Egerton University

Egerton University, established in 1939 by Lord Maurice Egerton of Tatton as a Farm School, is the oldest higher education institution in Kenya. Located at Njoro, Nakuru County, with an additional Nakuru Town Campus College, the university was chartered in 1987 and has since grown into a premier centre for agricultural education, research, and innovation. It currently serves over 18,000 students with 589 academic and 1,352 non-academic staff, graduating approximately 3,000 students annually.

The Faculty of Agriculture remains the flagship faculty, offering diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate programmes in Animal Production, Crops, Horticulture and Soils, Dairy and Food Science and Technology, and Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management. Its training integrates modern agricultural practices, value chain management, and competency-based curricula to prepare graduates for professional success.

Egerton University is renowned for its research and extension initiatives, including the Indigenous Chicken Improvement Programme, iLINOVA, the Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Agriculture and Agribusiness Management (CESAAM), and the Crop Management Research Training Centre, implemented in partnership with KALRO and CIMMYT. The university also emphasizes capacity-building programmes such as TAGDev and African Agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, and hosts the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and the Confucius Institute.

Through extensive local and international collaborations with institutions including Nanjing Agricultural University, University of Kassel, University of Greenwich, and industry partners such as Novus International and Swiss Tropical & Public Health Institute, Egerton University advances sustainable agriculture, food security, and regional development. Its contributions continue to shape Kenya’s agricultural sector, empower youth, and strengthen agricultural innovation across Eastern Africa.