Kenyatta University. In addition to this, I am a certified public accountant in Kenya. Currently, I work as an assistant lecturer at Strathmore University with interest in development, financial economics and public finance. Through the assistance of the project, I have just commenced my PhD in Economics looking at the Financial Costs and Returns of Smallholder Tobacco Farming in Kenya
My interest in alternative livelihood to tobacco came as a coincidence after my undergraduate studies and it has grown ever since. The Tobacco to Bamboo research project aided my research for my masters’ degree where I looked at the Cost-Benefit Analysis of Substituting Tobacco to Bamboo in South Nyanza Kenya. I have a passion for research in aiding the implementation of the World Health Organization’s Frame work Convention for Tobacco Control (WHOFCTC) which is the first health treaty but at the same time use research to find ways to assist the farmers in Kenya better their lives in line with vision 2030.

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Mr. Arori Wilfred Omwansa - Research assistant to Tobacco-to-Bamboo Project.

Maseno University P.O. Box 333, Maseno.
Ph.D. (Applied Statistics) 2008 to 2011 - Undertaking.
Maseno University P.O. Box 333, Maseno.
M.Sc. (Applied Statistics) 2001 to 2004 where I graduated in March 2004.

Personal Profile
I am holder of a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science (MOI University), A Masters degree in Applied Statistics (Maseno University), and in my third year of PhD. in Applied Statistics (Maseno University). The title of research is “GROWTH MODELS FOR BAMBOO HARVEST FORECASTING USING MONTE – CARLO SIMULATED VARIATES”. Further I am a research assistant to the tobacco to bamboo project. Other than being an assistant lecturer at Maseno University, I have research interest in Bio-statistics and crop - modeling. Thanks to Reading University and RUFORUM, I have a certificate in Research Methods. My ambition is to become a renowned scientist in research and modeling.

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